At A Glance

ISLAMABAD: Traders in the Khost province in eastern Afghanistan have been ordered to send at least one member of their family to the Taliban militia or pay heavy zakat (tax on wealth and income). The Taliban have issued a decree under which a shopkeeper has to pay Rs 30,000 as zakat, a tailor Rs 3,000 and a cloth merchant Rs 1,30,000. When the traders protested, the provincial governor said they could avoid the zakat if each of the traders send at least one of their family members to the Taliban militia.

MARYLAND: Army and US Red Cross researchers say they have developed a bandage that can stop severe bleeding in seconds, potentially saving thousands of lives on battlefields and highways. The experimental bandage and a related foam and spray contain freeze-dried clotting agents in concentrations 50 to 100 times greater than in human blood, according to William Drohan, senior director of plasma research at the Red Cross' Jerome H Holland Laboratory inRockville.

JAKARTA: Indonesia's highest legislative body on Friday met reformist demands half way, and included the name of former president Suharto in a draft law on the elimination of corruption, television reported. The state-run Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) showed all five faction leaders in Commission `C' signing a draft law on the elimination of corruption, collusion and nepotism.

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