Topic Reading-Vol.4911-10/4/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Million-year-old skull rewrites human evolution, scientists claim

Emerged originally in Africa and migrated to other continents over a million years ago, homo erectus was the oldest known homo species. It is widely accepted that it evolved and started to diverge into Homo longi, or “Dragon Man”, Neanderthals, and our ancestor, Homo sapiens, around 600,000 years ago. Also, Homo sapiens is thought to have emerged in Africa over 300,000 years ago and started migrating across Eurasia 100,000 years ago. It is assumed that Homo sapiens and Neandertals not only coexisted but also interacted and even interbred with each other. Recently, researchers digitally reconstructed a badly crushed million-year-old cranium of a Homo erectus that was unearthed from a riverbank in central China. To their surprise, it was not the skull of a Homo erectus but a Homo sapiens. If that is the case, these human species, Homo longi, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens co-existed for hundreds of thousands of years, much longer than previously thought. There must be many more human remains waiting to be unearthed around the world.

Read the article and learn about a revolutionary finding about human evolution.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx01ve5151o

Topic Reading-Vol.4910-10/3/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The Gen Z uprising in Asia shows social media is a double-edged sword

In recent years, there has been a wave of youth-led uprisings in South and Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka in 2022, Bangladesh in 2024, and Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines this year. They are driven by frustration over corruption, nepotism (unfair use of power to grant an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives of power elites), and bleak economic prospects. These movements weren’t led by political ideologies or social movements, but were digitally fueled by social media. Indeed, short video clips or messages go viral at lightning speed around the country and spark anger among frustrated young people to mass demonstrations and even violence. For example, in Nepal, large-scale anti-corruption and anti-nepotism protests by Generation Z students last month caused 70 deaths, destruction of government buildings, and the resignation of the Prime Minister. It seems unwise for those in power to underestimate the power of digitally armed young people.

Read the article and learn what angered young people in Asia so fiercely.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4ljv39em7o

Topic Reading-Vol.4909-10/2/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Afghanistan telecom blackout as Taliban shuts off internet

Since their takeover in August 2021, the Taliban have systematically suppressed human rights, especially those of women and girls, while facing a crippled economy and ongoing security challenges. Women’s public life and gender equality are erased, girls are banned from attending school beyond the sixth grade, women are required to wear a head-to-toe covering, and are prohibited from working for civil service or NGOs. Also, most forms of public entertainment are banned, including non-religious music, movies, video games, and even kite flying, a highly popular pastime in Afghanistan. In addition, since last month, the Taliban has disrupted fiber-optic internet connections to prevent immorality, which resulted in a connectivity blackout across the country. Not only people have lost connections, but also business activities, including airports and banks, have been severely disrupted. Without internet connections, people now feel more isolated and lonely than ever, which might have a greater impact on people than other restrictive measures that have already been in place.

Read the article and learn about the Internet blackout by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxqdy5nrlqo

Topic Reading-Vol.4908-10/1/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

CNS Fujian achieves milestone with electromagnetic launch of advanced Naval aircraft

Formed in 1927, the People’s Liberation Army of China is about to celebrate its first centennial anniversary. Technologically, it has advanced rapidly in the last few decades in space, in the air, and also in the sea. For example, Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier, and its first indigenously designed carrier. It is regarded as the largest and most advanced aircraft carrier outside the US. Though the carrier uses a conventional propulsion system, it is equipped with the most advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), which is used only by the US’s Gerard R. Ford. The electromagnetic launch system uses a linear induction motor to accelerate aircraft instead of the conventional steam-powered launch system, providing smoother acceleration and faster recharge while requiring less maintenance and less fresh water. Because of its linear acceleration, the launch system puts less stress on the airframe, which allows a wider range of aircraft weights. Recently, Fujian successfully launched and recovered two types of modern naval fighter jets and a twin-propeller early warning and control aircraft, equivalent to the US Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye. China’s proud super carrier is nearly ready to be commissioned. In the meantime, various navies are modifying or developing vessels that can launch drones, which don’t require a high-tech electromagnetic launch system. 

Read the article and learn about China’s highly advanced aircraft launch system.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202509/22/WS68d11b43a3108622abca230b_1.html