Topic Reading-Vol.4153-9/7/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,   

Only one third of young South Koreans feel positively about marriage, survey finds

South Korea’s fertility rate, 0.78 last year, is the lowest in the world. As the cost of living, especially in and around Seoul is too expensive for even upper-middle families, forming a family and raising children is increasingly burdensome. Also, South Korea’s society puts so much emphasis on education and careers that many women delay or forgo getting married or having children. Culturally, women are expected to bear the household and childbearing roles. In addition, South Korean society is becoming more and more individualistic, and people are less likely to want to have children if they feel that it will compromise their personal freedom. And while married couples are expected to have a child, single parentship is still frowned upon in society. So, there are too many reasons for South Korean women to stay away from becoming a wife or parent. In fact, a new government survey found that only 28% of the female respondents aged between 19 and 34, had a positive perception of marriage. What will young South Koreans do in the future?

Read the article and learn about South Korea’s underlying social problems.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/29/asia/south-korea-marriage-kids-kostat-survey-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4152-9/6/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,   
Google tests watermark to identify AI images
Visible watermarks, or transparent watermarks are usually placed on the original image to showcase who the digital property belongs to. On the other hand, digital watermarking is the process of inserting invisible information (a signal) into a component or digitally transmitted data. It can be detected by a computer algorithm to prove the authenticity and integrity of the component or the transmitted data. As AI technology evolves and AI image generators become more popular, it is increasingly becoming more difficult to tell if the image is created by humans or AI unless it is watermarked. So, Google is testing a digital watermark to spot images made by its image generator, Imagen, to identify the copyright of the digitally created image. Indeed, as AI and other digital tools become more sophisticated, the validity of the watermark needs to be ensured whether the artwork is created by whom or AI.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about watermarks on digital artworks.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66618852

Topic Reading-Vol.4151-9/5/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

A new scooter every 90 seconds. India’s EV revolution has begun
India is not just a home for 1.4 billion residents, but it is also the world’s largest market for two and three-wheeler vehicles, or motorcycles and tricycles. As public transportation still lags far behind the growing need for personal mobility, there are as many as 250 million such personal transportation vehicles on the road. But India is also known for poor air quality because of waste burning, coal-fueled power plants, biomass burning for cooking, and vehicle emissions. So, the government subsidizes the purchase and use of electric vehicles by narrowing the price gap with fossil-fuel wheelers. As people realized the economic benefits of going electric, sales of electric two and three-wheelers are surging. Now, there are a number of start-up e-vehicle manufacturers trying to take advantage of this golden opportunity. For example, an electric scooter manufacturer near Bangalore, India’s tech hub, produces a new scooter every 90 seconds. Once they’ve developed efficient and competitive production and marketing know-how, they would most likely go to other developing markets, just like Chinese e-vehicle manufacturers have been doing. Another seed and evidence of the global south.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about how India’s e-vehicle market is growing.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/22/business/india-electric-vehicles-push-challenges-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4150-9/4/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,    

France to ban female students from wearing abayas in state schools

France has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th-century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education. French public schools do not permit the wearing of large crosses, Jewish kippas, or Islamic headscarves. In 2004, the country banned headscarves in schools, and in 2010, it passed a ban on full-face veils in public, angering many in its five million-strong Muslim community. Now, the newly-appointed 34-year-old education minister announced that students are banned from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting full-length robe worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools from the new school year. He says secularism ensures people social or political freedom and rights through school. The ban has been supported by the rightists while being opposed by the leftists. So, what should those Muslim students wear in the new school year? Isn’t hijab or abaya part of personal identity like other clothing?

Read the article and think about what secularism means to students.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66634890

Topic Reading-Vol.4149-9/3/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,   
Climate change: Thousands of penguins die in Antarctic ice breakup
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest living penguin species that live in Antarctica. Their breeding colonies are on stable pack ice near the coast and up to 18 km offshore. But as summer sea ice diminishes, whether forming later or breaking up earlier due to global warming, their breeding colonies have been threatened. Last year, EU satellites observed a sudden disappearance in emperor penguins' excrement that they had left on the white sea ice when the sea ice beneath broke off and drifted away. Thousands of emperor chicks are feared to have been drowned to death as it occurred in November before they had fledged the slick feathers needed for swimming. (See the photos) It seems that global warming has changed the environment for emperor penguins. They now need to adjust their breeding cycle or relocate their breeding colonies deeper inland for survival. However, adjusting the breeding cycle may take years. Also, if they move further inland, it gets too cold to keep their eggs warm and too difficult to travel to sea to catch fish. They may become endangered unless they make the necessary changes and/or the circumstances improve fast enough.
Read the article and learn how global warming is affecting the lives of vulnerable emperor penguins in Antarctica.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66492767

Topic Reading-Vol.4148-9/2/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 
$2 to cut a sandwich in half: The outrageous rip-offs targeting tourists in Italy
While the number of money-spending Russian tourists declined, more American and Asian vacationers visited Italy this summer than in pre-pandemic years despite the inflated airfare and room rates. In fact, popular tourist destinations in Italy attracted many eager international travelers who had been waiting for the chance during the pandemic. Then hotels, restaurants, and cafes were all ready to make the most money for anything and at every opportunity they served. For example, a couple was charged 2 euros to have their sandwich cut in half, and a mother was billed 2 euros to have her baby’s milk bottle warmed in the microwave in popular tourist places. Even though Italian restaurants and cafes are known as price gougers, this summer’s price hike was too much even for Italian vacationers and made them travel abroad or shorten their vacation schedules. Some of those in Italy’s hospitality industry don’t seem to expect return customers by their services or worry about their reputations. Indeed, ancient monuments and beautiful sceneries may justify the premium over already-high prices, at least to foreign visitors.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about how expensive it is to travel to Italy.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/outrageous-charges-targeting-tourists-in-italy/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4147-9/1/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Everything you need to know about ETIAS and Europe’s city taxes

In 2009, the US introduced the Electric System for Travel Authorization, ESTA, an automated system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States for 90 days or less under the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of 41 countries including the UK, Japan, and Singapore. The travelers who are eligible for ESTA do not need to apply for a visa but still have to pay $21 for two years. Now, the European Union is launching its own visa waiver program called the European Travel Information and Authorization System, ETIAS, starting next year. It’ll allow visitors from 61 non-EU countries to apply for a visa waiver program. The process should take less than 15 minutes online for most applicants while visas generally take up to two weeks to process with an application fee of €7, roughly $7.70 for three years. So, compared to the US’s ESTA, the European visa waiver program costs less and lasts longer. However, there are other tourist taxes in popular destinations in continental Europe, such as Paris, Venice, and Amsterdam, and more to come. Indeed, there are variable costs incurred by visitors to the local community, such as traffic control, trash collection, toilet maintenance, and street cleaning. Those who visit popular places in Europe to enjoy themselves there seem to pay more from next year and beyond.

Enjoy reading the article and learning about Europe’s visa waiver program.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/etias-europe-tourist-taxes-explained/index.html