Topic Reading-Vol.3313-5/7/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

India Coronavirus

A nurse's story of fighting the virus

Each day, India added hundreds of thousands of Covid infections. Hospitals are overwhelmed by desperate patients whose lives are in danger. Recently, younger people have been infected and carried to hospitals where there are no available beds, medical supplies, or oxygen. Medical workers are under extreme stress with not only the long hours they have to work for but also the helplessness and hopelessness they feel. Still, they are trying their best to save lives. Here is a story told by a head nurse in a hospital in Delhi.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56926119

Round-the-clock mass cremations

Despite their effort, thousands of people are dying as oxygen supplies run low and hospitals are overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients. When those patients breathed the last time, their bodies need to be cremated with respect as it is the most important part of the funeral rites for Hindus. But as the death toll continues to rise, cremation sites are overflooded by bodies from all over the place. Families have to wait and even help carry wood to burn their loved ones.

https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-56913348

Read the two heartbreaking articles about India’s Covid situations and think if people’s lives are as well respected as democracy and human rights there.

Topic Reading-Vol.3312-5/6/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What everyone gets wrong about cholesterol in food

Most of you know there are good and bad cholesterols. The bad one, so-called LDL cholesterol, can build up inside the arteries and could clog blood flow to the heart and brain. This LDL isn’t really all created by the food that is high in cholesterol but the saturated fat, which is contained in animal fat and dairy products, not eggs. In fact, eggs do contain cholesterol but if cholesterol intake rises, your body produces less cholesterol to balance because a proper amount of cholesterol is essential for your health and physical performance. The problem is what you eat with eggs, such as bacon, ham, and cheese that are high in saturated fat. Also, along with red meat and dairy products, processed foods and sugary drinks increase the risk of heart diseases. Now you know what not to eat too much. One easy way to maintain a good diet is to eat more food that doesn’t have nutrition labels.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about what the real culprit of heart disease is.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/23/health/cholesterol-versus-saturated-fat-wellness/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3311-5/5/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Space junk map tracks 200 ‘ticking time bombs’

Space debris is nonfunctioning human-made space objects around the Earth. Examples are abandoned launch vehicles, debris from the breakup, erosion, collision, and waste of spacecraft. Of over 26,000 individual objects in various sizes that are being tracked, most of them are rubbish. They need to be predicted their behaviors because they are like ticking time bombs. When they either explode or being hit by other space debris, they will become tens of thousands of smaller pieces. Since this orbital debris is traveling at a speed of over seven kilometers per second, even a tiny object will cause significant damage to a functioning satellite or manned space station once they collide. The more nonfunctioning and uncontrollable space objects orbit the earth, the higher the risk will be to hit functioning satellites for GPS, weather and climate monitoring, military, and scientific observations. Such risks are becoming even higher as more space satellites are being launched to orbit the earth and more debris is being created.

The environment isn’t limited only to the Earth, but to space as well now.

Enjoy watching the video and learn about how space junk threatens space safety and the environment.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-56845104

Topic Reading-Vol.3310-5/4/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Electric cars: What will happen to all the dead batteries?

More electric cars are replacing conventional fossil fuel vehicles, which are believed to be better for the environment. They are indeed carbon neutral while they are driven on the road. But at the end of their vehicle lifetime, there will be parts and materials that need to be reused, recycles, or dumped. For conventional vehicles, there already are established systems and businesses to take care of unused vehicles at least in developed countries. But there is something in electric vehicles that cannot fit the existing recycle or reuse systems, the lithium-ion batteries, which contain hazardous materials and require careful handling to disassemble. While some of the materials used in the lithium-ion batteries like lithium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel, are reusable, it requires energy-intensive processing to recover them from the battery. So, the industry and society are facing new challenges to make electric cars cleaner and safer after their lifetime. But new challenges are also the chance for innovation and new businesses. Fortunately, there is still some time before millions of electric cars will end their lives on the road. After all, electric cars are for the environment.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about the other side of the clean vehicle.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56574779

Topic Reading-Vol.3309-5/3/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Turkmenistan now has a national holiday in honor of its 'wolf-crusher' dogs

Turkmenistan is a Central Asian country surrounded by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Caspian Sea. The population of the Muslim state is just around six million and the capital city is Ashgabat, near the border with Iran. The country is rich in natural gas, which is the main source of national revenue. The reclusive state has been ruled by authoritarian President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow since 2007, who has been exercising totalitarian control over the country and people. His own gold-coated statue was built in 2015 at a major road junction in the capital. Last year, another gold-coated statue was unveiled, not of himself or any other person but a dog. The Alabai is a Turkmen-bred shepherd dog and is a symbol of national pride. Then, on April 25 this year, the first national holiday honoring the native dog was celebrated. The breed has been helping people of Turkmenistan guard their sheep and goats as well as their homes. It is surely a nice touch to show respect to their canine friend. In the meantime, people there seem to have been suffering from inflation and human rights abuses. What are the priorities to rule a country?

Enjoy reading the article and learn about how Turkmenistan’s dog breed is honored.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/turkmenistan-dog-national-holiday-scli-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3308-5/2/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The European Super League was three years in making. It took 48 hours to unravel

The European Super League (ESL), was a proposed annual club football competition to be contested by twenty prominent European football clubs. It was supposed to be formed by 15 permanent founding member clubs and five other qualified European football clubs for each season. It was intended to depart from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League which is competed by 32 teams each year. After three years of planning and under-table negotiations, the new elite club league was announced on April 18 but survived only two days because of the heavy and wide criticisms across Europe, including the fans of those founding and other clubs, media of all types, and political bodies and leaders of European countries. The ESL concept seemed to have missed what makes football so important for fans and people in Europe. Indeed, it is the fans that make the professional football league exists, not for the greed and pride of the club owners. Instant and fierce criticisms and protests made the club owners realize what mistake they had made all almost overnight., and all but two clubs admitted their withdrawal from the ESL.

A hard lesson is learned. Sport is business for those who make money from it, but fans are the ones that create the business. Though the fire was extinguished, the ash and remains will stay on the club owners’ faces for a while.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about the recent ESL fiasco.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/24/football/super-league-how-it-unraveled-cmd-spt-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3307-5/1/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Autonomous, artistic cars shine at Shanghai auto show

China is the world’s largest auto market, both for gas and electric, production and sales. Accordingly, automakers and soon-to-be automakers are presenting their upcoming technologies, concepts, and designs in two major biannual auto shows in China, Beijing Auto Show, and Shanghai Auto Show. This year, Shanghai hosted the event amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike the previous auto shows which exhibitors tried to woo and excite the visitors and press by performance or luxury, it was the technology and artistic designs that drew attention, such as 5G connectivity, autonomous driving, air filtration, and aesthetic design. In the old days, horsepower, sporty design, and luxury interior and brand were the catch of most auto shows, which later taken place by fuel efficiency, compact size, and electric power. The barrier to entry has been lowered as electric cars became popular. Also, IT is playing a much more important role in driving cars. Apple, Sony, and Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision, are the only few examples that have been working on building new kinds of cars. Another industrial transition seems to be occurring.

Enjoy seeing the cars that were spotlighted at the Shanghai Auto Show.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202104/23/WS608262d6a31024ad0bab9e79_1.html