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

Topic Reading-Vol.5311-11/8/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Toulouse to Ho Chi Minh City: Five fast-rising cities that should be on travellers' radars right now

Created annually by Oxford Economics, the Global Cities Index is the world’s foremost city benchmarking tool that measures the strength, stability, and opportunities across the 1,000 largest cities, including economics, human capital, quality of life, environment, and governance. The top five cities in the 2026 Global Cities Index are New York, London, Paris, Seattle, and San Francisco, undeniable megacities where money and talent are drawn. There are also 28 cities to watch, where rapid growth and rising fortunes are expected in the coming years. Among them are Toulouse, a major aerospace hub in France, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest and busiest city, Warsaw, Poland’s historical capital, Medellín, the city of the Eternal Spring in Colombia, and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the oil-rich UAE. Unlike other overgrown megacities or over-tourism destinations, these cities are growing modestly without sacrificing the day-to-day lives of the residents. Aren’t they worth visiting before it’s too late?

Read the article and learn about five rising cities that might be worth visiting.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20261015-the-worlds-top-cities-to-watch-in-2026

Topic Reading-Vol.5310-11/7/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

If hackers can take control of a supermarket freezer, how vulnerable is other tech?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity that allow them to collect, share, and act on data via the Internet. While the technology makes devices, machines, and cars smarter, it could make them vulnerable to cyberattacks. In May last year, UK supermarkets were attacked by ransomware hackers, and their business operations were disrupted for weeks. Last month, over 500 supermarkets in France were hit by a major cyberattack, and the temperatures of their internet-connected refrigerators and freezers were manipulated, creating a huge amount of food losses. Earlier this month, a widespread wave of cyberattacks hit supermarket and grocery refrigeration systems across many European countries and spoiled large amounts of chilled and frozen food. As more home appliances, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and security systems, become connected and can be monitored and controlled remotely, they can become targets of cyberattacks. Manufacturers, service providers, and users of such connected devices all need to keep them updated to protect from cyberattacks. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckpqg8lve73go

Topic Reading-Vol.5309-11/6/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The high-tech efforts to restore ‘climate hero’ mangroves

Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees and shrubs that grow in tropical and subtropical coastal zones and tidal rivers. They survive in salty water by filtering out most of the salt through root barriers or releasing excess salt through leaf glands. Their dense root networks absorb wave energy, buffer storm surges, and reduce coastal erosion. They also store massive amounts of carbon, absorbing four times more carbon dioxide than the average terrestrial forest. In addition, mangroves’ tangled root systems provide safe breeding and feeding grounds for wildlife that live in and around them, including fish, birds, and animals. Mangroves are environmentally friendly, life-saving trees.

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is known as a global oil and gas powerhouse and growing hub for airlines, architecture, culture, and luxury. It is also continuing to restore and expand mangroves to protect its coastal environment, aiming to plant up to 100 million mangrove trees before the end of the decade. They use specially designed drones to distribute seeds while avoiding disrupting the ecosystem in sensitive natural areas. So far, Abu Dhabi has increased mangrove cover by over 90% in the last 35 years. Not all drones in the Gulf region are hostile.

Read the article and learn about why the desert capital is flying drones to plant mangroves.

https://edition.cnn.com/world/middleeast/mangroves-technology-abu-dhabi-spc

Topic Reading-Vol.5308-11/5/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Humans accidentally canceled the next ice age — but it’s no reason to celebrate, scientists say

An ice age is a long period of reduced global temperatures where thick ice sheets and glaciers expand across large areas of the Earth’s surface. It cycles between colder glacial periods when ice sheets advance and warmer interglacial periods when ice sheets retreat. The Earth is now in a warm interglacial period, and its glacial stage is in the Little Ice Age that began in the 16th century.

The massive continental ice sheet that covered North America 20,000 years ago shrank to a much smaller ice cap in northernmost Canada. But about two millennia ago, it slowly began to expand again, marking a new period of glaciation, an ice age. However, the ice cap suddenly started to shrink around 1960, when summer temperatures rose due to climate change caused by fossil fuel burning. Some geochemists believe that the reversal is a sign that the then-about-to-happen glaciation, or ice age, was halted by human activities. Some argue that the next ice age isn’t expected to start for another 50 millennia. Humans have most likely affected climate change and caused global warming. Have we also affected the ice age cycles?

Read the article and learn about the signs of ice age cycles.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/29/climate/how-humans-halted-the-next-ice-age

Topic Reading-Vol.5307-11/4/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Dead dolphins, naval mines: Russia-Ukraine war destroys the Black Sea

Dolphins are marine mammals that feed mainly on fish and squid by tracking them using echolocation, a built-in sonar. There are a few dolphin species that live in the Black Sea, but their populations have declined drastically due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Explosions of ships and drones deafen and kill fish, and spilt toxic fuel and other chemicals poison the water and harm marine creatures. Deafened dolphins become unable to locate their prey, and when they are too hungry, they eat their own blubber, which makes them even weaker. Even if they find and eat fish, they are spoiled. Dolphins are at the top of the food chain in the Black Sea, and they are too vulnerable to war pollution. Over 120,000 dolphins, or one in four dolphins, have died in the Black Sea since 2022. Even when the war ends, it’ll take decades for dolphins to recover their population. The ecosystem in the Black Sea is being destroyed more than what is seen on the surface.

Read the article and learn how badly dolphins suffer from the Russia-Ukraine war.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/31/dead-dolphins-naval-mines-russia-ukraine-war-destroys-the-black-sea

Topic Reading-Vol.5306-11/3/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Turkish foods: 23 delicious dishes

Sitting at the historical crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, Turkey is exceptionally diverse across ethnicity, culture, geography, and climate. Accordingly, Turkish food is a rich fusion of various traditions, including olive oil-based dishes on the Mediterranean coast, spicy flavors from the east, and hearty pastries from central Anatolia. Some of the popular dishes are; Piyaz, a butter bean salad, Ezogelin, a lentil soup, Saksuka, a vegetable side dish, Kisir, a bulgur wheat and tomato salad, Mercimek kofte, a red lentil nugget, Yaprak dolma, seasoned rice wrapped by vine leaves, Inegol kofte, grilled meatballs, Hamsili pilav, a baked rice dish covered by anchovies, Manti, small dumplings, Gzleme, a pastry with salty white chees, Pide, a stretched flatbread with fillings, Su boregi, a svory pastry with white cheese, Simit, a sesame seed-coated circular, twisted bread, Cig kofte, a raw meatball dish, and Baklava, a rich, sweet layered pastry. Food is one thing that you can feel the taste of local culture and traditions.

Read the article and learn about some of the most popular Turkish dishes.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/best-turkish-foods

Topic Reading-Vol.5305-11/2/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

When is premium economy worth the extra cost? We compare five of the world's best-rated airlines

When booking an airline ticket, each traveler has their own priorities and conditions: flight schedule, non-stop or connection, airline preference, seating, the Internet, services, meals, and of course, the price, including airfare, surcharges, baggage, and seat selection fees. When you book a first or business class seat, you’ll get comfortable space and a seat, enjoyable meals and services, and lounge access and priority boarding. But such luxuries come with a cost, a few times higher than an economy ticket. Now there is another class that is closer to some of the business class luxuries, premium economy class. It offers a variable upgrade from economy class, including wider seats, more legroom, upgraded meals, more baggage allowance, and preboarding priority. For example, the legroom of an economy seat is between 28 and 32 inches, while premium economy seats offer 34 to 40 inches. The longer the flight is, the more attractive such upgrades become. But these luxuries come at a price, as much as twice the price of an economy class ticket. Major airlines are adding more premium economy seats and upgrading their features to stimulate passengers to pay more. How much better is premium-economy class compared with economy class?

Read the article about the rating results of the world's five best premium economy airlines

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20261022-when-is-premium-economy-worth-the-extra-cost-we-compare-five-of-the-worlds-best-rated-airlines

Topic Reading-Vol.5304-11/1/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

China's families are now supporting more old people than kids

The population of China has been declining since 2022, and it decreased by 3.4 million to 1.4 billion last year, with 7.9 million births versus 11.3 million deaths. Since the total fertility rate has been around 1.0 per woman, the population of children aged 14 and under now stands at about 15%. In the meantime, the population of elderly people aged 65 and older has been rapidly increasing, and now it consists of nearly 16% of the population. China’s retirement ages are relatively early, about 60 to 63 for men and around 55 for women, compared with Japan’s 65 and older, another fast-aging country. As a result, China’s dependent elderly population compared to the working-age group reached 23%, while the figure for children stood at 22%, supporting more elderly people than children. As life expectancies increase, China’s working population will support even more elderly people for longer in the future. It’s not just pensions and healthcare spending, but also day-to-day care that increases the burden on working populations. Will humanoids help sustain economic growth and help care for aging people when the younger population declines? If robots can dance and play sports, why can’t they?

Read the article and learn about the challenges of an aging population in China.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr20wzwyzl1qo

Topic Reading-Vol.5303-10/31/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Cat food investigation finds heavy metals, pesticides and plastic chemicals

Most dog or cat owners feed their pets the same foods almost every day, which are produced and packed by pet food manufacturers. If the packed food is contaminated by harmful substances, they may accumulate in pets’ bodies over time. A US nonprofit tested 100 top-selling cat foods and found that all of them, dry, wet, and air- or freeze-dried, contain more harmful substances, including toxic plastic contaminants, herbicide glyphosate, and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic, than human food. Cat food labels show you the main proteins, such as beef, chicken, or fish, and other ingredients like fish oil, vitamins, and minerals. However, they aren’t as regulated as food for humans, and it’s hard to find which food is safer than others for your cat. To avoid accumulating certain harmful substances in a cat’s body, feeding various foods might help reduce the cat’s health risks, provided that the picky animal eats them all.

Read the article and learn how contaminated cat foods are.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/02/health/cat-food-toxins-wellness

Topic Reading-Vol.5302-10/30/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Why is there no word for please in the Nordic languages?

Language is a structured system of communication that people use to share thoughts, feelings, and ideas using words, sounds, writing, or hand signs. In English, you may say “please” to be polite or ask something, and “thank you” to show appreciation. In Japanese, they say “Suimasen” for excuse me, please, I’m sorry, or thank you. In Scandinavian languages, such as Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish, there are no words that directly translate “please”. Then, how do they show or add politeness when they ask someone to do something? Culturally, they prize directness and egalitarianism. People prefer to get straight to the point. If you still want to be extra-polite, you could say “may I ask for” in Danish, add “thank you” to the request in Swedish, or uplift the end of the request in Norwegian, of course, in their languages. When you are in a different culture, you’d better read the air, learn from how others say or do things in particular situations, instead of searching for a direct translation from your own language.

Read the article and learn how politeness is presented in Scandinavian cultures.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20261008-why-is-there-no-word-for-please-in-the-nordic-languages

Topic Reading-Vol.5301-10/29/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

'Powerful and beautiful': Here's why we all need body fat

It is well known that too much body fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. But it doesn’t mean that less body fat is better for your health. In fact, body fat regulates the body’s functions, takes up extra nutrients and releases them when needed, and acts as a layer of insulation. Also, body fat cells produce hormones that indicate the body’s energy level. When the body fat level is too low, the body tries to save energy and, in a serious case, body systems, including immune function, shut down. When the body depletes body fat, muscles are broken down, and bones are no longer built or repaired. Though it varies by person, age, and lifestyle, 10-20% body fat for men and 20-30% for women are considered healthy, while over 30% is excess.

Read the article and learn how body fat works in your body and affects your health.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260925-its-bad-for-our-health-to-have-too-little-fat

Topic Reading-Vol.5300-10/28/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack

Supermarket freezers are usually set at or below -18°C for general frozen foods and below -20°C for Ice Cream to keep the food safe and fresh for longer. At night, the temperature of these freezers rises slightly for a short period for defrosting. Supermarket chains usually manage such temperature controls by software. Earlier this month, a cyber attack hacked the temperature control system of several major food retail chains across France and commanded the freezers to heat up and stay hot. Hundreds of supermarkets were affected, and some freezers warmed to 50°C. Some supermarket chains disconnected their control systems from the Internet to prevent further attacks and investigated their security systems. Those affected stores had to dispose of the warmed frozen foods and restock their shelves. Food security is now threatened by evil hackers and malware. Weaponizing energy, food, and medicine is a serious threat to ordinary citizens. Once AI is used by a malicious hand or goes rogue by itself, how can we stop it?

Read the article and learn about a recent cyber attack on freezers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crq5nzxv9q4yo

Topic Reading-Vol.5299-10/27/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Think you can’t live without a smartphone? Why a flip phone might be an upgrade

Which device do you think improves your well-being, a smartphone or a dumb phone? Teenagers in the US spend eight hours on screens, about half of the time their eyes are open. Some people are afraid of not being connected to their social circles, and others cannot stay away from images or feeds that keep appearing on the screen. Also, we rely heavily on smartphones for convenience, such as QR codes, directions, tickets, payments, applications, and so on. The more we rely on our smartphones, the less we activate our brains. But will we be so technically disconnected, socially isolated, physically inconvenient, or cognitively dumb without smartphones? A young lady based in upstate New York, fed up with her smartphone soon after her 27th birthday, has been living without one ever since. What is life without a smartphone?

Read the article and learn about a life without a smartphone.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/11/health/living-without-a-smartphone-wellness

Topic Reading-Vol.5298-10/26/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

K-pop giants Stray Kids join BTS in boycotting the Grammys

Formed in 2013, BTS is a seven-member Korean male pop group that pioneered the modern global K-pop boom. Another K-pop giant is Stray Kids, an eight-member group formed in 2017. Both groups were strong contenders for the newly created Best Asian Pop Music Performance category at the 2027 Grammy Awards. The new Grammy category requires the candidate songs to use one or more Asian languages, and the award is determined by musical style and language, not nationality or ethnicity of the performers. However, BTS announced in July that they would not submit music for consideration in any category for Asian pop music because they believe music should be loved for what it is regardless of the region or language. Earlier this month, Stray Kids followed suit and boycotted the award, stating that their priority is not to aim for award results or records, but to make their fans happy and satisfied. Both groups are the two most dominant male K-pop acts in the US, and their songs have continuously been at the top of the charts. They may not need to be recognized by the prestigious award so much.

Read the article and think if the newly created regional award excludes or segregates certain musical styles or languages from the main categories.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5398kkx27ewo