SciDev.Net

An African country is to host the World Conference of Science Journalists for the first time.

Biofuels from both food and non-food crops will be produced as a result of a research collaboration involving Brazil, Egypt and Sudan.

The Egyptian research community is set to get a boost with a new digital library and discounted access to top international journals.

Arab scientists are competing to win funding for inventions in a new reality television show created to boost public interest in science.

Morocco is investing more in science with plans to make universities financially independent and upgrade the scientific infrastructure.

Barack Obama has outlined a commitment to improving science and technology relations with Muslim communities around the world.

A state-of-the-art research facility in Saudi Arabia aims to stem the region's brain drain and promote nanotechnology research in the Arab world.

A project educating Afghan farmers to produce better potato crops has improved yields and increased farmers' incomes.

Bahrain is investing in large-scale science and technology projects in an effort to become an innovation hotspot.

A new forum for technology transfer will aid the sharing of homegrown technologies across the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The founder of a pioneering African science institute says prioritising basic health and education over science is hindering development.

Israel has re-established its science and technology ministry, separating it from culture and sport, and has chosen a scientist to lead it.

With the official opening of its US$800 million science park in its capital, Doha, Qatar is pursuing its ambitions for a high-tech future.

Arab states are facing many challenges, such as water scarcity and desertification, that will worsen with climate change, says a report.

Qatar has put its scientific back catalogue in an online, open access database in the hope of encouraging collaboration.

Millions of South Asians face water shortages unless steps are taken to cooperate on how water resources are managed, warns a new UN report.

The jailing of two Iranian physicians for communicating with an "enemy government" has sparked concerns over future academic collaborations.

A rapid tuberculosis test that can detect only one in a hundred cases has highlighted the need for regulation, say diagnostics experts.

The world's poor are likely to benefit from key science-related appointments in the president-elect's administration.

The US Institute of Medicine says global health — and health research — should become central to US foreign policy.