MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, June 18 (UPI) -- British mercenary Simon Mann alleged in court that Sir Mark Thatcher belonged to the "management team" that planned a 2004 coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.

GIBRALTAR, March 30 (UPI) -- Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a suspect in a coup attempt in Africa, married this week in a private ceremony.

WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) -- Contrary to popular wisdom, "private military contractor" is not a euphemism for mercenary. But the connections between today's security industry and the infamous freebooters of yesteryear like "Mad" Mike Hoare and Col. Bob Denard -- whose antics inspired and were immortalized by the 1978 movie, "The Wild Geese" -- are clear, especially when one considers the recent case of a real mercenary.

HARARE, Zimbabwe, May 10 (UPI) -- A court in Zimbabwe has ordered the extradition of a British man accused of plotting to overthrow the president of Equatorial Guinea.

PRETORIA, South Africa, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A South African court has dismissed charges against eight mercenaries accused of planning a 2004 coup against the government of Equatorial Guinea. In acquitting the men, the judge ruled the state failed to prove its case, the BBC reports.

LONDON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Britain scrambled to recover secret documents suggesting an $82 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia was corrupted by price gouging, it was reported Saturday.

LONDON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Mark Thatcher's estranged wife says that the son of Britain's first female prime minister was a mama's boy and a philanderer.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- South Africa's Parliament is set to strengthen its anti-mercenary laws by making it a crime for South Africans to serve in the British armed forces.

OXFORDSHIRE, England, July 23 (UPI) -- Britain's Prince William and Prince Harry missed their cousin's extravagant 18h birthday celebration to party with the son of a jailed mercenary, a report says.