Topic Reading-Vol.5091-4/2/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Arctic sea ice just dropped to an alarming new low

Sea ice has a significant influence on the global climate. Its bright surface reflects as much as 80% of sunlight back into space, keeping polar regions cold. When it melts, it exposes the dark ocean surface, which absorbs sunlight, leading to higher ocean temperatures and accelerating further melting. The Arctic sea ice reaches its peak in March each year, covering around 14 to 15 million square kilometers. This March, the Arctic sea ice peaked at 14.29 million square kilometers, marking the lowest maximum extent in the 48-year satellite record. This year’s peak was approximately 1.36 million square kilometers below the 1981-2010 average, about twice the size of Texas. Ongoing buildup of heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels has been warming the oceans, heating the air, melting the ice, and causing extreme weather events. Even if climate pollution is stopped, the Arctic will have no ice during the summer season within a decade or two. Where will polar bears live?

Read the article and learn about the impacts of global warming on the Arctic sea ice.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/26/climate/arctic-sea-ice-record-low

Topic Reading-Vol.5090-4/1/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

UN votes to recognise slavery as gravest crime against humanity

The African coastal slave trade was established by Europeans in the 15th century, and trade to the Americas began in the 16th century, lasting until the 19th century. The vast majority of the slaves were captured in Central and West Africa, transported, and sold to European traders, who then shipped them to the Americas as part of the triangular trade. It is estimated that around 12 to 15 million Africans were captured, traded, and forced to work as slaves. On March 25, a resolution to designate the Transatlantic Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and the enslavement system as the gravest crime against humanity was adopted at the UN General Assembly with an overwhelming majority of 123 member states. Three members, Argentina, Israel, and the United States, voted against the resolution, and 52, including many European countries, abstained. The resolution, which was spearheaded by Ghana and strongly supported by the African Union, is meant to safeguard against forgetting the inhumane practice. African countries also call for financial repartition, including educational, endowment, and skills training funds. The US said it does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred, and refused to use modern resources for reparations.

Read the article and learn what recognition and reparation of slavery mean to African countries.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg06q36052o

Topic Reading-Vol.5089-3/31/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics by new IOC policy on female eligibility

Men and women aren’t the same when it comes to athletic performance. For endurance sports like running and swimming, men usually outperform biological women by 10% or more, 20% in throwing and jumping events, and 100% in punching sports like boxing. In order to protect fairness, safety, and integrity in the female category, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that the women’s category of Olympic sports will be limited to biological females from the LA Olympics in 2028. The eligibility will be determined by a once-in-a-lifetime gender test, which would prevent transgender women and those with differences in sexual development (DSD) who have gone through male puberty from competing. The IOC believes that the gene test using saliva, a cheek swab, or a blood sample is the most accurate and least intrusive method available today. Critics argue that such gender testing not only violates privacy and human rights but also is flawed and inconclusive. At least, the IOC’s decision has come before a potential executive order by the president of the next Olympic host country.

Read the article and learn about the latest announcement by the world’s Olympic body.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/26/sport/olympics-transgender-women-athletes-banned

Topic Reading-Vol.5088-3/30/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

2026 ‘Dirty Dozen’ produce: Nearly 100% tested positive for pesticides, including ‘forever chemicals’

Pesticides are chemicals or biological substances used to prevent, destroy, or repel pests, such as insects, weeds, fungi, rodents, bacteria, and viruses, to protect crops and increase yields. Unlike organic or hydroponic farming, conventional soil farming usually uses pesticides to some degree. Exposure to pesticides has long been linked to health problems, including birth defects, heart disease, and cancer. Even if you aren’t exposed to pesticides, they often remain on or in the food you consume as residue. And some of the chemicals aren’t broken down in the environment even after decades or centuries, called forever chemicals. Leafy greens, strawberries, and grapes have more pesticide residues, while pineapples, sweet corn, and avocadoes are much less contaminated. But pesticide residues remain in most vegetables and fruits. So, whether they are skinned, prewashed, or frozen, you want to wash or rinse them thoroughly before cooking or eating.

Read the article and learn about pesticide residue on and in the farm products.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/24/health/2026-dirty-dozen-pesticide-produce-wellness

Topic Reading-Vol.5087-3/29/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Artemis II: Inside the Moon mission to fly humans further than ever

Artemis II is a NASA spacecraft mission to return humans to the Moon, the first crewed deep-space and lunar mission since 1972. The 10-day mission will carry four astronauts on a free-return trajectory around the Moon and back to Earth. The 98-meter-tall Space Launch System is powered by two rocket boosters and four engines. Combined with the Orion spacecraft that goes to the moon, it weighs approximately 2,600 metric tons when it is loaded with fuel. Once reached space, the astronauts will spend 10 days in the 5-meter-wide by 3-meter-high capsule, where they will work, exercise, eat, sleep, urinate, and defecate. When it reaches the far side of the Moon, the side cannot be seen from Earth, and the crew will have their prime three hours to observe the Moon, which will help NASA plan for a future landing. After the 10-day, two-million-kilometer journey, the cone-shaped, 9-square-meter crew capsule will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere at 40,000 km/h, faster than any previous human mission, and splash down in the Pacific Ocean. A gigantic rocket to launch and a long journey to reach and return, Artemis II is a highly demanding but rewarding mission.

Read the article and see the images of the first manned mission to the Moon in the last half-century.

https://www.bbc.com/news/resources/idt-86aafe5a-17e2-479c-9e12-3a7a41e10e9e

Topic Reading-Vol.5086-3/28/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Which countries have strategic oil reserves – and how much?

The Strait of Hormuz is a 167 km long, 40-to-100 km wide waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, allowing around 20% of the world’s oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf to the world, particularly to Europe and Asia. The crucial waterway for the world’s energy supply has been effectively closed by Iran for weeks, which has been under attack by the USA and Israel. The world is now sourcing oil and gas from other exporters, including Russia, reducing supply like South Asian countries, or releasing its reserves like Japan. Global strategic petroleum reserves (GSPR) refer to crude oil inventories held by 30 governments of the International Energy Agency (IEA) members, including the USA, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, France, Germany, and the UK, along with major importers like China and India. It held over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks and 600 million barrels of industry stocks held by private organizations, equivalent to a few months’ consumption. Which countries have such oil reserves, and how much?

Read the article and learn how the world has prepared for oil shortages like now.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/23/which-countries-have-strategic-oil-reserves-and-how-much

Topic Reading-Vol.5085-3/27/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Parents think they know how kids use AI. They don't

Every decade or so, we’ve had technological breakthroughs, such as PCs and keyboards from the mid-1980s, cellphones after the late 1990s, Google searches in the early 2000s, and smartphones around 2010. Teenagers are usually early and aggressive adopters of new technologies and practices, and use new gadgets more fluently and aggressively than their parents, who have no choice but to accept or neglect how their children engage with their new tools. Now, AI, a silent and invisible yet influential tool, has become the closest companion of today’s children and teenagers. According to newly conducted studies, most US teenagers use AI chatbots for practical purposes, such as searching for information, getting help with schoolwork, entertaining themselves, summarizing an article or video, or creating or editing images or videos. In the meantime, about 16% of the respondents said they use it for casual conversation, and 12% said they use it for advice or emotional support. While they seem quite comfortable using AI for various purposes, their parents are more sceptical about their reliance on their artificial companions. Since it’s no news that children become more familiar with new technologies, parents should try to talk more with their children about the use of AI.

Read the article and learn about how children are actually using AI.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260317-how-kids-are-actually-using-ai