A US military contractor is in court this week over allegations of prisoner torture during the Iraq War.

Three former inmates at the "infamous" Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad have brought a civil case against CACI, accusing the Virginia-based firm of conspiracy to torture prisoners, said The Independent. CACI has denied wrongdoing and said the claimants have not been able to "sufficiently prove" that its workers directed abuse at the prison.

The case could have "ramifications beyond remedies for victims", said Time, which pointed to the US military's "dependence on contractors". The global private military contractors (PMCs) sector has continued to grow as governments seek cost-effective, expert and discreet resources to supplement their own militaries.

What exactly do military contractors do?
Escalating global conflicts have driven military spending across the world to "levels not seen since the Cold War", said the Financial Times. And that has been a boon for weapons, ammunition and defence technology manufacturers.

The role of PMCs is "multifaceted", said Federica Saini Fasanotti at GIS Reports. They might act as "supplements to traditional armies" or be "employed by multinational corporations".

Most contractors are former members of the armed forces who can use that training to "provide external and internal security, engage in warfare, secure local leadership and even become an extension of that leadership's armed forces", as well as train local soldiers.

Although individual contractors are usually hired for the duration of a specific mission, many PMCs have had long-term engagements with governments.

Who is using them?
The most well-known PMC is the Wagner Group, a long-time contractor for the Russian government.

But the most prolific employers of privatised armed forces are the UK, China, South Africa and, in particular, the US. And reliance on contractors such as CACI has grown hugely since the Iraq War, to the point where the US military "can't move, communicate, fight, or sustain itself without contractor support", Steven Schooner, a professor at George Washington University Law School, told Time.

PMCs are also being used to alleviate "growing demand on the UK's official intelligence resource", said the i news site.

Why are they so controversial?
The biggest issue around PMCs remains accountability. There is little regulation surrounding their actions, and while the "international community has sought to set standards", said The Guardian, legal ramifications for contractors have been "rare".

The world's biggest pop star delighted fans today with the shock release of a second album just hours after "The Tortured Poets Department" hit streaming services at midnight.

"It's a 2am surprise," Taylor Swift told her followers in an Instagram post which confirmed that her 11th studio album was actually a "secret" double LP.

The much-touted "The Tortured Poets Department" had already broken Spotify records as the most pre-saved album ahead of its release. Now, she has given fans a further 15 new tracks, taking the total to 31.

Soundtrack for 'tragic rifts'
The hype around Swift is "at fever pitch", said Sky News. The record-breaking star's "unstoppable" rise from teen country singer to "all-round global phenomenon has been – well – swift".

She has "taken a scalpel to her personal life, filleting the details of flings and trysts and heartbreaks" in her past 10 records to write "some of pop's most memorable lyrics", said the BBC. So it comes as "no surprise" that this double record continues the pattern.

"As break-up albums go, it's a doozy," said Variety. This is an "unapologetically dramatic (if often witty) record" that "feels bracing, and wounded, and cocky, and – not to be undervalued in this age – handmade". No doubt it will "be soundtracking untold millions of tragic rifts" for years to come.

'An aesthetic triumph'
Though "The Tortured Poets Department" may not "produce the biggest Top 10 hits" across Swift's expansive music catalogue, "it's easily among her most lyrics-forward efforts", said Variety. The songs are "rife with a language lover's wordplay, tumults of sequential similes and – her best weapon – moments of sheer bluntness".

"Students of the University of Taylor Swift" are no doubt already discovering the "many secrets" hidden throughout the album, said Ed Power on the i news site, and untangling its "hushed world of heartache and melancholia".

The release of any new Swift album is an event of "world-shaking proportions". This one is "an aesthetic triumph" that marks a new era in Swift's "quest for pop perfection".

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Grade II property with 16th century origins in an enviable position within the Lugg Valley. Main suite, 4 further beds (2 en suite), shower, kitchen/breakfast room, 3 receps, garden, garage. £1.25m; Knight Frank

A ban on smoking? Stubbing out Tory sleaze may have been the better priority
Madeline Grant for The Telegraph
When the memoir of "walking social-skills-bypass" Liz Truss "isn't even in the top three most dubious things" that members of your party have achieved in a week, says Madeline Grant, "you know you're in trouble". Allegations like those against Mark Menzies are "increasingly the 'new normal'" for the Conservatives. Yet "topsy-turvy morality" means "Tory HQ seems more exercised about legal adults having a crafty smoke than dealing with the apparently endless sleaze".

Trump might have dozed off in court. Here's how that could come back to bite him
Elliot Williams for CNN
Courtrooms "don't lend themselves to keeping people awake", writes Elliot Williams, after Donald Trump "appeared to catch a few minutes of shut-eye" on the opening day of his hush-money trial. The Sixth Amendment requires that Trump remain in the Manhattan courtroom "for the duration of his criminal proceedings", which "will mean a lot of time trapped" in the "windowless, under-ventilated" space. But a defendant "whose liberty is on the line" would be "well advised" to find "a way to stay awake".

Prince Harry is officially severing ties with the UK – who can blame him
Isolde Walters for the i news site
It's "hardly a surprise" that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "see their future across the pond", writes Isolde Walters. There has been "no love lost between Prince Harry and his homeland" since their decision to step down as senior royals unleashed a "dizzying blizzard of news". Him renouncing his British residency was "both inevitable and sad", because it "brings to mind happier times and confirms that they are, without a doubt, over now".