Mr. Rivera is the most prominent leader of Miskito rebels, and he heads a nine-member Indian delegation that has been conducting peace talks in the capital for a week.

A nine-member delegation, including two paying volunteers, went to the Comoros last November in search of coelacanths.

He promised to present to the Central Committee the list of demands presented to him earlier in the day by a nine-member delegation from Civic Forum.

After he led a nine-member delegation through Central America last November, his press office said he was optimistic about the prospects for peace in that region.

The nine-member delegation from the mainstream SPLA group is led by a senior military commander, Salva Kiir.

In February 2004, a German nine-member parliamentary delegation also visited Bangladesh.

The mission of a nine-member delegation headed by Mayor Koch of New York City made it clear that fact-finding in Central America is a formidable undertaking.

The nine-member delegation included representatives from the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Trade and Industry.

Mr. Hobson, who was part of a nine-member delegation visiting Afghanistan, spoke before the reports of incidents involving two helicopters.

Mr. Koch led a private nine-member delegation to survey the political climate in Central America and to assess prospects for the new regional peace accord.