Topic Reading-Vol.5272-9/30/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Japan is famous for its spotless streets. So why are public rubbish bins so hard to find?

If you visit a popular tourist destination or walk down a street in a Chinese city, you’ll find countless trash bins, but hardly any in Japan. Still, most places in Japan are no less clean than those in China. But after consuming sandwiches and drinks bought at a convenience store or McDonald’s, where do people discard the trash? In Japanese cities, trash bins are only found at convenience stores, train stations, and service areas on toll highways, but not at public places or facilities, such as parks or museums, where signs asking visitors to take their trash home are put up. So, tourists end up hanging on the trash until they find trash bins. Once they find trash bins, they need to sort out which garbage to put into which bins, because proper waste management is a key part of daily life and culture in Japan. Waste is generally divided into several categories, such as burnable, plastic, PET bottles, cans, and glass bottles. Though you may feel it is a little inconvenient, garbage sorting is the first step to keep the societies and the environment clean.

Read the article and learn why trash bins are so rare in Japan.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260921-why-are-there-so-few-rubbish-bins-in-japan

Topic Reading-Vol.5271-9/29/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

US to build two military bases in Greenland under new deal with Denmark

Lying between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. The world’s largest island is icy, cold, and sparsely populated by about 57 thousand residents, 20,000 of whom live in Nuuk, the capital. Recently, the US showed renewed interest in this icy island because of its strategic importance for Arctic military defense, missile warning systems, critical mineral supply chains, and control over emerging polar shipping lanes. After escalating threats to take or annex the territory, the US reached an agreement with both Denmark and Greenland that allows it to build two new military bases and to modernize the operating space base on the northwestern coast of the island. Even though Greenland appears to shrink on the new Equal Earth world map, its strategic importance seems to have become more significant to world security.

Read the article and learn what has been agreed on the icy island.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9dr74g32g8go

Topic Reading-Vol.5270-9/28/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

How to minimise the amount of polluted air you inhale while exercising

Regular outdoor exercise helps you strengthen your body, refresh your mind, and improve daily well-being. When we jog or ride a bike, we breathe faster and more deeply to inhale more air. But how healthy is exercising along a busy street or in a heavily polluted city like Delhi? Invisible micro-particles like PM 2.5 released from traffic can penetrate into our lungs, body, and brain. You are also exposed to other pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, and even ground-level ozone, which are linked to respiratory disease,  cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cognitive function, and even reproductive impacts. Should you then wear a facemask while running, as you did during the pandemic, or stop exercising outdoors at all? There are other ways to reduce exposure to polluted air in a busy place.

Read the article and learn how to mitigate the impact of polluted air when you exercise outdoors in a busy city.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260917-how-to-minimise-the-amount-of-polluted-air-you-inhale-while-exercising

Topic Reading-Vol.5269-9/27/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

AI programs can interfere with key lessons of childhood. Here’s what parents can do

Anyone who has access to the Internet is now being answered, assisted, or taught by AI, including Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Apple’s Siri. They make our work, studies, and lives much more efficient. Teenagers and school children also use them to help with their studies and video editing, maybe more naturally and fluently than adults. Then what about pre-schoolers? They are still developing key social, emotional, and physical skills before starting their social lives or education. As younger children start using smartphones, they unknowingly get answers and responses from AI. But before jumping to answers or conclusions, kids should learn by guessing, making mistakes, or arguing with adults. It is not just a matter of efficiency but a practice of reasoning and learning. How should parents guide young children to use AI properly?

Read the article and think about how young children should be taught to grow with AI.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/21/health/kids-are-using-ai-wellness

Topic Reading-Vol.5268-9/26/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Qantas is retiring its A380s. Is it time to say goodbye to the superjumbo?

In general, the larger the aircraft, the more space and comfort for passengers. Debuted in 2003 and last produced in 2021, the Airbus A380 is a fully double-decked, wide-body passenger aircraft. The four-engine superjumbo can carry as many as 500 to 800 passengers, depending on the seat configuration, for over 17 hours to cover a 14,000 km leg, such as Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand, and Dallas/Fort Worth to Sydney. The superjumbo offers a stabler, quieter, and spacier cabin, providing comfort for long-haul flights to passengers. Of the 171 planes still in service today, Emirates, UAE’s flag carrier, owns 116. Qantas, Australia’s flag carrier, operates 10 but has announced that it will start retiring them from 2028, four years earlier than the original schedule, and other airlines with small A380 fleets are also planning earlier retirements of the aircraft when they receive replacements, Boeing’s 777X and Airbus A350. Why? 

Read the article and learn why the superjumbo is going to be replaced by smaller aircraft.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/13/travel/qantas-a380-superjumbo-retirement-goodby

Topic Reading-Vol.5267-9/25/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Asia’s fruit wars: The secretive world of plant invention and seed smuggling

Japanese premium, branded fruits grown in open fields, such as grapes, peaches, and pears, are vulnerable to theft. They are stolen right before harvest when their market value peaks. It is devastating to farmers who have put in hard work and considerable expenses to grow the fruits. Another kind of fruit theft is seed smuggling and unauthorized overseas cultivation. Dozens of premium Japanese fruits, such as high-end grapes, strawberries, and citrus fruits, have had their seeds or saplings smuggled and cultivated unlawfully in other countries, such as China and South Korea, whose climates are similar and suitable for growing these premium fruits. What can Japanese farmers do to protect the business opportunities of their premium fruits? There is an intergovernmental organization that helps protect new plant varieties, but it is not an enforcement agency. So, even if a plant is legally registered, once its saplings are smuggled and cultivated overseas, it is difficult to track it down, stop the cultivation, and get compensated. Legal protection is the first step to prevent proprietary technologies from being copied illegally. But scale, efficiency, and economy of production and distribution are essential to stay competitive in the same product category. Premium fruits may not be excluded from competition.

Read the article and learn how highly-valued fruits are being invented and copied in East Asia.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/19/asia/asia-fruit-smuggling-seed-espionage-intl-hnk

Topic Reading-Vol.5266-9/24/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Why caffeine makes some people buzz - and others barely notice

Regular coffee, Nescafé, espresso, Starbucks latte, energy drink, Coke, black tea, green tea, and chocolate all contain some caffeine. It doesn’t give you extra energy itself but boosts alertness, helps you stay awake and focus, and improves your mood and reaction times. While some people can slumber shortly after drinking coffee, others have difficulty sleeping even hours after their last cup. Why so? Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that blocks sleep-promoting chemicals in the brain and triggers a wave of alert energy, but how long it stays in the body varies by person. Ancestry seems to affect it to some extent, and smokers and regular coffee drinkers are found to be less sensitive to caffeine. Other factors also affect caffeine tolerance, such as medicines, pregnancy, and DNA. Knowing how caffeine-tolerant you are and how much your favorite drinks or snacks contain caffeine is one thing. Controlling the timing and amount of caffeinated food/drink consumption is another thing to manage your caffeine and sleep balance.

Read the article and learn what caffeine is and does to your body and mind.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gkd4zw564o