Topic Reading-Vol.1060-3/7/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Hundreds of starving koalas killed in Australia

Starving to death or injection for euthanasia? That sounds very difficult to choose for cute, innocent and harmless wild animal like the koala. However, living in the wild isn’t that easy or simple because those animals have to find enough food to live, on top of the protection from poachers or predators. When there are naturally occurring disasters such as wild fires, floods or draughts, those vulnerable may starve to death. So do when their population grows to the level where the environment cannot provide enough food to sustain the population. That seems to have happened in southeastern region in Australia where hundreds of wild koalas were euthanized for the last two years. Critics are blaming the government for their mismanagement. Authorities are saying the smell of the dead koalas had been unbearable.

Enjoy reading and thinking what could have been done in the first place or to deal with the situation.

http://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-koalas-killed-australia-023426917.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1059-3/6/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Japan's hidden people: Ainu try to keep ancient traditions alive

There are people living in the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido. They are called the Ainu, who are native to the land before people from the Honshu Island settled in over centuries ago. They had kept their simple life style to live in and enjoy the produce of nature, such as hunting and fishing, until Meiji restoration in the late 19^th century. Now, though they are the indigenous to the island, they are a minority group with only a population of 24,000. Their cultures and traditions have been missed and language is nearly extinct with only a dozen or less speakers alive.

How come these people were put aside from the growth and prosperity that Japan has enjoyed for the last century and a half?

Enjoy reading and learning about the people and their lives in the northernmost island of Japan.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/09/travel/cnngo-travel-hokkaido-ainu/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1058-3/5/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

The front line of climate change: Alaska village must relocate as Arctic sea ice thins

Relocation of an arctic village because of the global warming? It seems so as ice isn’t formed as timely as it used to to protect this Alaskan island village from tidal waves. Although the effects of the global warming appear gradually, the impacts of extraordinary weather conditions such as hurricanes, typhoons, storms and heavy rains are catastrophic and devastating. Coastal regions around sea levels are already in great danger.

However, the problem doesn’t stop there. As a matter of fact, if the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets melt, sea levels are expected to rise about 80 meters. Should that occur, people, towns and infrastructures on coastal and inland plains would be underwater.

Enjoy reading and learning how serious and clear the danger of the rising sea levels.

http://news.yahoo.com/kivalina-alaska-climate-change-arctic-circle-global-warming-relocate-ice-184202379.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1057-3/4/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

The Mexican immigrant who set up a global drone firm

"It really is a land of opportunities," he says. Eight years ago, this guy was an immigrant from Mexico waiting for his green card, to live and work legally in the U.S. Now, he and his partner are the co-founders of one of the most successful drone firms, generating US$ 50 million in sales. The company has a factory in Mexico and building another in China.

While most of such tech engineers hold master’s or Ph.D. degrees, Mr. Jordi Munoz hasn't attended college. He earned his knowledge by google searching on the Internet. He also made his programming and operating system open so that he could get feedback from other enthusiasts at free of charge.

Enjoy reading and learning what could bring success in tech world, which he believes, “work hard, do the right thing and be honest.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31356080

Topic Reading-Vol.1056-3/3/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Shaolin pays A$4m to close land deal in Australia

What is Shaolin? It is a Buddhist temple situated in the forests of Shaoshi Mountain in Henan province, China. It is one of the four holy Buddhist temples of China and also said to be the first temple that institutionalized kung fu.

This prominent Buddhist temple announced that it had closed a land deal in a southwestern city of Australia to build a temple, hotels and a golf course. This sounds like a really complicated complex, doesn’t it? And why is such a prominent Buddhist temple making such a substantial investment in Australia?

Enjoy reading and thinking what is driving the kung fu temple to make financial investment.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2015-02/25/content_19653735.htm

Topic Reading-Vol.1055-3/2/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Filthy India air cutting 660 million lives short by 3 years

It’s that bad. The country is already shamefully labeled as one of the most polluted places in the world, having been named 13 of its cities on the World Health Organization's list of the 20 most polluted.

And now a new research shows that that pollution in not only urban but also rural regions seems to have shortened their life expectancy by as long as three years. This suggests that lives of the young are the ones affected the most. To make this situation worth, the country is pledged to build more coal burning power plants to power up 300 million people who don’t have electricity now and also to boost its economy.

Enjoy reading and learning how severe the present and future air pollution is in soon-to-be the most populous nation in the world.

http://news.yahoo.com/filthy-india-air-cutting-660-million-lives-short-101636775.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1054-3/1/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Amnesty calls on UN powers to lose veto on genocide votes

The P5. The permanent members of the UN Security Council, China, Russia, France, the UK and the US are the nations that can say no to any proposition at the council. The veto was exercised only in two cases in 2014, once by China and twice by Russia. However, there were other resolutions or actions to save people in conflict areas that could have been taken if there were no threats of veto power.

The Amnesty International is now saying the P5 should surrender their veto right on issues related to mass killing and genocide, instead of protecting their political or geopolitical self-interest.

Enjoy reading and thinking if it’s time to bring this controversial issue on the UN table to protect the lives of civilians of the rest of the world.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-31617141