EU Airlines’ blacklist

STRASBOURG: The European Commission gave its green light to bolster the powers of the EU’s air safety agency and create a blacklist of unsafe airlines, after a ‘tragic summer’ of deadly plane crashes. EU transport commissioner said the measures, to be voted on by EU lawmakers should help reassure passengers about airline safety in Europe. — AFP

747 to help Boeing

NEW YORK: Boeing announced plans to build a new stretch version of its 747 jumbo jet in a move to compete head-on with Airbus and its upcoming superjumbo A380 aircraft. Boeing — which up to now has had the world’s largest airliner in the 747 — will be developing a bigger, more fuel-efficient version of the jet that helped it dominate the market. — AFP

BHEL goes to Sudan

NEW DELHI: The state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) of India has been selected for a $500 million turnkey power project in Sudan, the second largest Indian investment in the African nation. The 500-1,000 MW power generation project in White Nile State in central Sudan would be the second largest Indian investment in the country after the Oil and Natural Gas Corp. — HNS

Eos launch postponed

FRANKFURT: The German automaker Volkswagen (VW) would delay the launch of its Eos convertible model owing to technical problems. The car is now to be introduced in the German spring, a spokesman said, adding that trouble with bonnet was behind the delay. VW needs Eos to fill a gap in its line of convertibles. — AFP

MBT buys out Axes

BANGALORE: Mahindra-British Telecom (MBT) announced the acquisition of the US-based Axes Technologies for $54 million in an all-cash deal. The $30-million Axes provides solutions to global telecom equipment manufacturers in different aspects of product engineering. — HNS

FNCCI team for Delhi

KATHMANDU: A FNCCI delegation led by its president Chandi Raj Dhakal left for New Delhi on Wednesday to take part in the ‘SAARC Business Leaders Conclave: South Asia Regional Integration and Growth’ scheduled for November 17-18. Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan singh is going to inaugurate the programme that is organised by FICCI in cooperation with SCCI. Madhukar SJB Rana, finance minister and Prabhakar SJB Rana are also attending the conclave as resource persons. — HNS

NCBS to offer Masters

KATHMANDU: National Campus for Business Studies (NCBS) — a private college that has been offering Bachelor courses in Business Studies — is granted a permission to start a Masters course in Business Studies (MBS) by Tribhuwan University. “NCBS is planning to become the leading business school in Nepal. In the quest of excellence it has entered into a strategic alliance with KFA, one of the most prominent institute in field of banking and finance,” states a release.— HNS