Suharto hospitalised

Jakarta: Ailing former Indonesian president Suharto has been hospitalised and received a blood transfusion, hospital sources said on Friday after the 84-year-old reportedly suffered internal bleeding. An official at Jakarta’s Pertamina Hospital said he was admitted on Thursday, but he declined to explain his illness. Suharto, who is to turn 85 in June, came to power in 1965 but was forced to step down in May 1998 following anti-government protests and an economic downturn. —DPA

Taliban kill tribal chief

KANDAHAR: Five people including a key tribal chief and his son were killed in the latest spate of violence blamed on the Taliban in restive southern Afghanistan, officials said on Friday. Chieftain Haji Lala died along with his son and his bodyguard on Thursday when a roadside bomb planted by suspected Taliban rebels exploded beneath their vehicle in Helmand province, interior ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said. A provincial spokesman earlier said that men were killed in a Taliban ambush. — AFP

Courtroom shootout

NEW DELHI: (AFP) A suspected gangster wanted for 18 cases of murder and looting was among three people killed in a shootout with police in a crowded court in Gurgaon on Friday. Hardutt Singh, a criminal wanted in 18 cases was to be produced before a court, when three men fired at him. Two of the gunmen were killed by the police when police returned fire. — AFP