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Time and again, there was little or no competition for the huge contracts the US administration awarded, and repeatedly, it seemed that senior army people were stepping in to overrule attempts by the highest-ranking civilian in the US Army Corps of Engineers to make KBR accountable.

The April convoy is best-known for the kidnapping and dramatic escape Mississippi dairy farmer Thomas Hamill, but details of the incident raise questions about about employer obligations. Families wonder about the repercussions if a general sent soldiers without training, weapons, armor or adequate communications into a battle zone.

Titan Corp., The defense contractor that provides translators for U.S. forces under a linguistic services contract with the Army's Intelligence and Security Command has sustained the highest number of casualties of 119 U.S. companies operating in Iraq.

Overall, there have been at least 273 contractor deaths, including 23 in 2003, 209 last year and 41 so far this year, according to Labor Department figures. That's over 50 percent more than the 173 deaths of U.K. and allied troops, according to figures compiled by the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Employment in El Salvador's garment industry declined in 2004 for the first time in a decade. Thousands more jobs will be lost this year, threatening to drive up El Salvador's largest export to the United States: its people.

Nearly a quarter of a century ago, Morrison set up a ground-breaking company called Defence Systems Limited in 1981. DSL was a commercial success and became the template for dozens of companies set up since to provide security in the world's hairiest areas."I never envisaged the market growing to this size," he says, shaking his head.

The head of the country's corruption-busting body, the Commission on Public Integrity, says he is determined to clean up widespread back-handers, bribery and embezzlement that are undermining Iraq's chances of a better future.

British Petroleum said yesterday that it did not have external insurance to cover the damage caused to its Texas City refinery in the US, where an explosion killed 15 people.

It is a lesson learned and relearned in Iraq. The U.S. has awarded billions of dollars' worth of work to American firms in the most ambitious rebuilding project since the Marshall Plan in Europe five decades ago. But nearly two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the U.S. is still struggling to deliver electricity, clean water, healthcare and other services.

Iraq's interim government is refusing to make payments on some contracts with foreign companies because they overcharged or failed to deliver everything they promised, an official said. "It's a problem all ministries are dealing with because of the lack of paperwork provided by the U.S.-led administration on contracts they signed before handing over power in June."