WASHINGTON - GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would convene an emergency meeting with the management of Opel next week to work out a plan for aiding the troubled carmaker.

'I have invited the head of (Opel) Germany, the head of Europe and the union representative so we can discuss on Monday the situation at Opel,' Ms Merkel told reporters ahead of an emergency meeting of major economies here to deal with the global financial crisis.

VICTORIA - THE International Monetary Fund has agreed a two-year $26-million (S$39.5 million) rescue package for the deeply indebted Seychelles' economy, but the country's central bank warned on Saturday it would not be enough on its own.

TEHERAN - IRAN, Opec's number two oil producer, favours a cut in crude production of 1.0 to 1.5 million barrels per day when the oil cartel meets in Cairo later this month, state television reported on Saturday.