Germany and China are planning a big expansion of joint research and investment in green technologies, including production of electric cars in China and development of carbon-capture systems. A series of business and inter-governmental agreements were signed between the world’s two largest exporters in Berlin on Tuesday.

In a joint statement released by the SA and Swiss parties, the future bilateral cooperation strategy in the fields of science, technology and innovation were discussed. The statement also said with the appointment of a science and technology counsellor to the Swiss Embassy, in Pretoria in April 2010, an important hub was set up to help promote and expand cooperation between Switzerland and SA.

As part of an ongoing initiative by the British Council to explore how people all over the world can live peacefully amidst growing diversity- the Middle East's first Belief in Dialogue conference will focus on the convergence of science, culture and faith and will engage participants in a meaningful way about how these distinct yet linked forces are shaping the future of the region.

The website, which will be called Wikiflora.org, is intended to allow high-school students and other internet users to get involved in mapping the country’s vast biodiversity. Brazil’s Ministry of Science and Technology has reached an agreement with IBM to develop the website through the use of ‘citizen science’.

Guerrilla Diplomacy’s central argument, in its most highly distilled form, is that if development has in large part become the new security in the age of globalization, then diplomacy must displace defence at the centre of international policy.

The United States in 2003 committed $15 billion over five years to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Although not labeled as such, this is public diplomacy as it should be done. It is about service, not advertising. It improves (and protects) people’s lives, and as a result wins friends and serves the diplomatic interests of the United States.

Thirty years ago this month, the first cases of what was to become known as AIDS were diagnosed. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 25 million persons have died from AIDS. More than 60 million people have been infected, and in southern Africa alone there are 14 million children orphaned because of AIDS.

The United States and Germany highly value science and technology (S&T); both have committed to spend 3% of GDP on S&T research and development. More than 50 bilateral cooperation agreements exist between U.S. and German government agencies and scientific institutions along with over 1,500 university partnerships.