Taipei - Beijing has agreed in principle to allow Taiwan airlines to fly over China to other countries, which will boost Taiwan airlines' international competitiveness, a newspaper reported Monday.

The Commercial Times, quoting an unnamed source, said that China has agreed in principle to approve Taiwan airlines' requests to fly over China's airspace en route to other countries, which will save time and fuel on flights to Europe.

If China grants the fly-over rights, or "first freedom rights," it could cut Taiwan airlines' routes to and from Europe by four hours.

Air passengers have to pay the transaction fees of Rs 350-10,000 per ticket for national and international flights from November 1. Indian domestic carriers such as Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines have decided to levy this fee through travel agents. Air carriers are, at present, giving 5 percent commissions to agents which would be replaced by transaction fee from today onward.

London - Three people died today when a helicopter crashed in a field in Gloucestershire, the Air Accident Investigation Board said Saturday.

The private Gazelle helicopter came down and burst into flames near Langley Hill Farm in Winchcombe near Cheltenham, some 150 kilometres west of London, at about midday.

Witnesses said there was heavy fog at the time of the crash, but no cause for the crash could be determined as yet.

Rome - A consortium of private Italian investors on Friday made a binding offer to purchase the state's controlling stake in struggling airline Alitalia, according to a consortium statement cited in news reports.

The offer was presented to Alitalia's bankruptcy administrator, Augusto Fantozzi a few hours before a deadline at midnight local time (2300 GMT).

The bid came after talks between the Compagnia Aerea Italiana (Italian Air Company), or CAI, consortium, and unions representing Alitalia employees.

Helsinki - Finnish flag carrier Finnair on Friday said higher fuel costs and lower ticket prices contributed to a "weak third quarter."

The group posted a pre-tax loss of 22 million euros (28 million dollars), compared to a pre-tax profit of 59.9 million euros for the corresponding business period in 2007.

Turnover increased 2.7 per cent to 559 million euros in the quarter, the carrier said.

San Francisco - Search teams have found bones and a driver's license with Steve Fossett's name near the site where the millionaire's crashed plane was discovered in eastern California, officials said Thursday.

Found were a pair of tennis shoes, credit cards and Fossett's Illinois state driver's license as well as bones, which are believed to be human and were sent for DNA testing, Madera County Sheriff John Anderson told a press conference.