BANGKOK – The Thai capital is braced for more protests this weekend as anti-government Red Shirts vow to defy a state of emergency and again take to the streets, disrupting the business of five-star city centre hotels and shopping malls. 


Local news sources in Bangkok are reporting that the Red Shirts plan to march to 10 different locations in Bangkok on Friday.
Several countries – Taiwan being the latest – are warning their citizens to avoid travel to Bangkok while the protests continue.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was forced to cancel his attendance at the ASEAN summit in Hanoi to focus on the crisis at home.
It is almost a year to the day since a previous ASEAN gathering in the Thai resort of Pattaya was cancelled after protesters broke into the summit venue.
The government announced emergency rule on Wednesday after protesters briefly forced their way into the parliament compound. Lawmakers fled and several senior government figures were airlifted to safety.
It is the fourth time since 2008 emergency law has been declared in the capital due to political turmoil. 


Thai authorities moved on Thursday to arrest Red Shirt protest leaders involved in the storming of parliament, while pulling the plug on dozens of websites and a television station loyal to their cause.
