The week at a glance...International

Kinshasa, Congo

Health catastrophe: The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the worst place in the world to give birth, according to Save the Children. One in 30 Congolese women dies from complications of childbirth, and tens of thousands of them have been impregnated through rape by militants or soldiers. Save the Children ranked countries based on the rates of maternal death and infant death, as well as general health care and the economic status of mothers. Finland came in first, followed by Sweden and Norway; the U.S., which has the industrialized world’s highest death rate for newborns, was 30th.

Parachinar, Pakistan

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Bombs ahead of vote: Taliban bomb attacks at political rallies have killed dozens of people ahead of national elections and prevented the main parties from campaigning in public. The vote will be the first time in Pakistan’s six decades of independence that one civilian government will be replaced with another without a military coup. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the numerous bombings, which have killed more than 100 people during the month-long campaign, including at least 25 this week. Prominent politician Imran Khan, who supports dialogue with the Taliban, was also injured this week, though not by violence: He fell from a forklift at a rally, cracking three vertebrae.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Riot over sharia: A mass protest turned into a riot this week in Dhaka, where hundreds of thousands of Islamists called for the death penalty for those who insult Islam. Rallying under the slogan “Hang the atheist bloggers,” the supporters of Hifazat-e-Islam blocked roads and clashed with police, throwing rocks and setting stores and cars on fire. The group, a coalition of madrassas, came to prominence in February after the murder of a blogger accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed. It is demanding that the government enact a strict law against blasphemy, segregate women, and cancel education and job programs for women.

Mount Mayon, Philippines

Volcano kills tourists: Mount Mayon erupted suddenly this week, hurling car-sized boulders at a group of 27 European hikers and their guides. Four Germans and a Filipino guide were killed, while a dozen others were injured in the steam eruption, which spewed ash but no lava. “It rained like hell with stones,” said tour operator Marti Calleja. “There was no warning.” Mayon is an active volcano, and hotels located near it offer balcony views of glowing lava. But hikers are supposed to stay away from the area near the rim. The volcano has erupted 48 times in the last four centuries.

Beijing

North Korea cut off: North Korea is running out of sources of foreign currency. In a public rebuke, the state-controlled Bank of China announced this week that it was closing all accounts of North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank. China has been under international pressure to sanction its communist ally since North Korea conducted a nuclear bomb test in February. The bank’s action follows the shutdown of North Korea’s only joint venture with South Korea, the Kaesong industrial complex, where North Korean workers earn money producing goods for South Korean companies. The North pulled all 53,000 workers out last month in pique over a joint U.S.–South Korean military drill.