AFP Iran on Wednesday urged more Asian companies to invest in the country, saying the lifting of nuclear-linked sanctions had opened vast opportunities for foreign capital. Central bank governor Valiollah Seif told a business seminar in Singapore that reforms put in place since President Hassan Rouhani took office in 2013 helped restore economic stability while the lifting of the ...

  Bloomberg Indian importers of pulses are renegotiating contracts with suppliers after global prices of lentils and yellow peas dropped by as much as 30 percent on bumper global harvests. Contracts of as much as 500,000 tons of lentils and yellow peas worth about $350 million were renegotiated in the past two months, said Sudhakar Tomar, managing director of Dubai-based ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG and drivers suing the company in the US over its diesel-cheating scandal won final approval of their $14.7 billion settlement to resolve what’s likely to be the largest portion of VW’s civil liability worldwide. The accord requires VW to buy back cars with 2.0-liter diesel engines armed with so-called defeat devices used to beat emissions tests. ...

  Bloomberg Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest soft-drink company, posted third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, helped by new beverages like sports drinks and sales of smaller, more-profitable package sizes. Profit was 49 cents a share, excluding some items, the Atlanta-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. Analysts estimated 48 cents, on average. And while sales fell 6.9 percent ...

  AFP European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he looked to Belgium on Wednesday to overcome internal disputes and seal a landmark EU-Canada trade deal. Belgium’s federal and regional leaders meanwhile held a short new round of talks in Brussels in a bid to break the deadlock on the eve of a still hoped-for signing summit with Canadian Prime Minister ...

  Paris / AFP French carmaker PSA on Wednesday blamed falling demand in Europe and China, as well as exchange rate movements, in posting a drop in third-quarter sales. PSA, the second largest car manufacturer in Europe and behind the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands, said sales came in at 11.4 billion euros ($12.4 billion) for the quarter, down 8 ...

  Calais / AFP Workers ramped up demolition of France’s notorious Calais “Jungle” on Wednesday after fierce blazes cut through a swathe of the camp overnight, sending migrants fleeing for safety. Wearing hardhats and orange overalls in the morning fog, a team of around 15 workers resumed tearing down tents and makeshift shelters at the camp that has become a symbol ...

  New Delhi / AFP Five people were killed in an explosion at an illegal firecracker workshop in India, police said on Wednesday, ahead of the annual Diwali festival when demand hits its peak. The building housing the workshop was completely destroyed when a fire hit gunpowder stocks used to make the fireworks in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state late ...

  Taipei / AFP Hostages were forced to eat mice, scorpions and centipedes to survive during the nearly five years they were held by Somali pirates, according to a Taiwanese seafarer who arrived home on Wednesday. Shen Jui-chang, among 26 hostages freed from the crew of Naham 3 seized south of the Seychelles in March 2012, added he had constantly ...

  Tokyo /AFP Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday he wants US troops out of his country in the next two years and is willing to scrap defence pacts with longtime ally Washington if necessary. The comments follow a series of anti-American tirades by the firebrand leader, who has repeatedly attacked the US while cosying up to Beijing, upending ...