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Editor's note
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The leader of every country in the world is facing tough choices in the wake of the rapid spread of COVID-19, each one of them testing the mettle of their characters and leadership qualities. Richard Calland sets out six crucial decisions that presidents and prime ministers are having to make, and weighs what needs to be considered in each. They include timing around when to ramp up efforts to contain contagion, whose advice to listen to, where to draw the line on civil liberties and, the most difficult, how to strike a balance between saving lives and protecting people from economic hardship.
Amid the panic, fear and anxiety that surround COVID-19, glimmers of hope and joy can be found. Many people are turning to music and other forms of art to create community, relax and build solidarity. Michelle Langley and Leah Coutts explain why music is so powerful, especially in difficult times.
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Top Stories
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In happier and less challenging times: world leaders and guests pose for a picture on the second day of the annual G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 2019.
Photo by Andrew Parsons - Pool/Getty Images
Richard Calland, University of Cape Town
Already, we have seen a range of responses globally - from countries that apparently reacted too late, to those who acted relatively early.
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Abir Sultan/EPA
Michelle Langley, Griffith University; Leah Coutts, Griffith University
Across the world, people have spontaneously gathered on balconies to create music – and community – in the face of isolation and fear.
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COVID-19
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Olivia Fisher, Queensland University of Technology
It's normal to feel worried, anxious and edgy amid income losses, working from home requirements and concerns about loved ones' risk of coronavirus. But some people will need mental health support.
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Samuel L. Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder
Faith communities are changing many traditional practices to deal with coronavirus restrictions. An historian of the Bible argues how innovation has long been part of religious practice.
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Burtram Fielding, University of the Western Cape
Could the 1889-1890 pandemic have been the result of cow coronaviruses jumping to humans?
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Arend de Haas, University of Buea
COVID-19 could potentially be harmful for endangered great apes.
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Environment and Energy
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Piers Dunstan, CSIRO; Natalie Dowling, CSIRO; Simone Stevenson, Deakin University; Skipton Woolley, CSIRO
Biodiversity is often highest in places with human activity. The fishing industry has shown we can often have it both ways: maintain important livelihoods while protecting precious marine life.
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Jasmin Graham, Florida State University
You won't see a blue shark near the beach, but thanks to 50 years of tagging data, scientists are learning about their wide-ranging lives at sea.
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En Français
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Nacima Ourahmoune, Kedge Business School
La mobilisation du peuple algérien, depuis plus d’un an, est remarquable par sa ténacité et par son pacifisme. Et si ce peuple, dans son ensemble, était récompensé par le prix Nobel de la paix ?
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Mamadou Dit Papa Dieng, Université de Lille
La ville de Dakar ne doit pas être dotée d’un statut spécial, comme le souhaite le gouvernement. Au-delà de la ville, il convient de doter toute l’agglomération d’un gouvernement métropolitain.
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