War-plagued Somalia, with its crumbling government infrastructure, is the world’s most corrupt country, according to a global survey by the international watchdog Transparency International.

The group’s annual Corruption Perception Index measures perceived levels of public sector corruption.

As was the case last year, the 2009 survey found that countries that scored lowest all have something in common: they are fragile, unstable and scarred by war or long-standing conflicts.

The group scored 180 countries on a scale of 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 10 (perceived to have low levels of corruption).

Somalia scored 1.1.

Next came Afghanistan at 1.3, Myanmar at 1.4, and Sudan and Iraq — both at 1.5

On the other end of the scale, New Zealand ranked highest at 9.4, followed by Denmark (9.3), Singapore and Sweden (9.2) and Switzerland (9.0).

The United States came it at 19 (7.5) and the United Kingdom was at 17 (7.7).

“When essential institutions are weak or non-existent, corruption spirals out of control and the plundering of public resources feeds insecurity and impunity,” the group said.

On the other hand, countries that fared well in the survey have oversight to stem corruption. These include a well-performing judiciary, an independent media, and vigorous law enforcement, it said.

(CNN) — November 17, 2009 5:23 p.m. EST

A body found Monday beside a North Carolina road is that of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, who was reported missing a week ago, police said Tuesday.

The official cause of death was undetermined as of Tuesday afternoon, Fayetteville police said in written statement. An announced afternoon media briefing was rescheduled for Wednesday morning.

Earlier Tuesday, police said additional charges are expected in connection with the case and any charges will be made public as soon as they are filed.

Shaniya’s mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses. Davis was “prostituting her child,” police spokeswoman Teresa Chance said after Davis’ arrest over the weekend.

Another suspect, Mario Andrette McNeill, has been charged with kidnapping in the case.

Shaniya’s father, Bradley Lockhart, made a tearful appeal before reporters Tuesday afternoon, asking that “everybody makes it a point not to ignore, to look past a situation where a person, a child, or anybody might be in danger … so that we don’t have another tragedy like Shaniya.”

He said authorities have given him limited information, but he was to meet with them later.

“It’s not the result I wanted, it’s not the result any father or family would want for their children,” he said. “But God has a greater calling for all of us.”

Shaniya’s mother reported her missing from their Fayetteville home in a mobile home park on November 10. According to police, surveillance video taken that day from a hotel in Sanford shows Shaniya in the company of McNeill.

“The investigation at this point indicates that Shaniya Davis was alive at the time she left the Sanford hotel,” police said in the statement Tuesday.

The road where the body was found is near Sanford, which is about 30 miles northwest of Fayetteville.

Shaniya’s half-sister, Cheyenne Lockhart, said on HLN’s “Nancy Grace” Monday that she found it difficult to believe Davis had treated her daughter so poorly.

“She seemed like the sweetest woman. She didn’t come from much, but … she had the sweetest voice, she had the sweetest personality, and especially toward me. I would never think that she would do anything like that,” said Lockhart, who shared a father with Shaniya.

Their father said Shaniya went to her mother’s home on October 9.

CNN’s Gabriel Falcon contributed to this report.

David Armano is part of the founding team at Dachis Corporation, an Austin, TX-based start-up delivering social business design services. He is both an active practitioner and thinker in the worlds of digital marketing, experience design, and the social web. Author of the popular Logic + Emotion blog, he has been invited to speak at events hosted by organizations such as Google, Microsoft, O’Reilly and Ad Age.

Prior to joining Dachis Corp, David worked in the digital agency space for more than 10 years with clients such as P&G, HP, WW Grainger, Allstate, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Fifth Third Bank. His work on Grainger helped the company earn the reputation of best commerce site according to BtoB magazine and his leadership on HP resulted in a Webaward. David also writes industry perspectives for Ad Age and BusinessWeek and is best known for his distinct brand of visual thinking, which can be found both on the Web and in presentations all over the world. David studied visual communications/computer graphics and graduated from Pratt Institute, where he was able to study under some of the brightest minds in the industry.

Matt Arnold is senior interactive media consultant at Stamats. He holds a B.A. from The University of Iowa in Communication Studies and an M.S. in Communication from Illinois State University. At Illinois State, his thesis focused on computer-augmented group decision making.  Matt has over 15 years professional experience in market research, enterprise technology, interactive strategy, and user experience.  For over six years, Matt worked at Capella University where he led communication strategy and managed the online experience. Outside of his university experience Matt has successfully led interactive and technology projects for leading organizations, including the National Marrow Donor Program, Medtronic, UnitedHealth, Allstate, and Discover Card. Prior to joining Stamats, Matt was an online channel manager for Best Buy.

Robert Brosnan is the Director of Web and Digital Communications at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He is responsible for determining and executing strategic objectives for online communications, particularly those that provide a direct interface with external university audiences, such as prospective students and alumni. Recent projects include a complete re-development of the University’s main Web site and a significantly revised undergraduate admissions Web site. Rob completed his master of arts degree in philosophy of science from Indiana University; he also received a bachelor of science degree from Clemson University.

Gregory Carroll serves as vice president for marketing and public relations at Furman University. Greg came to Furman from Wichita (Kansas) State University, where he was executive director of university communications. He has also served as director of marketing communications at Lynchburg (Virginia) College and as director of college relations at Marietta (Ohio) College.