Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's National Assembly voted on Thursday to approve a bill backed by the ruling and opposition parties to launch a fresh probe into the deadly Halloween crowd crush in the capital Seoul in 2022.

An earlier bill, which was backed the opposition-led parliament without the support of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), was vetoed by President Yoon Suk-yeol in January.

The latest bill is a compromise that removes... (continue reading...)

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The World Bank has urged the largest Pacific Island nation, Papua New Guinea, to address a "human capital crisis" and invest more in educating children, who suffer high rates of stunted growth and illiteracy, as a way to boost economic growth and security.

An annual economic update for Papua New Guinea (PNG) released on Thursday shows economic growth was a modest 2.7% last year, half the previous... (continue reading...)

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp reported net profit for the fiscal year ended in March fell 31.7% from a year earlier to 386.4 billion yen ($2.5 billion), missing estimates.

A LSEG poll of analysts had forecast Sumitomo's net profit for the fiscal year at 504.9 billion yen. Sumitomo said its net profit for the year ending in March 2025 is forecast at 530 billion yen.

($1 = 155.8700 yen)

LONDON (Reuters) -Novo Nordisk raised its 2024 outlook on Thursday as it posted first-quarter operating profit above analyst forecasts.

The raised outlook and strong results underscore Wegovy's success and Novo's lead in the fast-growing obesity drug market, even as the company faces fierce competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly.

Novo said it now expects sales growth this year of between 19% and 27% in local currencies, compared to the... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - ArcelorMittal, the world's second-largest steelmaker, reported on Thursday first-quarter core earnings above expectations after improved results in North America, Brazil, Europe and India.

The Luxembourg-based company said core profit (EBITDA) was $1.96 billion, higher than the average forecast in a company poll of $1.81 billion.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)