PISA 2015 data show that, on average across OECD countries, as many as three out of four students from the lowest quarter of socio-economic status reach, at best, only the baseline level of proficiency (Level 2) in reading, mathematics or science.

This publication is the follow-up to the forum held in March 2012. It offers proposals to counter the effects of the earthquake shock, to secure the sustainability of the local economy.

Through the example of Abruzzo, whose capital L’Aquila was destroyed by an earthquake four years ago, a new OECD report recommends policies that can speed the recovery of regions hit by natural disasters, making them more attractive to residents, tourists and investors.

Mexico regularly faces a wide range of natural hazards, including earthquakes, tropical storms and floods. Over the years, the National Civil Protection System has improved its institutional and operational preparedness to manage these disruptive events. But more can be done to avoid future losses and at the same time support sustainable economic development.

The OECD event "Risk Governance and Resilient Cities" will examine how risk governance can better manage complex risks and how to improve the resilience of cities to these risks.

I worry about my brother Tom. He has Fragile X, the most common cause of inherited learning disability. He can't write, read or understand money. He refers to Covid-19 as 'this bloody flu virus'.

Nicola Rayner was loving her life and work in Buenos Aires when a night out ended in terror. She recounts the horrifying ordeal that almost cost her her life

I worry about my brother Tom. He has Fragile X, the most common cause of inherited learning disability. He can't write, read or understand money. He refers to Covid-19 as 'this bloody flu virus'.

Any concerns that the disagreement between Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane could develop into a long-running feud were swatted aside as Liverpool won 3-1 against Newcastle.  

The legendary actress, 85, also revealed that despite her great success, a career in film was never her intention after she was told she would 'never make a movie'.

By Uzmi Athar New Delhi, May 10 () Several NGOs working in the disability sector are facing severe financial crunch as most of the funds and donations they would earlier get has been diverted towards tackling the COVID-19 crisis.Prashant Verma, general secretary, National Association for the Blind, says he could just pay 65 per cent salary to his employees in the last two months due to financial crunch and if no fresh donations are made he does not have any money to pay his 120 staff members this month."We feel as if we are at the end of the line," he told .Verma said his organisation used to get grants from many companies under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and even from individuals, especially during March as it was the end of the financial year."But this year we didn't get any money.

Several NGOs working in the disability sector are facing severe financial crunch as most of the funds and donations they would earlier get has been diverted towards tackling the COVID-19 crisis. Prashant Verma, general secretary, National Association for the Blind, says he could just pay 65 per cent salary to his employees in the last two months due to financial crunch and if no fresh donations are made he does not have any money to pay his 120 staff members this month. "We feel as if we are at the end of the line," he told PTI. Verma said his organisation used to get grants from many companies under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and even from individuals, especially during March as it was the end of the financial year. "But this year we didn't get any money. Some of the companies, which even committed to us, are saying that this time they have to think about their own survival. Many individuals (who earlier donated) don't have money to support us. A lot of the money is ...

The top down approach of the Disaster Managment Act had its advantages but completely ignored local knowledge and ways of living. The need is for a judicious mix of the traditional and technological, argues Max Martin.

There is plenty of native intelligence among the people that is very useful in averting and responding to disasters. Planning for disaster management must see this as an asset. The top-down planning and implementation currently in vogue is a poor substitute for community participation, says Videh Upadhyay.

Spain's health ministry reported 179 new confirmed deaths on Saturday, increasing the death toll to 26,478.

Trump has been criticised as abdicating any leadership role in guiding the country through one of its worst crises in a century, leaving states on their own to grapple with the pandemic and even bid against each other to obtain critical medical equipment on the open market or abroad.

One of the most 'needed' things currently after protection masks, hand sanitisers are the next best thing to regularly washing your hands with soap. Due to the increased demand and lack of supply of hand sanitisers, spotting one at your regular

Last week Delhi disappeared. Just like that. Disappeared. Whatever could have happened to it? It was an enigma that had the whole country wondering.

As if launching a belligerent campaign against north Indians working in Mumbai were not enough, the Shiv Sena, even while lifting the ban on the screening of Shah Rukh Khan's My Name Is Khan, has called the star a traitor because of his statement that Pakistani players should have been included in the IPL a view shared by millions of cricket fans, in Maharashtra and elsewhere in India.

The displacements were a result of a combination of increasing hazard intensity, high population exposure and high levels of social and economic vulnerability, a report says.

Former president Barack Obama has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an "absolute chaotic disaster."

The United States is the worst affected country in the world from the coronavirus infection

The tank behaved like a pressure cooker, say experts

Obama cast the US response to the virus as an outgrowth of tribalism as he sought to emphasise the urgency of the November election

During his call with 3,000 members of the Obama Alumni Association, Obama urged his supporters to show their full support towards Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Among different types of polymorphism, disappearing polymorphism deals with the metastable kinetic form which can not be reproduced after its first isolation. In the world of coordination polymers (CPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), despite the fact that many types of supramolecular isomerism exist, we are unaware of disappearing supramolecular isomerism akin to disappearing polymorphism. This work reports a MOF with dia topology that could not be reproduced, but subsequent synthesis yielded another supramolecular isomer, a double-pillared-layer MOF. When perylene was added in the same reaction, the disappeared dia MOF reappeared with perylene as a guest in the channels. Interestingly, the photoluminescence of the dia MOF with a perylene guest is dominated by the emission of the guest molecule. The influence of guest molecules on the stabilization of the supramolecular isomers of a MOF opens up a strategy to access MOFs with different structures.

When a natural disaster strikes, it devastates lives and homes, and can even destroy a culture’s identity and history. After a disaster, humanitarian response is […]

The post Protecting Puerto Rico’s heritage from another disaster appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Residents of the southeastern United States might occasionally come across an oddity along a barbed-wire fence: a series of insects, mice or even small birds […]

The post Tiny, fierce and disappearing: breeding program aims to help the loggerhead shrike appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.

The increase in the number of children from low-income families who are receiving federal disability benefits for speech and language disorders over the past decade parallels the rise in the prevalence of these disorders among all U.S. children, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies six promising practices to improve health care for individuals with social risk factors for poor health care outcomes, such as people who are in a low socio-economic position, reside in disadvantaged neighborhoods, identify as a racial or ethnic minority, or possess limited health literacy.

Today the science academies of the G7 countries and seven additional academies issued three joint statements to their respective governments to inform discussions during the G7 summit to be held in May in Japan, as well as ongoing policymaking.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says that Medicare’s value-based payment programs could take into account social risk factors – such as low socio-economic position, residence in disadvantaged neighborhoods, or race and ethnicity – but any proposal to do so will entail both advantages and disadvantages that need to be carefully considered.

Assistive products and technologies – such as wheelchairs, upper-limb prostheses, and hearing and speech devices – hold promise for partially or fully mitigating the effects of impairments and enabling people with disabilities to work, but in some cases environmental and personal factors create additional barriers to employment, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The academic biomedical research community should improve its ability to mitigate and recover from the impacts of disasters, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Our ability to observe and predict severe weather events and other disasters has improved markedly over recent decades, yet this progress does not always translate into similar advances in the systems used in such circumstances to protect lives.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines to what extent and in which ways health care utilization -- such as in-patient hospitalizations, emergency department use, and hospital readmission -- reflects disease severity, disability, and ability to perform gainful activity.

While a variety of services and programs exist to support the needs of children with disabilities and their families, a focus on achieving specific near- and long-term goals that help prepare for adulthood and coordination of care within and across service sectors are integral to encouraging healthy growth and development, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should expand the requirement in its disability compensation process regarding who can diagnose traumatic brain injury (TBI) to include any health care professional with pertinent and ongoing brain injury training and experience, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Assessments of a person’s ability to function at work provide important information for disability determinations, and many validated tests are available to assess work-related physical and mental functions.

A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study that is now underway aims to identify best practices for collecting, recording, and reporting death and illness data during and immediately after large-scale weather disasters.

Summer is a chance for children and youth to continue developing, but for those living in disadvantaged communities, summertime experiences can lead to worse health, social, emotional, academic, and safety outcomes, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.