WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- U.S. security contractor Blackwater has overcome a rash of negative publicity to record steady business growth, The Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer said Sunday.

WASHINGTON, April 4 (UPI) -- The Pentagon recently issued a memorandum with the less-than-snappy title "Uniform Code of Military Justice Jurisdiction Over Department of Defense Civilian Employees, Department of Defense Contractor Personnel, and Other Persons Serving With or Accompanying the Armed Forces Overseas During Declared War and in Contingency Operations."

WASHINGTON, March. 7 (UPI) -- It was inevitable that at some point the two Democratic contenders for their party's presidential nomination should skirmish on the political hot-button issue of U.S. use of private security contractors.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- One of the enduring debates over the use of private military and security contractors is whether there are sufficient means to prosecute them if their employees do something wrong.

LONDON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A British judge who made fun of a Saudi sheik involved in a divorce has been ordered to remove himself from the case.

WASHINGTON, July 4 (UPI) -- Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. The newspaper said more than 180,000 civilians are being paid by the United States to work in Iraq. There are about 160,000 U.S. combat troops currently in Iraq.

TORONTO, April 10 (UPI) -- A Canadian study suggests India's biotech firms are becoming major global players, increasingly able to produce drugs and vaccines at competitive costs.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A debate is under way in Washington over the success of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's efforts to modernize the U.S. military.

NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- A series by UPI examining the exploding field of nanotechnology. This week: Energy production and storage top the list of the 10 nanotechnology applications deemed by experts to be the most likely to benefit the developing world in the next decade.