Topic Reading-Vol.4115-7/31/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Beethoven skull fragments return to Vienna
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in December 1770 in Bonn, Germany, and died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria at the age of 56. He is regarded as one of the most admired composers in Western music history, and his works are still being played the most in classical music concerts. He had been suffering from ill health for many years in his life, including hearing loss and abdomen problems. After his death, his brain was preserved and his death masks were created. In recent years, scientists have been studying Beethoven’s remains to determine his physical condition and the cause of his death. Indeed, many people are interested to know what caused his death. Also, Beethoven himself wanted his body to be examined after his death. Now, 10 fragments of his skull were donated by a US man to a Vienna university for further study. The more we find out about his health and death, the more we might admire his works and life.
Enjoy reading the article about the skull of a man who died nearly 200 years ago.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66261623

Topic Reading-Vol.4114-7/30/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Afghanistan: Women protest against beauty salon closures
Since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, Afghanistan's women have been wholly excluded from public and NGO offices. Girls have been banned from secondary school and women from higher education or vocational schools. Women and girls are required to obey the strict dress code and are not permitted to travel more than 75 km without a husband, father, or male relative. They are compelled to stay at home. Also, they have been banned from entering amusement parks, public baths, gyms, and sports clubs. Now the Taliban ordered to close thousands of beauty salons across the country because it is against Islamic values to wear wigs and put cosmetics on their faces. Afghanistan’s beauty salons had been closed between 1996 and 2001 when the last time the Taliban ruled the country. After two decades of business, those salons are going to be closed again, leading to the loss of 60,000 jobs. Only a small protest took place in Kabul but most women and beauty salon workers remain silent. Indeed, the power of the AK-27, the Taliban’s favorite Russian assault rifle, seems to silence people.
Read the article and learn about how oppressed women and girls are under the Taliban’s rule.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-66244408

Topic Reading-Vol.4113-7/29/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Lean times hit the vertical farming business
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers in a controlled environment such as buildings, shipping containers, and tunnels. There are several advantages of vertical farming, such as increased and constant crop yield, location close to the market, quality, and economy, if it’s managed and operated properly. Also, because of its limited land usage, vertical farming is friendly to the environment, local flora, and fauna. In the meantime, vertical farming requires energy to control the environment, including light, temperature, and humidity. If non-renewable energy is used, it could produce more pollution and greenhouse gasses than conventional farms or greenhouses. There have been many start-ups that claim to use the best vertical farming technology, but many of them have failed. In theory, ideas and technology work. But in practice, it is still farming living things, which requires constant attention and care just like farmers do. Also, what to grow is essential to keep the business going. They need to choose what is valued and sold higher in the market rather than the ones they can technically or economically grow.  It seems that vertical farmers can learn some lessons from land farmers.
Enjoy reading the article and learn about what challenges vertical farming faces.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66173872

Topic Reading-Vol.4112-7/28/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Iran's morality police to resume headscarf patrols
The morality police, or guidance patrol, is an Islamic religious police force of the Islamic Republic of Iran. They enforce Sharia, Islamic law, particularly the dress code that requires women to cover their hair with a hijab (headscarf) and wear long, loose clothing to disguise their figures. Last September, they arrested and detained a 22-year woman for wearing her hijab improperly. Three days later, she died in their custody with bruises on her face and legs, which suggested that she had been beaten by the police. The incident sparked nationwide protests against the morality police, which lead to the deaths of hundreds and the detention of thousands by security forces. Since then, the deployment of the morality police had been suspended to ease the tension, but recently, their patrols resumed. Since more people now disobey the strict dress code, the strict enforcement of the dress code is questionable. How effective the patrol will be?
Read the article and think about what the next move is going to be in Iran.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66218318

Topic Reading-Vol.4111-7/27/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
AI can threaten your personal identity – but it doesn't have to
This is not really the first time that humans are threatened by technology. Manpower and horsepower were both switched to machine power like the steam engine in the 18^th century. Manual labor like putting parts together in an assembly line was replaced by machines. Also, skilled jobs like painting and sewing were taken over by robots and automation. Even tasks that require intelligence, such as calculations and forecasting have been done by computers. Now because of the rise of AI, especially generative artificial intelligence, people who believe they do skilled, intelligent, and creative jobs feel threatened. Indeed, education, skill training, and experience have been thought to offer higher value in the workplace. But it seems that those intelligent and creative workers need to move further ahead to learn to use and work with AI. As AI keeps improving and becoming more common in workplaces, people also need to improve themselves to keep up with AI and other arising technologies.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about how workers should deal with the world with AI.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230712-ai-can-threaten-your-personal-identity-but-it-doesnt-have-to

Topic Reading-Vol.4110-7/26/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Some 300 children drowned trying to reach Europe so far this year

It is estimated that nearly 2,000 migrants have died trying to reach Europe by sea in the first six months of this year, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration. Most of them died of drowning when their overloaded boats capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. Just in one incident in June, nearly 600 people perished when a boat from Libya crammed with hundreds of migrants. In a conservative estimate by the UN’s child agency (UNICEF), nearly 300 children died in the same period while 11,600 children made the crossing in six months, three times more than in the same period last year. They were all desperate to escape from conflicts and climate change. Those children are so vulnerable to violence, crime, and exploitation as many of them are unaccompanied or separated from their parents. As the number of migration attempts is increasing this year, swift and effective actions are needed.

Read the article and learn about children dying in the Mediterranean Sea.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/14/some-300-children-drowned-trying-to-reach-europe-so-far-this-year

Topic Reading-Vol.4109-7/25/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Remote-sensing satellite system to be built by 2030

The China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation Limited is a Chinese state-owned company that designs, develops, and manufactures a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile systems, and ground equipment. Recently, it announced a plan to deploy 300 remote-sensing satellites in extra-low orbits, less than 300 kilometers, to build a remote-sensing satellite network. Once completed, the satellite network will provide real-time, high-resolution pictures, data, and images that would be used for emergency response, disaster relief, and weather forecasting. This also means that the satellite network will be able to monitor close, precise, and detailed objects and movements on the ground, in the air, and above water. If the service is available for anyone fairly, it’ll benefit the world. In the meanwhile, it will certainly give China great advantages in business, politics, and military. The world is going to be closely monitored by Chinese satellites by the end of the decade.

Enjoy reading the article and learning about China’s low-orbit sensing satellites.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202307/14/WS64b0967fa31035260b8165d2.html