9 June 08 - A report on the role of transnational corporations presented to the Human Rights Council Wednesday (June 4), made a reference to the problem of the violations of human rights in conflict zones made by private security companies. It is an issue that human rights advocates say should be examined

The United Kingdom's private military and security companies (PMSC) would support the establishment of a national and international system of regulation of their activities, the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries said in concluding a mission to the country last week. The Group also welcomed the companies' willingness to agree on a set of basic principles.

ArmorGroup International plc, the international provider of protective security services, has announced that Terry Goodman, one of its employees, has been awarded the Royal Humane Society’s Silver Medal, the highest honour the Society can bestow. Terry was granted the honour, which is awarded to those who have put themselves in extreme personal danger, for his rescue of a wounded colleague in Iraq while under sustained insurgent fire and while he was seriously injured himself.

P.W. Singer 06.05.08, 6:00 PM ET

In 1992 a relatively little-known, Texas-based oil services firm called Halliburton was awarded a $3.9 million Pentagon contract. Its task was to write a classified report on how private companies, like itself, could support the logistics of U.S. military deployments into countries with poor infrastructure. Conspiracy theories aside, it is hard to imagine that either the company or the client realized that 15 years later this contract (now called the Logistics Civilian Augmentation Program or LOGCAP) would be worth as much as $150 billion.

June 4, 2008:  The recent death of a Russian fighter pilot in Sudan, while flying a Sudanese MiG-29, brought to light the fact that Russian pilots, both active duty and retired, have been flying Sudan's 14 MiG-29s. This is because it has proven more difficult than expected to train Sudanese to do the job.