Europe’s cautious steps tempered by fresh infections in South Korea, Germany and China

In the ongoing struggle to address health care disparities in rural communities across the U.S., a recent Oregon State University study found that the perfect partner may be hiding in plain sight.

Why did Frontex, the EU border agency, abruptly cancel a successful anti-smuggling pilot program in Greece?

Beyoncé and the entire family has been cleared following the earlier scare

Boris Johnson will exercise "extreme caution" in easing lockdown restrictions, the Transport Secretary has said, as he warned the public not to "throw away" their hard work by going outside.

Singapore has reported 20 deaths and 22,460 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.

Deputy Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Khin San Yee, presented her country’s ambitious efforts to improve the investment climate at meetings of the OECD Investment Committee and Advisory Group on Investment and Development from 15-17 October 2013 in Paris.

Ministers from OECD and developing economies have committed to step up their efforts to promote responsible business conduct by companies in order to drive more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

OECD countries have made much progress over the past decade in helping immigrants integrate in society. But much remains to be done, notably in improving how well immigrant children do at school and in finding work, and in immigrant women’s access to employment, according to a new OECD report.

The number of humanitarian refugees arriving in OECD countries peaked in 2016 and governments continue to grapple with a humanitarian crisis. They should focus on helping refugees who are likely to stay in the host country settle and integrate in the labour market and society. This calls for a rethinking of both domestic policies and international co-operation, according to a new OECD report.

Socio-economic disadvantage and language barriers are the biggest obstacles to success at school and in society for students with an immigrant background. More effective and better targeted education and social policies are needed to help migrant children integrate and fulfil their potential, according to a new OECD report.

Current carbon prices are falling short of the levels needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, but even moderate price increases could have a significant impact, according to new OECD research.

The world must ramp up its efforts to use natural resources more sustainably and conserve biological diversity and the ecosystems on which we depend for human life, the OECD today told participants at the COP13 Convention on Biological Diversity in Cancun, Mexico.

A reaffirmed commitment to fighting climate change has set Canada on a greener course, but the country needs to quickly implement planned measures to reduce the carbon intensity of its energy industry, particularly in oil sands, and green its transport sector in order to progress towards its 2030 emissions goals, according to a new OECD report.

Australia has made some progress replacing coal with natural gas and renewables in electricity generation yet remains one of the most carbon-intensive OECD countries and one of the few where greenhouse gas emissions (excluding land use and forestry) have risen in the past decade. The country will fall short of its 2030 emissions target without a major effort to move to a low-carbon model, according to a new OECD report.

Fossil-fuel subsidies are environmentally harmful, costly, and distortive. After a 3 years downward trend between 2013 and 2016, government support for fossil fuel production and use has risen again, in a threat to efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and the transition to cleaner and cheaper energy.

Current carbon prices are falling short of the levels needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, but even moderate price increases could have a significant impact, according to new OECD research.

Brazil’s strong economic growth has helped cut the youth unemployment rate over the past decade to levels below those of most OECD countries. Increased investment in education and vocational training is also helping young people get a foot in the jobs market, according to a new OECD report.

Lithuania needs to boost job creation and reduce labour costs in order to help more young people into work, according to a new OECD report.

Costa Rica enjoys relatively high life satisfaction levels, but should do more to develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy, according to a new OECD report.

The role of international organisations (IOs) is critical in the development of rules and standards that can help advance the well-being of citizens in an increasingly globalised world.

The Phase 3 Report on Italy by the OECD Working Group on Bribery evaluates and makes recommendations on Italy's implementation and application of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments.

France should intensify its efforts to combat the bribery of foreign public officials. Only five convictions – of which one, under appeal, involves a company – have been handed down in twelve years.

Australia’s enforcement of its foreign bribery laws has been extremely low, with just a single case leading to prosecutions out of 28 referrals in 13 years. Cases may have been closed prematurely. Australia must vigorously pursue foreign bribery allegations.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery supports Spain’s efforts to further reform its Penal Code to bring its anti-bribery law into line with its international obligations under the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

Due to serious concerns about the extremely low level of enforcement of Japan’s offence of bribing foreign public officials – just three prosecutions since 1999 – the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommended in December 2013 that Japan establish an Action Plan to organise police and prosecution resources to be able to proactively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of foreign bribery by Japanese companies.

Israel is not sufficiently proactive in detecting and investigating foreign bribery, with no prosecutions over the past 7 years, despite 14 allegations of foreign bribery involving Israeli individuals or companies. The OECD Working Group on Bribery is, however, encouraged by the recently-opened investigations, and will pay close attention to how these evolve.

Finland has proactively investigated seven allegations of Finnish individuals or companies paying bribes to foreign public officials since 1999 but needs to address its discouragingly high acquittal rate.

Brazil’s strong economic growth has helped cut the youth unemployment rate over the past decade to levels below those of most OECD countries. Increased investment in education and vocational training is also helping young people get a foot in the jobs market, according to a new OECD report.

Ukraine has taken ambitious steps to tackle bribery and corruption across government, including public procurement and, law enforcement. It should now step up its efforts to tackle integrity risks and violations in education, such as unmerited grades, misappropriated school funds, and preferential access to schools and study programmes - according to a new OECD report.

The Dutch education system and the skills of the Dutch population are very strong overall. But there are concerns that too many people in the Netherlands are not developing the “right” skills to succeed or taking sufficient responsibility for maintaining and further developing their skills in adulthood.

Too many people from disadvantaged backgrounds are falling behind in education and future job market, according to a new OECD report. Educational Opportunity For All says that children, students and adults from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds receive too little support to succeed in school and in learning opportunities later in life.

The OECD/UNEP Global PFC group has published two new reports to support efforts in the framework of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) to improve information sharing at a global level on perfluorinated chemistries.

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LNC appreciates LCTC's efforts

Educational and business leaders want todays students both to master school subjects and to excel in areas such as problem solving, critical thinking, and communication

Current cancer control efforts in the United States typically are fragmented and uncoordinated, but taking a systems approach to establish a U.S. National Cancer Control Plan would address the challenge more holistically, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The U.S. is a clear leader in the global bioeconomy landscape, but faces challenges from decentralized leadership, inadequate talent development, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, stagnant investment in fundamental research, and international competition, according to Safeguarding the Bioeconomy, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Over the next five years, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) should encourage and be among co-leaders in the federal government’s development of an enduring interagency mechanism to address an array of biological threats – including natural disease outbreaks, accidental releases, and intentional attacks -- to deployed U.S. forces and to the nation itself, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) listens during a news conference in front of the U.S. Capitol.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

As we discussed last week on FilmWeek, entertainment industry professionals are among the hardest hit amid the stoppage of everyday work and life due to COVID-19. Whether you’re on camera or stage, or behind it, above the line or below it, production shutdowns mean that industry professionals who already rely on sporadic work as it’s available are left with few to no options for sustainable income. 

Last week, Congressman Adam Schiff and other members of Congress who represent areas with large constituencies that work in the entertainment industry sent a letter to House leaders asking them to provide relief for both freelance and contract entertainment industry workers. “The unique freelance nature of work in film, television, theater, and live music means that a large number of the professionals who make these productions possible work only sporadically—often with extended periods between paying jobs—and count on income from each project to make ends meet,” the letter said in part. “As a result, many of them can’t qualify for traditional unemployment benefits or paid emergency leave, yet will now be unable to cover their basic expenses due to lost work.” 

Today on AirTalk, Congressman Schiff joins us to talk about what relief both freelance and contract entertainment industry professionals can expect if the House passes the stimulus package that would provide financial aid to Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Guest: 

Adam Schiff, U.S. Congressman representing California’s 28th Congressional District, which includes Burbank, parts of Pasadena, and Glendale, and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; he tweets @RepAdamSchiff

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Consumers, manufacturers and government all need to take responsibility for managing the increasing number of waste mobile phones, according to new research. Results indicated that levels of copper, lead, arsenic and mercury released through the disposal of waste phones are potentially toxic to health and the environment.

A recent international analysis of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management has indicated that current practices will not be able to deal with future increases in WEEE. It calls for rapid, co-ordinated and bold responses that are both technical and non-technical to deal with this ever-increasing global issue.

Vast resources are required to extract speciality and difficult-to-recycle metals that are often only used once before disposal. Researchers argue in a new analysis that more must be done to improve metal recycling rates in order to secure our material needs for the future.

A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of efforts to combat environmental crime in the EU has been recently conducted. It highlights a number of opportunities for improvement, including better crime data gathering across the EU and enhanced cooperation between Member States.

Facebook has announced to expand its Community Help feature as part of COVID-19 efforts which will help people offer help to those affected by the new coronavirus pandemic, as well as donate to nonprofit organisations.