Kalla says he wants

Kalla says he wants
to run for president

Vice President Jusuf Kalla has pledged his loyalty to his boss
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono until their term ends in 2009, but made
it clear he would contest the presidential election that year.
Speaking to Antara in a special interview, Kalla said on Tuesday
he shouldered a constitutional responsibility to support the
government of Susilo, but the next race for the presidency was a
different story. "God willing, as a Golkar member I have the
right to contest (the presidential election) with the President's
consent. It's impossible without his consent," said Kalla, who
chairs the Golkar Party, the largest political bloc in the House
of Representatives compared to Susilo's diminutive Democratic
Party. The pair won the first ever direct presidential election
last year. -- Antara

India allows calls
to Pakistan

India's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Kashmiris will be
allowed to contact family members living on the Pakistani side of
the divided region for the next two weeks in the wake of a
devastating earthquake. "This facility is being provided as a
special case," an Indian foreign ministry statement said, adding
that it came "on the directions of" the prime minister. The state-run
department of telecommunications will be setting up phone centers
in four earthquake-hit towns in Indian Kashmir, the statement
said. These will be operational by Wednesday. -- AFP

Musharraf calls on
India to allow visits

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called on India on Tuesday
to allow earthquake-stricken Kashmiris cross the de facto border
that divides the countries and families in the bitterly disputed
region. "We will allow any amount of people coming across the Line of
Control," he told a news conference in the destroyed Pakistani
Kashmir capital of Muzaffarabad. "If India agrees, we would like
to work out the formalities." He added that Pakistan would also
like to facilitate the movement of political leaders from both
sides of the Himalayan territory across the de facto frontier, a
cease-fire line known as the Line of Control. There was no
immediate response from India. New Delhi has refused Islamabad's
request for helicopters without crews that Pakistan says are
needed for relief operations in a region over which the countries
have fought two of their three wars. -- Reuters

Roche to boost
Tamiflu production

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG said on Tuesday it
is building a new plant in the United States to boost production
of its Tamiflu drug amid fears about bird flu, and is ready to
seek help from other companies to meet surging demand. Orders for
the antiviral drug have soared as health experts have been
pinning their hopes on Tamiflu in case the bird flu that has
spread from Asia to southeast Europe mutates so that it could
pass easily between people. The drug would be used to protect and
treat front-line workers exposed to infected birds, but it is
also being stockpiled to be used in a pandemic. Experts hope that
treating sick people with the drug early in the course of a
pandemic may soften the impact and slow its emergence while
scientists rush to make a vaccine, which would take months.
Roche, the sole manufacturer of Tamiflu, has ruled out
relinquishing the patent on the drug, which is protected until
2016. -- AP