Top Asian News 1:24 p.m. GMT

South Korea’s acting leader Han resigns amid reports he will run for president

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s acting leader, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, said Thursday he is resigning to take on “heavier responsibility” amid expectation he will run in next month’s presidential election. Han has emerged as a potential conservative standard bearer as the main conservative People Power Party remains in disarray over the recent ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Observers expect Han to officially launch his presidential campaign on Friday. “I have two paths ahead of me. One is completing the heavy responsibility that I handle now. The other is putting down that responsibility and taking a heavier responsibility,” Han said in a nationally televised announcement.

Rubio calls India and Pakistan in effort to defuse crisis over Kashmir attack

NEW DELHI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called senior officials in India and Pakistan in an effort to defuse the crisis that followed last week’s deadly attack in Kashmir, the State Department said. Rubio urged Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to de-escalate tensions on Wednesday. India has vowed to punish Pakistan after accusing it of backing the attack, which Islamabad denies. The nuclear-armed rivals have since expelled each other’s diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace to each other. New Delhi has suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad.

Pakistan and India hint at imminent military action over Kashmir. A look at the nuclear rivals

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region last week has spiked tensions between India and Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of backing the massacre, a charge Pakistan denies. The nuclear-armed neighbors have downgraded diplomatic ties, threatened to suspend key treaties and expelled each other’s nationals. It’s the biggest breakdown in relations since 2019, when a suicide car bombing killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan, and Pakistan rejected the accusation. India has hinted at the possibility of an imminent but limited military strike. Pakistan says it would respond militarily. A look at the countries’ nuclear capabilities, and what might lie ahead: India and Pakistan have built up nuclear arsenals over the years.

10 killed in Philippines after passenger bus slams into vehicles at a toll booth

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A speeding passenger bus slammed into a row of vehicles lined up at a highway toll booth Thursday in the northern Philippines, killing 10 people, including children, police said. More than two dozen others were injured in the multiple-vehicle collision in Tarlac city, north of Manila, at a heavy travel time on May Day holiday, police said. The bus driver, who was among the injured, was taken into custody and initially told investigators that he dozed off shortly before the crash, Tarlac police chief Lt. Col. Romel Santos told reporters. The bus crashed into a van, which was lined up with three other vehicles at the toll booth.

India and Pakistan face their latest crisis. Here’s a look at their history of armed conflict

NEW DELHI (AP) — A deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir last week has plunged relations between India and Pakistan to new lows, with both sides hinting at imminent military action. India accuses Pakistan of backing the massacre, in which 26 men, mostly Indian Hindus, were killed, a charge Pakistan denies. Both countries have since expelled diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace for each other. Soldiers on each side have exchanged fire along their de facto border, with each blaming the other for shooting first. Here’s a look at multiple conflicts between the two countries since their bloody partition in 1947: ___ 1947 — Months after British India is partitioned into a predominantly Hindu India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, the two young nations fight their first war over control of Muslim-majority Kashmir, then a kingdom ruled by a Hindu monarch.

From Tokyo to Turin to LA, Trump’s policies loom over May Day marches

PARIS (AP) — French union leaders condemned the “Trumpization” of world politics, while in Italy, May Day protesters paraded a puppet of the American president through the streets of Turin. Across continents, tens of thousands turned out for Thursday’s rallies marking International Workers’ Day, many citing President Donald Trump’s agenda — from aggressive tariffs spurring fears of global economic turmoil to immigration crackdowns — as a central concern. In the United States, organizers said this year’s protests aimed to push back against efforts to roll back protections for immigrants, federal workers and diversity initiatives. In Germany, union leaders warned that extended workdays and rising anti-immigrant sentiment were dismantling labor protections.

AP PHOTOS: Across the globe, workers observe May Day

People across Asia kicked off May Day celebrations with big marches and protests, many of which focused on U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and fears of global economic uncertainty. The holiday, also known as International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, marks the struggles and achievements of workers and the labor movement around the world. Thousands of people are expected to attend rallies and demonstrations calling for stronger protections for workers, higher wages, greater equality and more. ____ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Japan’s imperial palace fires an employee for stealing cash from the household

TOKYO (AP) — Japan ‘s Imperial palace said Thursday that it has fired an employee for stealing cash totaling 3.6 million yen ($24,900) from Emperor Naruhito and his family over more than a year. The Imperial Household Agency identified the suspect as an employee in their 20s who was one of about 80 attendants assigned to the palace or the agency building to serve daily needs of Naruhito and his family. The theft is an embarrassment for the royal household and its officials said it’s been unheard of in modern history. The case surfaced in March during an internal investigation by the IHA that started in January when an assistant manager of the department noticed a discrepancy between the cash in the safe and the accounting book.

India will include caste details in its next census

NEW DELHI (AP) — India will include caste details in its next census, in a move likely to have sweeping socio-economic and political ramifications for the world’s most populous country. Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw didn’t say when the census would begin when he announced it would include caste information Wednesday. He said the decision demonstrated New Delhi’s commitment to the “values and interests of the society and country.” The count is likely lead to demands to raise the country’s quotas that reserve government jobs, college admissions and elected offices for some categories of castes, especially for a swathe of lower and intermediate castes that are recognized as Other Backward Classes.

US funds supported Nepal’s growing LGBTQ+ community. Now that money is gone

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The metal gates are padlocked now at the Parichaya Samaj center that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and supports the queer community in Nepal. A sign at the entry says they are unable to help anymore. The staff and volunteers are gone. Ever since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration began dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was responsible for humanitarian aid, most of the help centers for Nepal’s LGBTQ+ community have been closed due to lack of funds. Thousands of people have been left without support. It is an unprecedented setback to the Himalayan nation’s growing queer community, which has made significant progress in recent years.