MARRAKECH, Morocco -- ''The Kyoto Protocol is being taken over by false promises. By succumbing to the corporate agenda it is failing to achieve climate justice,'' says Amit Srivastava of CorpWatch. Read More
LONDON -- A private British firm that won a $293 million contract from the Pentagon for coordinating security in Iraq is headed by a retired British commando with a reputation for illicit arms deals in Africa and for commanding a murderous military unit in Northern Ireland, human rights activists and security analysts said yesterday.
The contract -- the largest single piece of the private-security pie in Iraq so far handed out by Washington -- was awarded to the London-based Aegis Defense Services. Read More
The Rendon Group has garnered more than $56 million in work from the Pentagon since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. These contracts list such activities as tracking foreign reporters; "pushing" news favorable to U.S. forces; planting television news segments that promote American positions, and creating a grass-roots voting effort in Puerto Rico on behalf of the U.S. Navy. Read More
Fast-growing DynCorp provides security and training for police forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. It may represent the first of a new generation of defense-related stock offerings. Read More
In the lawless reality of much of the post-Cold War world, private security is a booming business. And Canada, once noted for peacekeeping, is emerging as a source of talented guns for hire. David Pugliese reports. Read More
The International Peace Operations Association (IOPA) is lobbying the US and other European governments to put pressure on the South African government not to pass the anti-mercenary bill, saying it undermines the role played by South Africans in peace building missions worldwide. Read More
A trade group representing US, European and South African private security companies is lobbying to put pressure on the South African government to drop tough new anti-mercenary legislation now before parliament. Read More
The industry brings in about $100 billion US a year in revenues and operates in over 50 nations. But, since it is largely unregulated, there are no firm numbers worldwide on how many private contractors or companies there actually are. Read More