Wildlife

New Shark Refuge

Sharks now have new refuges totaling 2.5 million square miles in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands where they are safe from fishermen. Up to a third of all shark species face some threat of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

They are slaughtered around the world for their fins, which are prized in Chinese culture and used to make soup.

Sharks are often caught, their fins sawed off and then discarded still alive only to tumble uncontrollably in the water until they die.

The new refuges established this month are in addition to several others that have recently begun to provide protection for sharks.

Venezuela and the European Union have banned the practice of cutting off shark fins and discarding the body at sea in their territorial waters.

Disease

16 refugees killed by Hepatitis E in camps in South Sudan.

There have been additional confirmed and probable cases with Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Exact numbers have not been released.

Disease

Death rate soars in refugee camps in southern Sudan. The camps have become a swamp after recent heavy rains, but there is little or no available fresh water. Diarrhea and other preventable diseases are claiming 9 children every day.

International health officials are investigating an outbreak of an unidentified disease in Cambodia.