Avalanche kills seven

SRINAGAR: An avalanche swept a hillside in Kashmir on Monday, killing seven shepherds and injuring at least five others, police said. The avalanche hit Hanjipora village, smashing the log cabins of the shepherds, known as Bakarwals, police officer Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din said. — AP

Polio cases reported

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s first polio outbreak in a decade widened on Monday with two new cases reported. The latest cases of the disease in Bogor and Lebak regions of West Java bring the total number of children infected since the outbreak was detected last month to 16, said Yusharmen, head of the Health Ministry’s epidemic surveillance office. — AP

Thailand court order

BANGKOK: Thailand’s juvenile court on Monday ordered Thavich Klinpratoom, an 80-year-old retired lawmaker, to pay US$990 per month to support a two-year-old boy he fathered with a young waitress, the state news agency said. — AP

Clinton in Indonesia

BANDA ACEH: Former US President Bill Clinton was briefed on Monday on reconstruction efforts in Indonesia’s tsunami-devastated Aceh province, where survivors complained that aid delivery was too slow and urged international donors to bypass the government because it was corrupt. — AP

China-Japan talks

BEIJING: China and Japan plan to hold talks aimed at resolving their territorial dispute in the East China Sea where the Asian giants hope to find oil and gas to fuel their booming economies. The two-day discussions were to begin on Monday, when the Japanese team arrives in Beijing, said Keiji Ide, a spokesman for the Japanese Embassy. He did not have details but said development of gas exploration would be an issue. — AP

Raid on nightspots

SINGAPORE: Singapore police

have arrested 76 alleged drug users in coordinated island-wide raids, the government said on Monday. The raids began on Saturday and continued through Sunday, the Central Narcotics Bureau said. The Southeast Asian city-state has tough anti-drug laws. — AP