Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

Chinese companies have invested around $40 billion in different upstream and downstream projects in Iran's oil and gas sector, an Iranian oil official says.

"Chinese companies have invested about $29 billion in Iran's upstream oil and gas sector and another $10 billion in the country's downstream energy sector, including gas, petrochemical and refinery construction projects," Iran's Deputy Oil Minister in International Affairs Hossein noghrehkar Shirazi said in an interview with Mehr news agency.

Toyota Motor Corp. says it is preparing for a global recall of about 430,000 vehicles in the US and Japan amid concerns over steering mechanisms.

The carmaker says most of the cars involved are Avalon sedans made between 2000 and 2004, AP reported.

Washington is worried that Iran continues to attract investment from China despite a new round of UN Security Council sanctions imposed on Tehran, a US official says.

Chinese companies were "aggressive" in investing in Iran's oil and gas fields, Joseph Christoff, head of the Government Accountability Office's international affairs and trade department, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday.

The British prime minister is visiting India in an attempt to persuade the Asian giant to do more business with the United Kingdom.

David Cameron is leading a 90-member strong delegation, including six ministers as well as chief executives of big companies, on his visit.

A report finding that most European banks have passed much-anticipated "stress tests" has allowed Asian stock markets to post better gains.

The shares of most markets, including Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi, were up in Monday trading.

Caviar and other sturgeon products are back on the table, after five Caspian states agreed to export quotas for this year, the head of Iran Fisheries Organization says.

Friday's accord, which was agreed upon during a meeting in Tehran among representatives of Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, ends a de facto international trade ban on the export of caviar and sturgeon from the five countries after their failure to reach an agreement in 2009, Hojjatollah Taqavi told IRIB.

Malaysian prime minister says that the economy could slow down in the second half of the year following the double digit of recession hitting the European continent.

Najib Razak warned that the economic fundamentals hitting Europe and US would have severe repercussion in Malaysia, a Press TV correspondent reported on Thursday.

Japanese automaker Honda says workers at its parts factory in southern China have ended their week-long strike after reaching an agreement on a wage increase.

One of the employees who took part in the walkout says the strike ended after workers agreed to a 45 percent pay rise.

State-owned Indian banks have been accused of being biased against a Muslim minority in offering banking services, with a doubling of complaints.

India's minorities watchdog has received a record number of complaints from Muslims who say they have been deterred from opening bank accounts, BBC reported.

China has rejected claims that it has moved ahead of the United States as the world's biggest energy consumer.

Zhou Xian, an official with China's National Energy Administration, said on Tuesday that an assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA) was flawed.