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Human rights remained poor in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa in 2008, according to the U.S. State Department’s global survey released on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of some of its findings:for more click here

Thousands of Australians will be wiped from companies’ payrolls as the economic downturn continues to bite and expectations of corporate growth wane.for more click here

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.

RBS, which had to be bailed out by the government last year, said that its 2008 loss totalled £24.1bn (£34.2bn). for more click here

Reporting from Washington — President Obama and senior administration officials have begun receiving a daily CIA report on the global economic crisis in addition to briefings on terrorist threats and other national security issues, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday. for more click here

Gordon Brown is to address both Houses of Congress when he visits Washington next week for talks with President Obama. He will be only the fifth British prime minister to be accorded the honour of addressing both houses of the US legislature, following Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. for more click here

Gordon Brown helped fuel Britain’s banking crisis by pressuring City watchdogs into ‘light-touch regulation’, MPs were told today.

In damning evidence to the Treasury select committee, Financial Services Authority chairman Lord Turner said there was clear ‘political’ pressure not to question the business models of banks such as Northern Rock, HBOS and Bradford and Bingley. for more click here

George Handlery about the week that was. Credit today, tax burden tomorrow. The attack that never was. PC vs. reason. How to avoid threatening victory. Obama’s charisma and the magic’s limits. The General’s dedication. for more click here

Bangladesh’s border security force staged an armed mutiny in the capital on Wednesday, taking more than 100 hostages and sparking a gunfight that left at least five dead, officials said.for more click here

The Colombian security forces, paramilitaries and guerrilla groups are punishing those who refuse to be part of the conflict across Colombia, says human rights group Amnesty International.

The organization’s claim comes as it launches a new campaign on behalf of several “communities in resistance” – communities that have taken an active and often dangerous stand in defence of their right as civilians not to be dragged into Colombia’s long-running and bloody armed conflict. for more click here