SEOSAN / AP Chung Young-chul takes a drag on his cigarette and watches as wild ducks fly across rice fields and land on a reservoir in this remote farming village. He’s among nearly 2,000 people — ex-gangsters, ex-convicts, orphans — who were once held here, forced to work without pay for years and are now largely forgotten. “Some died after ...

  Bloomberg China National Chemical Corp. won European Union antitrust approval for its $43 billion takeover of Swiss pesticide maker Syngenta AG, a day after the US gave its blessing, bringing China’s largest foreign acquisition closer to the finish line. ChemChina’s offer to divest some pesticides and other agricultural products will remove “problematic overlaps” and allow EU regulators to clear ...

  Bloomberg Australian regulators may take further steps to rein in mortgage lending amid growing concern booming home prices pose a risk to the financial system. Restrictions on interest-only loans announced last week were a “tactical response” to growth in lending to property investors, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Chairman Wayne Byres said in a speech in Sydney on Wednesday. The ...