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

OPINION: What does China want from next US president?

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - During a Taiwan National Day speech on Oct. 10, Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te said that Taipei was determined to defend Taiwan's sovereignty against "annexation and encroachment," and emphasized that "China has no right to represent Taiwan." China's response was swift. Less than a week after Lai's provocative speech, a record 153 Chinese war planes swarmed and surrounded Taiwan during a Chinese military exercise over 24 ho

October 21, 2024

OPINION: 'The Apprentice' released so close to polls, this Trump biopic is inevitably political

SEOUL, October 18 (AJP) - "The Apprentice" – a new film dramatizing Donald Trump's business career during the 1970s and 80s – is the latest in a presidential election full of controversy. The movie charts Trump's (Sebastian Stan) professional rise from an awkward nobody to hotshot real-estate tycoon. Trump's Pygmalion-like transformation is credited to his friendship with Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Cohn was an infamous prosecutor who worked with Sena

October 18, 2024

OPINION: This year's Nobel prize exposes economics' problem with colonialism

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson have been awarded the 2024 Nobel memorial prize in economics for their influential work on how institutions shape economic development. Some would say the decision to award these scholars the Nobel was long overdue. The paper that formed the basis of their work is one of the most cited in economics. Acemoglu and Robinson’s subsequent book, Why Nations Fail, has also been hugely influential. These wor

October 17, 2024

OPINION: Moldova votes on whether to join EU as Russia intensifies vast disinformation campaign

SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - Moldova is emerging as a major strategic battleground in a fierce competition between Russia and the west. A Kremlin-backed disinformation campaign has intensified over the last few months, in the run-up to Moldova's presidential elections. One of the key reasons for this is that a referendum on EU membership has been scheduled for the same day, Oct. 20. The challenges for this small country, wedged between Ukraine and Romania, are complex. Russia co

October 16, 2024

Translators share fond memories of working with Nobel winner Han Kang

SEOUL, October 15 (AJP) - Han Kang, the South Korean winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, made her breakthrough in the English-speaking world with her first translated novel (her third in Korean), "The Vegetarian." Published in English in 2015, it was an immediate success, making the Evening Standard bestseller list. It went on to win the Man Booker international prize the following year for Han and her young English translator, Deborah Smith. In the summe

October 15, 2024

OPINION: AI was central to two of 2024's Nobel prize categories. It's sign of things to come

SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - The 2024 Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry have given us a glimpse of the future of science. Artificial intelligence (AI) was central to the discoveries honored by both awards. You have to wonder what Alfred Nobel, who founded the prizes, would think of it all. We are certain to see many more Nobel medals handed to researchers who made use of AI tools. As this happens, we may find the scientific methods honored by the Nobel committee depart from straigh

October 14, 2024