Fighting multibillion-dollar piracy
The National  |  31 March 2013
> However, current protective measures are proving effective, the study said. Pirates have never seized a ship travelling faster than 18 knots. Armed private security guards also had a 100 per cent success rate in protecting ships.

DOJ Declines to Prosecute DynCorp Over FCPA Allegations
The Wall Street Journal  |  28 March 2013
> The parent company of DynCorp International Corp. said Wednesday that the Justice Department said it wouldn't prosecute the company over allegations of foreign bribery law violations.

J-K govt tables bill in House over private security agencies
Business Standard  |  28 March 2013
> The Jammu and Kashmir government today tabled a bill to regulate private security agencies operating in the state.

Govt issues norms for armed guards on ships
Business Standard  |  26 March 2013
> With the return of Italian marines to India, the Union shipping ministry too has got into action. It has asked Indian shipping companies to keep armed guards on the vessels at their own risk.

Supply and demand: the paradox of private security companies in Libya
OpenDemocracy  |  25 March 2013
> While many foreigners working in Libya are genuinely interested in helping the country move forward towards a more stable future, it seems very unlikely that this is the case for these western mercenaries.

Scandal Over Israeli Firm Training Peruvian Soldiers
Inter-Press Service  |  22 March 2013
> The Peruvian legislature is investigating a contract with an Israeli company, entered into by the previous government for advising and training the military, after audit bodies found irregularities in how it was signed. The contract, signed secretly in 2009, was for supporting the military in its fight against a remnant of the Maoist guerrilla group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), active in the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro river valleys (VRAEM).

U.S. rethinking lowest-priced contract rule for guarding embassies
Reuters  |  22 March 2013
> Lawmakers are reconsidering a 1990 law that makes the State Department accept the lowest bids for contracts to provide private security at most U.S. diplomatic posts, a requirement that can lead to the hiring of thousands of guards based on how cheap they are rather than their quality.

IMO pledges to assist in implementation of West and Central Africa piracy code adopted at Ministerial meeting
IMO Media Centre  |  21 March 2013
> IMO has pledged its support to assist in the implementation of a new Code of Conduct concerning the prevention and repression of piracy, armed robbery against ships and illicit maritime activity in west and central Africa, which has been adopted at a Ministerial meeting in Cotonou, Benin.

Iraq War Contractors Fight On Against Lawsuits, Investigations, Fines
Huffington Post  |  20 March 2013
> A handful of court rulings in the past two years have put big-name Iraq War contractors on the defensive against allegations of torture, fraud, negligence and extrajudicial killings. Faced with a shrinking U.S. war budget and unpredictable trial courts, some companies have chosen to settle these claims for millions of dollars. Others have left the country or dissolved their businesses.

A lesson from Iraq war: How to outsource war to private contractors
Christian Science Monitor  |  19 March 2013
> During the Iraq war, private defense contractors providing security and support outnumbered troops on the ground at points. Contractors can enhance US military capacity but also entail risks. US experience with private security contractors holds several key lessons. 

Contractors reap $138bn from Iraq war
Financial Times  |  18 March 2013
> The US has overwhelmingly borne the brunt of both the military and reconstruction costs, spending at least $138bn on private security, logistics and reconstruction contractors, who have supplied everything from diplomatic security to power plants and toilet paper.

UN Working Group on mercenaries to launch study on the use of private military and security companies by the UN
UN OHCHR  |  18 March 2013
> The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries today announced the start of a study on the use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) by the UN bodies worldwide. The five-strong expert body will report outcomes of the study to the UN General Assembly in 2014.

Police suggests authorizing private security to search and arrest criminals
RAPSI  |  14 March 2013
> MOSCOW - The police has proposed granting private security guards with the unrestricted right to search and detain public order violators and criminals, Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Gorovoi said at a meeting of the Coordinating Council for Cooperation with Private Security and Private Detectives on Thursday.

Exclusive: Court Docs Reveal Blackwater's Secret CIA past
The Daily Beast  |  14 March 2013
> Blackwater's defense strategy—and it's a fascinating one: to defeat the charges it was facing, Blackwater built a case not only that it worked with the CIA—which was already widely known—but that it was in many ways an extension of the agency itself.

The Unwilling Witness
The New York Times  |  14 March 2013
> We arrived in Falluja to see people gathered around two burned-out S.U.V.'s. Insurgents had gunned down four Blackwater security contractors who were driving through the city; a mob had set the vehicles ablaze. My reporter's instincts carried me, almost against my will, through the sea of rioters, to where the bodies of the contractors had been dragged

The Return of the Mercenary
The Atlantic Community Blog  |  13 March 2013
> The conflict in Mali is a symptom of a broader trend in international relations: the return of mercenaries. Originally hired by autocratic regimes in Africa and the Middle East to crack down on popular unrest, mercenaries can easily turn into rebel groups, spreading out to other countries and creating instability.

Plaintiffs to Appeal Dismissal of 'Plan Colombia' Lawsuit Against DynCorp
Legal Times Blog  |  11 March 2013
> Lawyers for several thousand Ecuadorian citizens suing DynCorp International over alleged exposure to toxins through an aerial herbicide spraying operation are preparing to appeal a recent order dismissing the case.

Protests rarely result in U.S. contract reversals, study shows
The Washington Post  |  11 March 2013
> Formal protests of U.S. government contracts rarely help companies win a reversal of those awards, according to a study by President Obama's former procurement chief.

Protecting Ships From Somali Pirates - The Navy vs Private Security
Forbes  |  11 March 2013
> Some experts conclude that the addition of coalition warships, diplomatic working groups and private security firms, increases complexity and further confuses ship owners looking for simple solutions.

How the US public was defrauded by the hidden cost of the Iraq war
The Guardian  |  11 March 2013
> George Bush sold the war as quick and cheap; it was long and costly. Even now, the US is paying billions to private contractors.

Algeria says private security firms failed to prevent January's terrorist attack  at gas plant
Fox News  |  11 March 2013
> An inquiry into the Ain Amenas plant assault blasted private companies currently  responsible for site security in Algeria's energy sectors for failing to   prevent it, according to an Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of  anonymity because he was  not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Americans are training Syria rebels in Jordan: Spiegel
Reuters  |  10 March 2013
> Americans are training Syrian anti-government fighters in Jordan, the German weekly Der Spiegel said on Sunday, quoting what it said were participants and organizers. Spiegel said it was not clear whether the Americans worked for private firms or were from the army but said some wore uniforms.

FJP Mulls Draft Law Granting Private Security Firms Arrest Powers
Egypt Independent  |  10 March 2013
>Talks of the Interior Ministry contracting private security companies have created a stir, especially after a leading member of the Freedom and Justice Party called for granting them arrest powers. News reports claimed negotiations are under way between Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim and private security companies to aid the ministry in clamping down on protests and widespread unrest.

Amputee dies in G4S ambulance due to 'insufficient' staff training
The Independent  |  08 March 2013
> A double amputee died when his unsecured wheelchair tipped over backwards as he was being transported to hospital in an ambulance operated by under-fire outsourcing firm G4S.

Judge dismisses core of suit against CACI by Iraqis who say they were tortured at Abu Ghraib
Associated Press  |  08 March 2013
>  A judge dealt a severe blow Friday to a long-running torture lawsuit filed against military contractor CACI by four Iraqis who say they suffered abuse at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.

Report Details Mistakes Made by U.S. in Improvement Projects for Iraq
The New York Times  |  06 March 2013
> Mr. Panetta's views are contained in a report by Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. The post was established by Congress more than eight years ago, and the 171-page assessment on "Learning From Iraq" is its final major report. Much of the study, which is to be released Wednesday, covers the more than $60 billion in American aid that was used to carry out projects in Iraq.

Private Military and Security Companies Agree to Increased International Oversight
IPI Global Observatory  |  04 March 2013
>  An agreement two weeks ago by states, civil society, and key PMSCs to set up a multistakeholder monitoring and complaints mechanism may bring effective oversight [of PMSCs] significantly closer.