1. The first parliamentary hearing is being held starting from Wednesday morning to investigate how the Itaewon tragedy happened and to prevent similar future incidents. The second hearing is scheduled to take place on Friday.
2. South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has vowed on Wednesday to spend more than 60 percent of the budget in the first half of the year. That's the largest proportion ever spent for the first six months.
3. The 118th U.S. Congress began on Tuesday with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives and Democrats securing the majority of the Senate.
