The UN is investigating claims of a mass rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a country one UN official called "the rape capital of the world". The alleged incidents were reported to have happened within miles of an UN base. The suspects are members of rebel militias. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending two high-level officials to Congo to help investigate the allegations.

The Malaysian government estimates that an average of 100 abandoned babies are found each year. The problem is often blamed on lack of sex education, the shame of unwed mothers, Internet pornography, and even Western culture.

The proposed solutions, however, are believed to be inefficient; schools for pregnant teenagers, lowering legal marriage age, and providing a place where mothers can safely leave their children.

One of the largest earthquakes in the region, with a magnitude of 7.0, has hit Haiti Tuesday, killing possibly thousands, leveling buildings and destroying infrastructure. Reports say thousands of people are living out on the streets in the dust-covered capital.

The quake has been declared "catastrophic" by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.