It’s the test with a capital “T” in global education. In each edition, the results of the increasingly influential PISA report become a fundamental guide in educational matters for the participating countries.

Hand in hand with his wife Winnie, Nelson Mandela left Víctor Verster Prison as a free man for the first time in 27 years. At the gate, a police cordon held back the emotional crowd that was waiting for the South African leader and that blocked the path of the car that took Mandela to Cape Town’s Grand Parade, the square that was jammed with the hundreds of thousands of other supporters awaited him on the day of his liberation.

Recently, Summit Media Entertainment’s Next Gen contest, sponsored by BBVA Compass and other local companies, wrapped up its months long contest which asked Birmingham City School students and teachers how they would make Birmingham shine bright.

International Red Cross Day is celebrated each year on May 8 to commemorate the birth of the organization’s founder, Henry Dunant. After witnessing war first-hand, the Geneva businessman wrote a book that inadvertently gave rise the the largest humanitarian aid society in history.

The BBVA Continental Foundation, in association with Fondo Social de Paita (Social Fund of Paita), the Provincial Municipality of Paita, the Local Educational Management Unit of Paita and the Port Terminal of Paita, rolled out “Leer es estar Adelante (Reading Means Keeping Ahead),” a program aimed at helping students build their reading and understanding skills, in 13 public schools in the Province of Paita.

The Sombrero Galaxy presents a mystery to astronomers, who haven’t been able to explain all the details of this intriguing formation. Rings of dust hold bright young stars and right in the middle of the impressive sombrero is a giant black hole. The 50 year-old light from this galaxy, which is lost in the Virgo constellation, reaches Earth thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, which turns 27 years old today.