The move comes after nationwide protests triggered by the leak of a key medical entrance examination paper and a series of other recruitment scandals.

Lee's proposal came as North Korea this week denounced upcoming annual US-South Korean military drills, warning of stronger deterrence measures.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday the AUKUS defense pact remained "full steam ahead" after an overnight call with US President Donald Trump, adding that he had urged Trump to fully exempt Australia from all tariffs.

At least four people died in eastern Japan after "unprecedented" heavy rain that left thousands stranded at Narita airport overnight and snarled up roads and rail services, authorities said Friday.

Authorities said on Friday that 287 people had been killed and nearly 4,000 injured, while nearly 400 others were still missing.

After a coalition of states sued Meta in 2023 for allegedly designing addictive features for kids in its apps, four states were selected to represent their claims: California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey.

Rescuers, soldiers and volunteers searched through collapsed apartment blocks and office buildings Tuesday across western Colombia, racing to find survivors after the country's strongest earthquake in a century killed at least 241 people and left many more homeless.

The quake struck just days after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela in June.

At least 96 people died in the crossing attempt on July 30 and over 72,000 managed to enter Ceuta, according to Spanish government estimates.

German companies report growing disruption from Rhine water levels that have hit a series of record lows.

Global youth unemployment rose last year, the United Nations said Tuesday, with some of the steepest increases seen in high-income countries as artificial intelligence begins to change the jobs market.

A wave of social media disinformation is believed to have played a large part in the deadly rush of tens of thousands of men, women and children into Spain's north African territory, after a rumour that the Ceuta border was open spread on social media.

An unnamed White House official later clarified that Trump was joking, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

US President Donald Trump on Monday responded to Iran's conditions for a peace deal with his own demands that Iran pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests, in a rhetorical escalation likely to complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.