Indonesia's Suharto loses appendix

The former Indonesian president Suharto has undergone surgery for the removal of his appendix.

A spokesman for a hospital Pertamina in Jakarta said the deposed president had undergone minor surgery.

He said the seventy-nine-year-old former head of state was expected to remain in a private wing of the hospital for several days.

Since he was forced from office after mass demonstrations in 1998, efforts have been made to prosecute Mr Suharto, members of his family and close associates for corruption during his thirty-two years in power.

He has frequently pleaded ill health to avoid interrogation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service