Wellington - Air New Zealand will make the world's first commercial aviation test flight powered by fuel created from the seeds of the African jatropha plant next month, the airline announced on Wednesday.

Rolls Royce had certified the sustainable second-generation biofuel as suitable for use in the airline's Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets, a statement said.

Wellington - Banks in Australasia are well placed to handle the current international financial crisis, Alan Bollard, governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, said on Wednesday.

"While we are far from seeing the final impact of the financial and economic disruption, New Zealand's banks, and the Australian parents of the majors, are well-positioned to withstand the economic downturn," Bollard said while releasing the bank's November financial stability report.

Washington - President-elect Barack Obama will meet with none of the 20 world leaders descending on Washington this weekend for an emergency financial summit, the head of Obama's transition team said Tuesday.

Obama will remain in his hometown of Chicago for the weekend continuing preparations to enter the White House on January 20 and will host no foreign dignitaries, according to John Podesta, co- chairman of Obama's transition team.

London - Britain's Queen Elizabeth 2 luxury liner, which is to be turned into a floating hotel in Dubai, set sail for its final voyage as a cruise ship Tuesday.

The famous QE2 left its home port of Southampton, in southern Britain, to a blaze of fireworks and the cheers of thousands Tuesday evening after 40 years of service.

Hours before its departure, the vessel had to be refloated after running into a sandbank off Southampton.