The hunger strike of local politician K. Chandrasekhar Rao has apparently been effective. Rao feels that the economically productive Indian region surrounding the city of Hyderabad should become the state of Telangana. His ten-day hunger strike has caused the national government's Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram to announce that the "process of formation of the state of Telangana would be initiated."

Transparency International has released their annual listing of countries ranked by level of perceived corruption. The United States ranked 19th, immediately following the United Kingdom and Japan.

The five least corrupt countries:

1. New Zealand

2. Denmark

3. Singapore

3. Sweden (tie)

5. Switzerland

The five most corrupt countries:

1. Somalia

2. Afghanistan

3. Myanmar

4. Sudan

4. Iraq (tie)

The foreign ministers of the European Union countries agreed to a proposal that calls for Jerusalem to be made the capital of Israel and a Palestinian state.

Urban expert Joel Kotkin at newgeography has published a listing of the world's "smartest" cities. Kotkin defines smart cities as, "not only by looking at infrastructure and livability, but also economic fundamentals."