WORLD
Danes, Kiwis top corruption index
Denmark and New Zealand were the nations seen as most free of corruption and Somalia was ranked last, according to this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index. The report, released yesterday by Transparency International, ranks states based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be. More than two-thirds of the 177 countries surveyed this year scored below 50 on a scale where zero is seen as highly corrupt and 100 perceived as very clean. “All countries still face the threat of corruption at all levels of government, from the issuing of local permits to the enforcement of laws and regulations,” Transparency International chairman Huguette LaBelle said. Finland, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Luxembourg and Germany were in the top 12 “clean” countries in that order. North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Libya and Iraq were perceived as the worst for corruption, and ranked from 175th to 171st. – Bloomberg
CHINA
Cameron punts EU trade deal
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in China saying he would advocate a multibillion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and the EU, stoking tensions with the EU executive which condemned the move as premature. On a three-day visit with about 100 business people, the largest-ever British mission of its kind, Cameron said Britain was the most open Western country to Chinese investment and was well-placed to take advantage of China’s market liberalisation. – Reuters