As the new coronavirus disrupts “business as usual” around the world, and as the death toll mounts, governments are also having to counter propaganda and disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. In African countries, authorities have come down hard on disseminators of “fake news”. But, as Ashwanee Budoo warns, they must not use crackdowns on false reports as an excuse to go after those who are simply holding governments to account.
Most of the leopards in southern Africa live outside formally protected areas. Not only does overexploitation reduce their numbers, but it also disrupts their dispersal behaviour. Vincent Naude, Guy Balme and Jacqueline Bishop have found that this has long-term genetic costs. Inbreeding can be a “scar” carried even by recovering populations.
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Ashwanee Budoo, University of Pretoria
False information about the new coronavirus is a big threat to containing the pandemic but governments must not use 'fake news' as an excuse to limit freedom of expression.
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Growing evidence suggests that most leopard populations across southern Africa are threatened by exploitation.
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Vincent Naude, University of Cape Town; Guy Balme, University of Cape Town; Jacqueline Bishop, University of Cape Town
If left unregulated, the unsustainable exploitation of leopards will have severe ecological and evolutionary costs.
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Politics + Society
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Monica Adhiambo Onyango, Boston University
During epidemics, the measures taken to protect populations and to keep health systems afloat leave women and girls vulnerable to violence.
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Rashawn Ray, University of Maryland
Research shows black men are less likely to exercise in white neighborhoods. Those who do jog report having police called and neighbors shun them.
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Arts + Culture
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Adam Behr, Newcastle University
Richard Wayne Penniman was one of a handful of pioneers who shaped the original rock and roll sound.
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Andrew Hines, University College Dublin; Pheobe Sun, University College Dublin
Our brains have to work hard to deal with difficult and unexpected noise.
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Science + Technology
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Lamya Karim, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Researchers are starting to understand why the bones of diabetic people are more prone to fractures.
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Akito Y Kawahara, University of Florida
Are 'murder hornets' from Asia invading North America? A Japanese entomologist who's been stung by one and lived to tell the tale explains what's true about these predatory insects.
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En Français
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Valentin MIGABO, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
La pandémie de Covid-19 suscite des réactions diverses en Afrique. Certains pays ont adopté des mesures strictes de surveillance tandis que d'autres croient encore que la prière les sauvera.
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Ahmadou Aly Mbaye, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar; Cheikh Ahmed Bamba Diagne, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar
La crise économique impose des choix difficiles à la plupart des pays. Les pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest doivent trouver l’équilibre qui permettra d’éviter une asphyxie de l’économie informelle.
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