The Durban Declaration, highlight of the closing ceremony of the TWAS 11th General Conference, urges negotiators at the climate change conference scheduled to take place in Copenhagen this December to "fully consider the impact of climate change on food, energy and water security" issues that will prove vital to the South's efforts to adapt to climate change and "continue on the path of sustainable development".

“We must use science to bring development to countries that are most in need”, says Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology. The Minister made her remarks at the opening ceremony of the 20th General Meeting and 11th General Conference in Durban, South Africa. More than 400 scientists were in attendance.

TWAS has announced the winners of the TWAS Prizes for 2009 at the Academy's 20th General Meeting in Durban, South Africa. Each prize is endowed with USD15,000. The winners will be presented their prizes and asked to lecture about their research at TWAS's 21th General Meeting in Hyderabad in 2010.

Pramod Kumar Aggarwal from India and Carlos Clemente Cerri from Brazil are honoured for their pioneering work on the intricate relationship between agriculture, climate and the environment.

The recipients of the 2009 TWAS Medals – awarded in recognition of significant contributions to a research field – lectured about key aspects of their work at the Academy's 11th General Conference in Durban, South Africa. This year's Medal Lecturers are: Wieland Gevers (South Africa), Li Zhensheng (China) and Sergio Rezende (Brazil).

TWAS has awarded its first Regional Prizes for Building Scientific Institutions. The awards ceremony will take place at the TWAS 20th General Meeting in Durban, South Africa.

In cooperation with its Regional Offices, TWAS has selected 25 new Young Affiliates for 2009–2013.

The 2008 TWAS Prizes were presented to the recipients at the Academy's 11th General Conference and 20th General Meeting in Durban, South Africa.

After two decades of war, international sanctions and dictatorship, Iraq is beginning to rebuild its science base, as academics who fled the country are now slowly coming back home. In the latest issue of the TWAS Newsletter, TWAS Fellowship recipient Fouad Majeed, who returned to Iraq after nearly four years in Italy and Brazil, tells how his country is now looking towards the future.

Boosting agricultural research in the developing world is the key to ensuring food security for the world's poorest, says Adel El-Beltagy (TWAS Fellow 2005), Chair of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), writing in the latest issue of the TWAS Newsletter.