Thai Muslims start Ramadan fast

BANGKOK, June 18 (TNA) - Thai Muslims start their Ramadan month of fasting on June 18 and go shopping to prepare themselves for the annual tradition. In the southern border region, where the majority of Thai Muslims live, crowds of Thai Muslims were doing their shopping on Thursday morning, as they were preparing evening meals during the daytime fasting period. Food prices reportedly remain the same year-on-year, like cow meat, for example, is retailed at 270 baht per kilogram, chicken meat at 70 baht/kilogram and date nuts imported from the Middle East at 100-150 baht per box. Meanwhile, an army delegation, led by Commanding General of the 4th Army Area Command Lieutenant General Prakarn Cholayuth, donated date nuts, rice and syrup to the Islamic Committee in the southernmost Yala Province to support the fasting tradition of local Muslims. In Hat Yai, Thailand's southern business hub in Songkhla Province, local security authorities conducted searches at targeted places to prevent untoward incidents during the Ramadan month. (TNA)