Topic Reading-Vol.5318-11/15/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Rent-a-grandchild: Businesses offering companions to elderly grow in India

Many people feel lonelier as they grow older and have fewer things to do in their daily lives. Retired from their jobs, living alone, with no one to talk to. India, the world’s most populous country, has a growing number of such seniors. By 2050, the country with 1.4 billion people will have more than 20% of seniors over 60 years old. A 2022 survey found that over one-third of seniors who live alone feel lonely. In addition to medical services, nursing facilities, and carers, seniors need someone to talk to, go out with, and play a game with to ease their loneliness. Now, there is a growing number of businesses that provide these lonely seniors with someone to spend time with. They send verified and trained people to seniors by the hour. You may wonder if the seniors feel comfortable spending time with a stranger, but those who use the service seem happy to talk to someone who listens. As more elderly people live alone, companion services may become more popular in India.

Read the article and learn about India’s companion service for lonely seniors.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/8/rent-a-grandchild-businesses-offering-companions-to-elderly-grow-in-india

Topic Reading-Vol.5317-11/14/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

'Cruise for life' ship seized in Singapore

Villa Vie Odyssey is a 24,000-ton residential cruise ship that can host over 900 passengers with 370 crew members. Her passengers could choose to purchase cabin rights and make the ship their permanent home, or rent a cabin for a short-term cruise. She left Belfast, Northern Ireland, on October 3, 2024, for a 3.5-year residential-style cruise to visit 150 countries. As scheduled, she had visited Europe, North-West Africa, the Americas, the South Pacific, and East and South Asia before she docked at Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in late October. However, because of the skyrocketing fuel costs caused by the Iran war, the operating company suddenly suspended the cruise service and asked all the residents/passengers to disembark. About 200 stranded passengers had to choose to stay in Cambodia, move or travel to other places, or go home. The ship then went to Singapore and was seized due to mounting financial claims and unpaid maritime debts. Residents, passengers, and crew members all suffered from this suddenly ceased voyage that would have continued for another year.

Read the article and learn what happened to this around-the-world residential cruise.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqr7y7myer53o

Topic Reading-Vol.5316-11/13/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Meta rolls out automated age checks for teens globally

Meta Platforms, Inc. owns and operates major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads. Approximately 30% of the 200 million Facebook users in the US and one-third of 180 million Instagram users are estimated to be teenagers. The SNS giant has been under government pressure in various countries on youth social media access. In addition to a multi-billion-dollar legal settlement with the federal and state governments, Meta committed to take measures to restrict young users of its social platforms. Children under 13 years of age are banned from using the apps. The company also limits the use by teenagers to two hours a day, enforces a nighttime curfew from midnight to 6 am, and blocks push notifications during school hours, 8 am to 3 pm. In addition, it sends parents or guardians updates on teen account activities, including searches for harmful topics or contacting an adult. These measures seem effective at keeping students from spending too much time on social media. The question is how it verifies users’ ages after parental authorization.

Read the article and learn how the SNS giant verifies its young users’ ages.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/9/meta-rolls-out-automated-age-checks-for-teens-globally

Topic Reading-Vol.5315-11/12/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The water cycle you learned about in school is off balance. The consequences affect everyone on Earth

Water evaporates from seas, lakes, rivers, and ice, changes into water vapor, rises up into the atmosphere, and forms clouds, which then release the water back down to the ground as rain or snow. This water cycle significantly affects weather conditions and, therefore, groundwater supply, but it seems to have become out of balance. Last year saw over a 40% decline below historical norms in the total amount of freshwater stored in rivers, lakes, aquifers, ice, snow, and soils. Rivers were at their driest levels in many parts of the world, affecting water supplies for people, cattle, agriculture, transportation, and power generation. Also, slow reserves, including glaciers, snow, and ice, lost massive amounts of water, which will eventually deplete long-term water storage. The cause of such an imbalance in the water cycle and depletion of water supply is obvious, global warming. Now, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) is taking place in Turkey. What progress, if any, will be made to resolve climate change and water imbalance?

Read the article and learn about the water balance of our mother planet.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/17/climate/water-cycle-wmo-report-rivers-groundwater-glaciers

Topic Reading-Vol.5314-11/11/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

How we can exercise more without even trying

Everyone knows exercising is essential for health, but many people struggle to keep up purposeful exercise, such as jogging, swimming, or working out at a gym, because it takes time and effort. But other activities might provide some health benefits, called incidental exercise. It refers to any physical activity that is built into your everyday routine, such as climbing stairs, walking to or around stores, or doing household chores. These incidental exercises help you reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Also, even standing up, shifting posture, stretching, or even leg fidgeting can help maintain healthy blood vessel and blood sugar function in a sedentary lifestyle. With smartphones, you might be just sitting for long hours without moving your body, but your fingers and eyes. Every movement counts in improving your health condition.

Read the article and learn about the benefits of little movements for your health.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20261023-how-we-can-exercise-more-without-trying

Topic Reading-Vol.5313-11/10/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Delhi’s toxic winter air is back - is the Indian capital prepared for pollution?

Delhi residents suffer intolerable air pollution each winter, which is caused by a mixture of trapping weather patterns, regional geography, crop residue burning, and vehicle and industrial emissions. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI), the level of fine particulate matter in the air that could clog lungs and cause diseases, constantly rises beyond poor or even dangerous levels. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised to improve air quality during last year’s election campaign, and the Delhi government introduced a Winter Action Plan that came into effect from the beginning of November until the end of February. It includes entry curbs and fuel supply restrictions for high-emission vehicles, work-from-home schedules, and bans on dust-generating construction, demolition, and material transport. Also, the use of firecrackers during the Hindu festival of Diwali in early this month is limited to certified less-polluting types and only on two days. However, it is yet to be seen how much of these measures are implemented and how much Delhi’s air quality improves. In the meantime, Delhi’s residents wear masks, cover their faces with cloth, stay indoors as much as they can, and turn on air purifiers if they can afford them to protect themselves from the severe pollution season.

Read the article and learn about Delhi’s air pollution season.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm78p0n09q3xo

Topic Reading-Vol.5312-11/9/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Google will let schools turn off AI, but they may also lose Search

Before it integrated generative AI, Google Search operated primarily as a search engine and presented the most relevant web pages to the user's query. Users were required to search for relevant information and compare, organize, and summarize it to accomplish the task. Nowadays, when users ask a question or task to AI-integrated Google Search, it ranks and displays relevant websites, images, and videos, and creates a summary. Unless you ask further questions or clarifications, the task is completed, but you’ll learn little or nothing through the process. School teachers and educators are concerned that students learn less if they don’t work through problems and questions, and try to limit or even prohibit the use of AI for schoolwork. Then Google has come up with an option for schools to turn off AI. However, since today’s search engines are integrated with AI, Google's search engine will also be turned off if AI is opted out. It seems that while AI is revolutionizing workplaces, it hasn’t been effectively integrated into school education yet. Will AI solve this problem?

Read the article and learn about Google’s response to AI usage at schools.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/03/tech/google-ai-search-policy