Topic Reading-Vol.5095-4/6/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

What do Trump's latest comments on leaving Nato mean for the alliance?

The aftermath of World War II saw much of Europe devastated, while the Soviet Union-backed communists were threatening elected governments across Europe. To safeguard the freedom, democracy, and security of Western allies through collective defense, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was proposed by the US and established in 1949 with 12 member states from Europe and North America. NATO is a defensive alliance that ensures the security of all member countries, stating that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all members in Article 5 of the treaty. Of the current 32 members, the US’s military assets, intelligence, and budget surpass the total of the other member countries. For example, the US’s military budget makes up over 60% of NATO’s total defense spending, which seems to frustrate the deal-conscious incumbent US president. Another thing that irritates him is that while the US and most NATO countries have been supporting Ukraine in its defense war against Russia, even though Ukraine is not a NATO member state, Europeans have not been supporting the US and Israel’s war against Iran. Recently, he said NATO is a paper tiger, and he was reconsidering the US membership in NATO. This not only makes its allies reevaluate their security alliance with the USA but also stimulates other regional powers to redraw their respective regional maps. What will come next?

Read the article and learn about the US’s influence on the 77-year-old defense treaty.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79je4vldq5o

Topic Reading-Vol.5094-4/5/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The happiest day of an Indian bride’s life can lead to years of debt

Nowadays in India, even educated graduates have difficulty finding jobs, and middle-class families are struggling to make ends meet and often fall into a debt trap. (Vol.5093) Another financial burden the parents of a daughter have to bear is the wedding. While marrying off a daughter carries both joy and relief for her parents, they are expected to offer a substantial dowry, prepare and manage the lavish wedding ceremony, and pay the expenses, which, altogether, could cost years of their income. Even though dowry is prohibited in India, it still persists widely because it is still expected by the groom’s family, with whom the bride is going to live once married. It could include not just money but also furniture, a car, or even a house if the couple lives by themselves. Also, because weddings serve as a bond in the families, the community, and social relationships, hundreds of guests are invited and served at the extravagant wedding events that last a few days or even a week. All of these preparations are made and expenses paid by the bride’s family, and many of them have no choice but to borrow money at a high interest rate for years. Education raises expectations, inflation increases the costs of living, and a wedding could add years of debt. Even years of hard work might not be enough to live a comfortable life for many in India.

Read the article and learn about another financial burden that a girl’s family has to bear.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/31/india/india-weddings-cost-intl-hnk-dst

Topic Reading-Vol.5093-4/4/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Educated and employed but still struggling: India's middle class under strain

Education and the middle class sound like key drivers of economic growth, but not quite so nowadays in India. Over eight million college students graduate each year, only a few million shy of China, and nearly 30% of them are unemployed. Even among the graduates of 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), India’s world-famous premier IT and engineering institutions, almost 40% are unemployed, while uneducated people can find jobs much more easily, even though the pay is much lower than the national average. Thus, the number of middle-class workers and families isn’t increasing so much any longer. Also, inflation has been outpacing income growth, including rent, food, healthcare, and education. In order to fill the gap between earnings and spending, nearly half of all Indian families are taking personal loans. But borrowing money creates debts and an extra burden, the interest, which is higher than the inflation and often the income growth. Unless income growth outpaces inflation and interest rates, borrowers fall into a debt trap, taking new loans to pay off old ones. It seems that AI and inflation are eroding the illusion of creating a middle-class economy with education.

Read the article and learn about what hampers India’s economic growth.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg5g3pjy06o

Topic Reading-Vol.5092-4/3/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Frosting, sprinkles and layers of fun: Giant cake picnic hits Sydney

Initiated by a Google employee who works deep in the world of AI, Cake Picnic is a social gathering where people bring and exhibit their homemade cakes and enjoy seeing and eating others’ cakes, like a potluck party. It is now organized by the branches of CAKE PICNIC in many cities beyond San Francisco, including Los Angeles, Mexico City, Melbourne, and Sydney, and many other places in the coming year. At the Melbourne event in March, 1,600 cakes were exhibited and eaten. Once entered, the participant needs to bring one whole uncut cake of a minimum 20cm in width and 7.5cm in height, a label for the cake, including the cake’s name, list of ingredients, and any major allergens it contains, if any, and a cake server. On the site, cakes of all kinds, colors, shapes, and tastes are laid out, pictures are taken, recipes are shared, and compliments are exchanged before they are sliced to be eaten. The events are inclusive, and the participants are diverse, but they all want to share the sweet experience. Indeed, cakes are designed to be sliced and shared.

Read the article and learn about the sweet picnic where all participants enjoy the taste of.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1w40dy58vwo

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