OPINION: US is now at risk of losing to China in race to send people back to moon's surface

SEOUL, October 31 (AJP) - Will the next human to walk on the moon speak English or Mandarin? In all, 12 Americans landed on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. Now, both the U.S. and China are preparing to send humans back there this decade. However, the U.S. lunar programme is delayed, in part because the spacesuits and lunar-landing vehicle are not ready. Meanwhile, China has pledged to put astronauts on the moon by 2030 – and it has a habit of sticking to timelines.

October 31, 2024

OPINION: Amid the West's wavering aid to Ukraine, North Korea backs Russia in mutually beneficial move

SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently accused North Korea of plans to send 10,000 soldiers to fight for Russia in Ukraine. South Korean intelligence later gave credence to Zelensky's assertion, as the country's legislators noted that North Korea has already dispatched 3,000 soldiers to Russia. North Korea lending a helping hand to Russia is nothing new. The country has already provided Russia with significant munitions to supplement its de

October 30, 2024

OPINION: LGBTQ+ voters could swing US presidential election

SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election may come down to LGBTQ+ voters. Polling data shows that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are running in a near-dead heat in four states – Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. And as a scholar of LGBTQ+ politics, I suspect that LGBTQ+ voters could play an outsize role in these states and the race. So, how might LGBTQ+ voters swing these states? LGBTQ+ voting behavior, explained In the most

October 29, 2024

OPINION: US presidential election remains very close

SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - The United States presidential election will be held on Nov. 5. In analyst Nate Silver's aggregate of national polls, Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump by 48.6–47.4, a gain for Trump since last Wednesday, when Harris led by 48.8–47.2. Harris' national lead peaked on Oct. 2, when she led by 49.4–45.9. The U.S. president isn't elected by the national popular vote, but by the Electoral College, in which each sta

October 28, 2024

OPINION: How Elon Musk has become powerful figure in US politics

SEOUL, October 25 (AJP) - Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX recently made history by catching a Starship rocket booster as it careened back to Earth, wants you to vote for Donald Trump for many reasons. That includes not just what Trump will do here on this planet, but also for what he'll achieve that's outside this world. "Vote for @real DonaldTrump," Musk recently tweeted, "if you want humanity to be a spacefaring civilization." Back inside the Earth'

October 25, 2024

OPINION: Why more men and fewer white women say they will vote for Trump in US election

SEOUL, October 24 (AJP) - Donald Trump is leading Kamala Harris by 11 percentage points with male voters, according to a recent New York Times poll. Trump is carving out a definitive advantage with U.S. men. While Trump's core support comes from white men, he has also made notable gains with Hispanic-American and African-American men. Though Trump has repeatedly denigrated Hispanics and regularly uses anti-immigrant rhetoric, this has not been a deal breaker for the Latino commu

October 24, 2024

OPINION: Canada's tariff strategy on Chinese EVs- A misstep in trade and climate policy

KARACHI, October 23 (AJP) - Canada’s decision to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, with 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum to follow, reflects a critical moment in Sino-Canadian relations. From Beijing’s perspective, these measures are not merely economic sanctions - they represent a broader alignment of Canadian policies with those of the United States. Historically, Canada had pursued a more diversified trade policy, leveraging China&rs

October 23, 2024

OPINION: North Korea and Russia - Alliance of the weak

KENOSHA, October 23 (AJP) - Considerable media attention is directed to reports that North Korea is supplying troops to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine along with workers. In reality, this is simply the latest step closer between two already-close but weak partners. Both struggle today. Moscow’s assumption that Ukraine would be an easy conquest has proven disastrously wrong. As the war grinds on, significant numbers of young men are fleeing Russia rather than being drafted i

October 23, 2024

OPINION: Kim Jong-un sends North Korean troops to fight in Ukraine – here's what this means for war

SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - It is still unclear how many North Korean soldiers will find their way onto the killing fields of eastern Ukraine. What is clear is that the drive to recruit fighting forces from North Korea is at least in part politically motivated. But is it also a tactical masterstroke that will boost the Russian war machine's chances of a definitive victory? The political aspect appears straightforward. The use of foreign forces from an enemy of the United States de

October 23, 2024

OPINION: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's death is defining moment, but it will not end war

SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds behind the group's horrific Oct. 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, is no doubt a consequential moment in Israel's year-long war against Hamas. But is it a turning point? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar's killing – long a major objective of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – would signal the "beginning of the end" of the war. But he made c

October 22, 2024