Businesses in Thai far South returning to normal

THAILAND, November 2 (TNA) - Businesses in Thailand's violence-plagued far South have been returning to normal, thanks to strict security measures, following their six-week closure on Fridays due to life threats from insurgents. Over 90 per cent of shops and business firms in Yingor district, a most violence-prone in the southernmost Narathiwat province, were open Friday, showing that people are now confident in security measures provided by local security forces. In nearby Yala province, a fresh market in the Nakhon Yala municipality was crowded with vendors and buyers Friday, also due to intensified security measures. Meanwhile, over 150 police and soldiers searched target houses in Balo and Kayuborkor localities of Yala's Raman district this early Friday morning in a bid to hunt southern insurgents, but they only found bomb components, car licence plates and motorcycles, all of which were seized to facilitate further hunts. In Songkhla province, local administrators arrested six teenagers who allegedly created violent incidents to frighten villagers Thursday night and Friday in Chana district, with their Molotov cocktails, fireworks, methamphetamine, narcotic solution and shotgun cartridges seized. (TNA)