From Washington,this is VOA News.

The United Nations has begun using drones to gather intelligence about rebel groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The U.N. deployed its first two unmanned aerial vehicles in the region on Tuesday.

They will be used in mountainous parts in Kivu provinces near Congo's borders with Uganda and Rwanda.

Several African nations were among the worst performers in Transparency International's annual report on perceived corruption.

Somalia was one of three nations receiving the lowest score in the report released Tuesday by the corruption watchdog group.

The report gave each nation a score between 0 and 100. Besides Somalia, African countries that scored 20 or below on the list include Sudan, South Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and Eritrea.

VOA Henry Ridgwell reports.

Somalia, Afghanistan and North Korea each scored just eight points out of 100 in Transparency International’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, where a score of 100 corresponds to a total lack of corruption.

Ukraine ranked 144th on the index, one of the worst scores for its region, which included Europe, Russia and most of the former Soviet states.

The best performers in the 2013 Index were New Zealand and Denmark with Scandinavian countries consistently among the least corrupt. The United States came in 19th.

Henry Ridgwell,the VOA News,London.

Only three African nations received scores above 50 - Botswana, Cape Verde, and Rwanda.

The Ukrainian parliament has rejected an opposition motion to hold a no-confidence vote on the government of Mykola Azarov, after days of protests over Ukraine's failure to sign a free trade pact with the European Union.

As thousands in Ukraine continue to protest, other nations are expressing concern about the situation -- particularly a police crackdown on the protesters.

U.S. and NATO officials are applying new pressure on Afghanistan's leaders to allow thousands of foreign troops to remain in the war-torn nation next year.
 
VOA State Department correspondent Scott Stearns is in BRUSSELS and files this report.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance is hoping to stay in Afghanistan into 2015 but needs President Karzai's "timely" signature on a security pact outlining the terms of a smaller advisory force.

Rasmussen told reporters at NATO headquarters he is concerned that without such a training mission, there could be a negative impact on security and financial aid to Afghanistan.  He says the trans-Atlantic alliance is not trying to impose anything on the government in Kabul, just offering help if it is wanted.

"NATO is not an occupation force.  We intend to help Afghanistan.  And of course it is a precondition that we get an invitation.  And an invitation should be accompanied by a proper legal framework,"

Scott Stearns VOA News BRUSSELS.

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US Vice President Joe Biden is meeting with top Chinese officials in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss sensitive bilateral and regional issues.

South Korea's spy agency believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have fired his uncle from his top military post and publicly executed some of his associates.

Lawmakers briefed by Seoul's National Intelligence Agency said Tuesday that Jang Song Thaek was apparently removed as vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission.

The lawmakers say the NIS believes two of Jang's closest aides were executed in mid-November and that he has not been seen since.

Students in China's largest city, Shanghai, are the best in the world, according to a recent global education test, while U.S. students continue to lag behind. The results of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment show Shanghai leading more than 60 countries in math, reading and science.