Topic Reading-Vol.2613-6/7/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Plastic waste dumped in Malaysia will be returned to UK, US and others

Ever since China banned plastic waste imports to clean up its environment last year, countries in Southeast Asia like the Philippines and Malaysia has seen a surge of containers filled with all sorts of waste. Even if they are all recyclable plastic wastes as documented, the sheer volume is way beyond their recycling capacity. But most of those wastes were found to be contaminated plastic waste or non-plastic garbage. In short, developed countries like the US, UK, Canada, and the Netherlands have been exporting their own wastes in containers to Asia. (covered in Vol.2579 on May 4)

So, last month, the governments of 187 countries, excluding the US, agreed to control the movement of plastic waste between national borders to combat the dangerous effects of plastic pollution around the world. (covered in Vol.2594 on May 19)

Now, Malaysia is returning 450 tons of contaminated plastic waste to their origins, like the Philippines is doing to Canada that shipped tons of mixed wastes in containers labeled as plastic waste for recycling. Where will all this excess amount of plastic or non-plastic wastes go eventually? It seems that the world is producing more materials and goods than humans can manage. Where is your shopping bag or reusable water bottle?

Enjoy reading and think about what you can do to the global environment.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/28/asia/malaysia-plastic-waste-return-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2612-6/6/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

North Korea: UN report says people 'trapped in cycle of corruption'

Approximately 70% of North Korea’s population, or roughly 17 million people, live on food rations. When food is rationed, it is never sufficient in calories, not to mention nutrition. This year, the ration was cut to nearly by half due to the worst harvest in 10 years which had been caused by dry spells, heat waves, and flooding. According to the food assessment conducted by the UN, the food ration was cut to 300 grams per person per day, from 550 grams. It is estimated that over 10 million people who depend on food rations are now suffering from severe food shortages, which is expected to last until the next harvest.

It’s hard to imagine how the food rations and other daily necessities are distributed fairly to all. Also, in this autocratic regime, there are numerous restrictions and permissions for activities and movement of the citizens that are administered by the relevant authority. When so many essential issues for a living are at the discretion of officials, what do you think people are forced to do to survive?

Read the article and imagine a situation where almost everything is controlled by the authority.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48432690

Topic Reading-Vol.2611-6/5/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What does the European Parliament actually do? One clue lies in your phone bill

The ninth election to the European Parliament ended on May 26 and elected 751 members of the parliament, who represent over 500 million citizens of the 28 member states. The election results seem polarized, while pro-EU liberal and far-right parties gained their presence, the center-left and center-right parties lost their seats.

But how much do you know about the parliament? What roles do they actually play in the EU? What are the other two pillars of the union, the European Commission and the Council of European Union do? What “groups” are there in the parliament and what are the relations and correlations with the political parties of their respective states? How high the voting turnout by election and by country?

By the way, when the United Kingdom depart from the union, their representatives will also retire their seats, which makes the total number of the seats to 705, unless a new member state has joined by then.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about this significant but vague function of the EU.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/13/europe/european-parliament-laws-phone-roaming-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2610-6/4/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Virtual kidnappings are rattling families across the US

Phone scams are increasing. Recently, 15 Japanese nationals were arrested in Thailand in connection with a large-scale phone scam involving what is believed to be hundreds of victims. Those scammers used phones voice over internet protocol to pretend to be customer service representatives and told the victims to make payments for subscription services. In other cases, scammers call old parents, pretend to be their child, and ask for cash to pay for their debt or compensation.

In America, a new type of scam is on the rise, called spoofing. It is a form of robo-calling that alter the caller ID  so that the scammer can make a call as if they are calling from a family member’s phone. Then, they pretend that they’ve kidnapped the receiver’s child and demand an affordable ransom that can be paid immediately without being checked by the authority. In order to convince the suspicious parents that it is indeed a kidnapping, they use personal information they find online, too.

Phone companies came up with a tool to identify spoofing attempts or autoblock robocalls. However, with voice manipulation technology, scammers may mimic the voice of a loved one or someone familiar just like in the movie soon. With the caller ID and mimicked voice, it might be hard to identify who is really calling.

Enjoy reading and think if you may want to establish secretive words or a number to identify your family member or even business associates.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/15/tech/virtual-kidnapping/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2609-6/3/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The aspirational generation behind India's bold China ambitions

The world’s largest election ended with a landslide victory for prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's largest political party, in terms of representation in the national parliament and state assemblies. He’s gotten another five years to run the young, fast-growing country. In fact, over 400 million people are aged between 15 and 34 years old in India. Also, of the 900 million eligible voters, over 80 million were first-time voters in the general election that took place in April and May. Indeed, young voters are essential to get more seats in parliament. Their interests may differ widely from their parents. They want jobs and opportunities for their future, economy over politics, tangible changes and improvements like transportation over social welfare. Indeed, under Modi’s “Clean India” mission, over 90 million toilets were built in households for the last five years. In the meantime, the Hindu-majority country has become more religiously divided than before under the conservative party’s ruling. Though young people seem to be realistic how much one person can make in the world’s largest democratic and the most diverse country in five years, there will be another 90 million new voters in the next election and the higher representation of the youth voters in the next election. Will the aging leader and politicians be able to further accelerate the economic growth to create jobs and future for young people?

Enjoy reading and learn about how India’s young people feel and think about the nation’s future.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/22/india/india-election-modi-young-people-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2608-6/2/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Healthy dog put down to be buried with owner in Virginia, US

Originated in Tibet and developed in China, the Shih Tzu is a toy dog breed with a soft and long double coat, weighing between four and seven kilograms. Emma, a Shih Tzu mix, was a healthy pet dog of a 67-seven-year-old lady who passed away in March in Virginia, US. The little dog was then sent to a local animal shelter to find a new home. However, the poor dog was taken away, euthanized, and cremated to be buried with the dead owner because of her last will.

It was a heartbreaking situation for the staff in the animal shelter who tried to persuade the will executors to save the dog’s life because she was healthy and would find a new home easily.

There is no legal problem killing pet animals according to their owner’s wishes in some states in the US because they are considered the owner’s property. However, even though the shelter’s staff had no choice but to hand Emma to the will executors, the vet who euthanized her could have declined the request. He or she might have thought if they hadn’t, someone else would carry it out anyway.

22 centuries ago in Emma’s homeland, thousands of terracotta sculptures were buried to protect Qin Shi Huan, the first emperor of China, in his afterlife. Though pet animals may be just property of the owner legally, they aren’t sculptures.

It is not clear how old Emma was when she was put down, but she was healthy.

Read the article and think about what you would do if your loved one left a wish like this.

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-48380370

Topic Reading-Vol.2607-6/1/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

National train ticket site adds waitlist function

Great news for railroad travelers in China during the busy travel seasons. During the Chinese New Year travel season, as many as three billion trips are made all over the country. It is hard to get train tickets for the destination at a desired time and day via any travel booking site or agency. One might try checking the booking website frequently hoping to find if any seat becomes available because of cancellation.

Now, you have an option to be waitlisted on the app of the China Railway Corporation. When the desired train tickets become available, you can get them automatically. Great news for holiday travelers. But you need to be preauthorized to get this service through facial recognition and prepayment. Is that troublesome? Don’t worry. It’s China. Almost any application, interaction, or transaction can be made via smartphone. The great technology platform of China may give a chance to desperate travelers to get to the platform.

One footnote. This wait-listing service is available only until 7 pm on the day before the train’s departure date. Is that too late to get things organized to go on a trip?

Enjoy reading the article and learn how things are getting convenient with smartphones in China.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201905/22/WS5ce5018ba3104842260bd272.html