Topic Reading-Vol.5288-10/16/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Why doesn’t high speed rail work in America?

China operates over 50,000 kilometers of high-speed rail (HSR) network, the world’s largest. The HSR network runs on newly built rail lines at a speed of over 200 km/h, some over 300 km/h. The network is almost entirely owned and operated by the state-owned rail transport company. Other major economies, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan in Asia, and Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK in Europe, all have HSR networks that connect major cities. However, the US has only two relatively high-speed railways: Acela between Boston and DC via New York, and Brightline, bankrupt yet still operating, between Miami and Orlando in Florida. While railways are more comfortable and environmentally friendly than driving or flying, why aren’t US cities connected by high-speed rail services like other countries? There are several factors that explain why there is no HSR network except for two in the USA, including lack of government support, politics, public need, geography, and user convenience.

Read the article and learn why most people fly or drive to travel in the USA.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/04/business/high-speed-rail-america

Topic Reading-Vol.5287-10/15/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Why billions spent on defense haven’t shielded Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds the world's second-largest proven crude oil reserves and is a leading global petroleum exporter. As the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia holds unique moral and spiritual authority across the global Muslim world, drawing millions of pilgrims annually for the Hajj. Under Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom has expanded non-oil sectors such as tourism, logistics, digital infrastructure, and green energy. Saudi Arabia spends over $80 billion on its defense budget, the world’s 8th-largest spender, owns state-of-the-art aircraft, tanks, and air defense systems, and has around 250,000 active troops. Yet recently, its key infrastructure, including refineries, pipelines, and airports, has been attacked by missiles and drones fired by the Houthis, a Shia Islamist political and paramilitary organization in northern Yemen. In fact, the vast kingdom, about one-third the size of the US, has been threatened on three sides: Iran from the east, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq from the north, and other Iran-supported Houthi rebels from the south. But why are the Houthis attacking Saudi Arabia now? And why is the mighty Saudi struggling to defend its key facilities and people?

Read the article and learn what is causing problems in Saudi Arabia’s defense.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/13/middleeast/saudi-arabia-defenses-yemen-houthis-intl

Topic Reading-Vol.5286-10/14/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

'Every museum in the world is stressing': How brazen art heists are affecting visitors

A museum is a place where valuable objects, artifacts, or chronological items are conserved or displayed for the public. It offers visitors the opportunity to see, feel, and connect with the original piece made or used by another human or a masterpiece created by a genius long ago. However, museums’ visibility, accessibility, and connectivity create vulnerability to theft. Lately, the number of museum robbery cases has increased steeply in Europe, including the Napoleonic crown jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris and Impressionist masterpieces by Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca in Parma, Italy. Museums are doing their best to protect their most prized pieces from theft while displaying them to visitors. They may protect their valued pieces better by keeping visitors farther away, using thicker glass, or showing replicas instead of originals, but such measures could change or diminish the visitor experience. Will AI and humanoids help museums protect valuable pieces from thieves while keeping a sense of connection with visitors?

Read the article and learn about recent challenges European museums are facing.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260930-what-the-rise-in-museum-heists-means-for-visitors

Topic Reading-Vol.5285-10/13/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

New York has a food waste problem. South Korea has already solved it

When organic waste is buried in a landfill, it breaks down without oxygen and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that traps much more heat than CO2, and leachate, a noxious liquid that contaminates soil and groundwater. In a circular economy, organic waste should be separated, recycled, and reused as energy. In 1997, food waste separation became mandatory in South Korea. Now, over 95% of residential organic waste is collected and recycled, and over 340 bioenergy centers produce electricity from food waste across the country. They are funded by fees residents pay each time they dispose of food waste into smart bins and also by government subsidies.

Following South Korea’s food waste recycling initiative, New York mandated that residents separate food waste and put it into a designated bin in 2024. A year later, the city collected about 9% of household food waste. Not a bad start, but still a long way to go. The government and municipalities can collect designated trash bins, such as garbage, cans, bottles, PET bottles, and plastic waste. But it is the residents who sort their trash and put it out separately. Indeed, food waste recycling is a collective responsibility that might be cultivated over time.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260916-new-york-has-a-food-waste-problem-south-korea-has-already-solved-it

Topic Reading-Vol.5284-10/12/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Russian search engine Yandex struggles after Ukrainian strikes on data centres

A data center is a physical space, building, or facility that houses computers, servers, storage hardware, and networking gear to store, process, and distribute digital information 24/7. It consists of servers, cooling systems, power backups with diesel generators, and security controls. Data centers are being built around the world to meet the expanding demand for AI. When a major data center becomes dysfunctional or goes offline, disruptions spread across digital services, business operations, and infrastructure, including streaming services, card payments, databases, search engines, government services, and military operations. To mitigate such impacts, major data center operators use multi-site replication and reroute data traffic and processing, but disruptions of some degree are inevitable. Also, it takes resources, equipment, manpower, and time to recover from the damage. Data centers are essential infrastructure for today’s lives, businesses, services, and operations, just like power plants. However, unlike military facilities, they are highly vulnerable to military or terrorist attacks, and they have become military targets in the Russia-Ukraine war. Data centers, undersea cables, and communication satellites are essential yet vulnerable social infrastructure.  

Read the article and learn how critical data center disruptions are to today’s lives and war.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c68xzqqn4ekro

Topic Reading-Vol.5283-10/11/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

US unveils sanctions on ICC in move court condemns as 'assault on rule of law'

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent, treaty-based international court established to prosecute individuals for the gravest crimes of concern to the international community, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Unlike the International Court of Justice, the ICC prosecutes individuals, including political leaders and military commanders. For example, Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, is awaiting trial, and Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been issued an arrest warrant. 125 countries, including the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Japan, are member states and are reaffirming their continued support, but not Israel, Russia, India, China, or the USA. Hours after Navi Pillay, who sat on the ICC's Appeals ​Chamber from 2003-2008, was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law, the US announced sanctions on the ICC, which will stop US companies from providing goods and services to the court. The US has already sanctioned 17 of the ICC's judges and officials, including the President of the court from Japan. The prize committee emphasized that the award was intended to support justice under political attack.

Read the article and think about what the ICC, the US sanctions, and the Nobel Peace Prize mean to the world.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj20vkkx3rdvo

Topic Reading-Vol.5282-10/10/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Over 90% of common household items contain hazardous plastic chemicals

How much do you think we are exposed to plastic? Most of the produce and food we buy at supermarkets or convenience stores are packed or wrapped in single-use plastics unless they are bottled or canned. At home, kitchens are filled with plastics, including pots, utensils, and containers, and toys children put into their mouths are also made of plastic. According to a recently published database by scientists, about one in every four chemicals they identified in plastics were hazardous to our health and the environment. Those chemicals are also persistent, bioaccumulative, and mobile, so they spread easily, stay long, and build up over time in the body or the environment. It is still unknown which specific chemicals are more harmful than others, or how much of these chemicals are contained in certain plastic products. We’ve been using more and more plastic wraps and containers for the sake of economy, hygiene, and convenience. However, even though plastics look clean and free from germs and bacteria, they are full of invisible chemicals.

Read the article and learn what plastic chemicals are and what they do to us.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/30/health/hazardous-household-plastics-wellness