South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo. File
| Photo Credit: AP

South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo said on Thursday (May 1, 2025) he was resigning amid reports he will run in next month’s Presidential election.

Mr. Han said in a televised briefing that he had determined he would quit to take “a bigger responsibility” for the country. South Korean media reported Mr. Han will officially launch his Presidential campaign on Friday (May 2).

Mr. Han was appointed Prime Minister, the country’s No. 2 post, by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office, triggering the by-election.

Also Read | South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office over ill-fated declaration of martial law

Han has been emerging as a potential conservative standard bearer, as the main conservative People Power Party remains in disarray over Yoon’s December 3 imposition of martial law.

Observers say Mr. Han is expected to align with the People Power Party to launch a unified conservative campaign against liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung.

Government workers, green card holders, teachers, and student journalists across the US are asking editors to remove their names from old news stories, fearing backlash from President Donald Trump’s administration for views or identities now considered “politically risky.”
According to Poynter’s Kelly McBride, some government employees and others have asked journalists to remove their names from old news stories. These individuals are concerned that documented evidence of their sexual identity or positions opposing Trump’s policies could make them vulnerable to employment termination.
Kevin Naff, who serves as the editor of the Washington Blade, told the outlet that taking down stories “is not something I’ve ever done before with the exception of foreign sources who are facing life and death situations.”
The Washington Blade has a long history of reporting on governmental discrimination against gay employees. Currently, the publication continues its role in recording instances of intimidation and discrimination. “We’re going backwards,” he stated.
“The fear is really intense. People are scared. They’re scared to lose their pensions and, you know, all of that,” he added.
This wave of anxiety is not limited to career professionals, student journalists, especially those with ties to pro-Palestinian activism, are also asking for their bylines to be removed, fearing legal consequences, deportation, or professional retaliation, the Guardian reported.
The case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student currently in ICE detention, has intensified fears. Ozturk had written a pro-Palestinian op-ed in her campus paper and is now fighting deportation despite no official evidence tying her writing to the visa revocation.
Ozturk joins approximately ten other academics and students detained by immigration officials since March 8, when Columbia graduate student and permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil faced arrest and deportation proceedings for participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Editors note particular concern among international student contributors, though requests for content removal due to fear of consequences now extend to American citizens as well.

As India and Pakistan grapple with renewed tensions after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, a video of Pakistani Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan making provocative remarks in Pakistan parliament has gone viral, fuelling diplomatic ire and social media outrage.
In a fiery speech delivered in Pakistan’s Upper House on April 29, the senator declared, “The first brick of the new Babri mosque in Ayodhya will be laid by Pakistan Army soldiers, and the first azaan will be given by Army Chief Asim Munir himself.”
The comments, invoking the Babri mosque demolished in 1992, came as part of a broader tirade laced with religious and militaristic rhetoric. Palwasha Khan, a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and deputy information secretary, suggested that the path was being laid for a “Muslim government, specifically a Pakistani Muslim government, in the Indian subcontinent.”
“There is no doubt, this enmity is not with Pakistan or Pakistanis; this is enmity against Muslims and against Islam,” she said.
Watch video-

Issuing a direct threat to India, she warned, “The Senate of Pakistan must send a message, if any hand reaches toward us, then the symbol of their power, the Red Fort of Delhi, will witness a bloodshed that its walls have never seen, and its ramparts will testify to it for centuries to come.”
Khan, who represents Sindh in the Senate and previously served in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013, emphasized that Pakistanis were not weak. “We are not wearing bangles,” she said.
Quoting late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, she added, “We have guns, we have arms, we have trees—and if the enemy tries anything, we will hang their corpses from our trees.”
Despite the hostile language, she claimed to have no quarrel with Indian citizens. “But let me be clear: we have no enmity with the people of India.”
Khan also attempted to draw religious divides within the Indian armed forces, asserting, “The Sikh army will not attack Pakistan because it’s the land of Guru Nanak for them.”
She went on to praise Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who is a designated terrorist under Indian law. “I want to salute Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who courageously declared that no Indian soldier will be allowed to cross into Pakistan from Indian Punjab.”
Ending her speech with a call to arms, the senator proclaimed, “Our army is not just six or seven lakh soldiers, we have 250 million people who, when the time comes, will stand shoulder to shoulder with our armed forces and become soldiers themselves, God willing.”
The speech has since circulated widely on social media platforms, drawing sharp reactions amid the already strained ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.