High waves: Phuket closed
High sea waves unleashed by stormy monsoon weather have forced authorities to temporarily close down the beaches in Thailand’s world famous Andaman Sea resort of Phuket, reports UNI.
Swimming and wading in the water has been banned with tourists and local residents asked to move to higher ground as three to four metre-high waves pound the coast.
The waves have damaged beachside shops and restaurants, washing away the foundations.

New party likely in Singapore
Singapore’s veteran opposition politician J B Jeyaretnam said on Sunday he plans to form a new political party to push for reform of the city-state’s authoritarian political system, reports Reuters.
Mr Jeyaretnam, who led the opposition Workers’ Party until 2001, was discharged from bankruptcy earlier this month after paying off damages in defamation suits brought by government leaders.
He was declared bankrupt in 2001 after failing to pay 1,73,900 dollars in defamation damages to plaintiffs that included then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and then Foreign Affairs Minister S Jayakumar.
He and his supporters have already begun work to register the new party.