New Delhi, Sep 28 : The eighth meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) will meet on Monday to discuss a broad spectrum of issues including supply of defence systems, equipment upgrade, product and life cycle support for defence equipment of Russian origin

The meeting is likely to take up renewed price negotiations for 1.5 billion dollar Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, plans for developing a joint fifth generation fighter aircraft and medium transport aircraft, and T-90 tanks technology transfer, sources said.

Oil prices declined further on Friday (Sep 26) as US authorities failed to come out with a decision on the $700 billion plan to bailout its financial sector.

For next month (November) delivery, light, sweet crude dropped $1.13 to settle at $106.89 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

Gasoline futures declined 3.22 cents to end at $2.6651 per gallon. The retail price of a gallon of regular gas was $3.686.

Heating oil futures plummeted 3.09 cents to settle at $3.0174 per gallon at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

New York - The year-long crisis in Darfur was discussed Saturday by the foreign ministers of Egypt and Syria in their speeches at the annual UN General Assembly.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit called for an international conference to draft a roadmap for the way to unity and stability in Sudan.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem demanded that the UN Security Council counteract an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir that has been requested by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

The prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC at The Hague in July to issue a warrant to arrest al-Bashir for the killing of Darfurians.

Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lost another 1.20 dollars Thursday, OPEC said Friday.

Washington, Sept 26 : The US and Pakistani troops exchanged fire along the Pak-Afghan border last evening, after Pakistanis reportedly fired shots at two American helicopters which, Pakistan claimed, had crossed into its border.

A top American military official said that the two American “OH-58 Kiowa” reconnaissance helicopters were not damaged and no casualties were reported.

American and NATO officials said that the two helicopters were flying about one mile inside Afghan airspace to protect an American and Afghan patrol on the ground when the aircraft were fired at by Pakistani troops stationed at a military checkpoint near the Tanai district in Khost Province. Small-caliber arms were used, added the officials.

Washington, Sept. 25 : Senior White House officials played a central role in deliberations in the spring of 2002 about whether the Central Intelligence Agency could legally use harsh interrogation techniques while questioning an operative of Al Qaeda, Abu Zubaydah, according to newly released documents.

In meetings during that period, the New York Times says that the officials debated specific interrogation methods that the C. I. A. had proposed to use on Qaeda operatives held at secret C. I. A. prisons overseas, the documents show.