NEW DELHI – India is expected to approve a deal with France for upgrading around 50 Mirage 2000 supersonic fighters, providing an additional boost to French company Dassault Aviation, which also is bidding for the Indian air force’s $11 billion program to purchase 126 fighters. The Mirages were procured from France, and the upgrade project would cost around $2.4 billion.

Cash-strapped Air India is grappling with what appears to be an inability to pay for fuel and airport charges at a time when it is trying to pay several debts, coupled with a huge revenue loss due to a recent pilots strike. But India’s government has stepped in to broker a deal to pay the bills.

NEW DELHI — France has stopped selling certain military hardware to Pakistan until Islamabad explains its role in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and in providing a safe haven for Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. strike on May 2.