Lidia Brito from Mozambique, the new head of UNESCO's science policy division, outlines her plans for helping to strengthen the role of science in both development and diplomacy. The full text of the interview appears in the most recent issue of TWAS Newsletter.

Globalization is a driving force in today’s world. And, not surprisingly, it’s a source of a great deal of discussion and debate, says William E. Rees, professor of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

"It's the landscape that defines the Mediterranean region," says Paolo Lombardi, director of the WWF Mediterranean Programme Office. "And we are treating the Mediterranean region's landscape badly."

The Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome, Italy, announces that TWAS has been selected to receive the prestigious international Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for helping to build scientific capacity in the developing world.

TWOWS, TWAS and The Elsevier Foundation are recognizing twelve talented women scientists from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean for their research excellence.

"China must move from a low-cost manufacturing economy to an economy driven by science-based innovation," says Wang Yuan, executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development (CASTED).

"We have a window of opportunity to put in place the technologies and policies that we need to curb greenhouse gas emissions," says Mohan Munasinghe (TWAS Fellow 1994).

Oil is not the only energy source in oil-rich Arab countries, says Farouk El-Baz (TWAS Fellow 1985). The region is also richly endowed with sun and wind.

Romain Murenzi, a key architect of Rwanda's efforts to devise a successful blueprint for science-based sustainable development after years of civil war and genocide, has been appointed the new executive director of TWAS. He replaces the Academy's long-time executive director, Mohamed H.A. Hassan, who is retiring.

"The rapid growth of cities worldwide marks a demographic shift as significant as the shift from hunters and gatherers to farmers and settlers that took place some 10,000 years," says Hans Van Ginkel, TWAS Associate Fellow 2005 and former rector of the United Nations University (UNU).