Cleanest Places in the World

I've been blogging about International Living's Quality of Life Index which highlights the Best Places to Live in the world. This years guide is a terrific read with lots of little interesting tid-bits of informaiton. This week I'm going to share in more detail some specifics about each country which made the Top 10 list of the Best Places to Live. Today I thought I would just share a little of my leisurly Sunday morning read. This headline caught my eye -

The World's Cleanest Countries

Hum, now reading all about the best countries for living it certainly fits to get one thinking about cleanliness. Afterall, I think most of us would agree cleanliness is a pretty important factor when it comes to Quality of Life - at least I would hope so!

Much to my surprise some of the cleanest countries in the world are in Latin America. Yup, Costa Rica ranked 5th cleanest and Columbia go the #7 spot. So, where does the good ole' U.S.A. end up - sorry to say the U.S. is 39th on the list. Pretty sad comment really and I'm sure by now you are thinking, enough already who got spot #1? And the award for the cleanest country in the world goes to...

It's probably no big surprsie that Switzerland is the cleanest country in the world.

Pro-business president takes office in Panama

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Businessman Ricardo Martinelli was sworn in as Panama's new president on Wednesday, promising to start the biggest job-creation push ever in the country.

Martinelli said he wants to make the nation of 3.3 million inhabitants the best place to do business in Latin America.

"The people have given us a clear mandate to bring change to the government, from top to bottom, and that is what we will do," Martinelli said at the ceremony attended by various foreign leaders, including Honduras' ousted president, Manuel Zelaya.

Martinelli, 57, a conservative supermarket magnate, also expressed a desire to become "an active partner" with Colombia and Mexico in the fight against drug trafficking during his five-year term.

One of the new government's proposals is a billion-dollar plan to build a train system for the capital's metropolitan area.

Martinelli's predecessor, Martin Torrijos, launched a $5.25 billion project to increase the Panama Canal's capacity and allow it to accommodate larger ships.

The canal is Panama's economic motor and Martinelli supported its expansion, but the world's economic woes have generated uncertainty over the project, which is receiving $2.3 billion in international financing.

And the country's real-estate boom, another driving force of the economy, has also been affected by the international financial crisis and economic downturn.

Martinelli acknowledged "our administration will not have the resources the previous administration had."