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."

Rwanda has become the second country without any historic ties to the United Kingdom to join the Commonwealth of Nations (the first was Mozambique). Rwanda had close ties to France until the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda changed its official language from French to English last year.