European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May 18, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 world saw fewer wars in 88, study says Stockholm Sweden a there were fewer wars fought last year worldwide military spending declined and the global arms Trade levelled off reversing the warlike trends of the 1980s, researchers said wednesday. The number of wars fell from 33 to 28 and some appear close to Resolution by year s end the Stock Holm International peace research Institute said in its 1988 yearbook. There was a Clear break in the pattern of a con Stant increase in the number of major conflicts with which the world had grown accustomed during the 1980s," the report says. Since world War ii More than 160 regional and civil wars defined As involving More than 1,000 deaths have been fought the 530-Page annual report says. The Institute an Independent group funded mostly by the swedish parliament monitors developments in weapons trading and arms control. Institute director Walter Stutzle a former West German undersecretary of defense wrote that "1988 has seen remarkable Progress toward a potentially More peaceful  but relations Between the two superpowers May determine whether existing conflicts can be settled Sti Itzla said. History presents the United states and the soviet Union with the unique Opportunity to turn trends into events he said. Agreements were reached to end hostilities in the Iran Iraq War the conflict Between Ethiopia and so Malia the War Between Chad and Libya and the conflicts in Angola and Namibia. Moscow began withdrawing troops from Afghani Stan Vietnam announced it would pull out of Cam Bodia and fighting subsided in Nicaragua where  rebels appear to be giving up their fight against the leftist government. Also tensions eased Between India and Pakistan Laos and Thailand and in internal disputes in Uganda. However civil wars escalated in Afghanistan so Malia Ethiopia and Burma and Iraq used chemical weapons against its kurdish minority according to the Institute report. Fighting continued in sri Lanka and the Palestin Ian uprising worsened in the israeli occupied Territo Ries. Fighting intensified in Southern Sudan and in the Philippines according to the report. It says military expenditures dropped or remained countries where wars ended countries where tensions eased steady in most areas of the world. The United states Cut real military spending for the third year in a Row and nato defense spending was Down 3 percent from 1987, but spending by the Warsaw pact countries was unchanged according to the report. The soviet Union and China were believed to have also trimmed spending. Third world countries burdened by debt and famine cannot afford to spend More on weapons. The High Cost and rapid obsolescence of modern weaponry is prohibitive for Many countries the re port said. The world May be witnessing the first phase 9f what could be called technological and economic structural disarmament the report said. At the same time 24 developing nations had bal Listic missiles capable of delivering nuclear or Chemi Cal warheads or intended to acquire them. Argentina Brazil India Israel North Korea and Taiwan already make their own missiles. Worldwide Trade in conventional arms totalled $34 billion measured in 1985 i ices Down slightly from the previous year s record figure the report said. The share bought by third world countries dropped from 66 percent in 1986 to 61.4 percent last year. The report said the . Share of the global arms Market was 28 percent and the soviets took 38 per cent. India was the biggest third world buyer Las year followed by Iraq North Korea and saudi Ara Bia. But weaker nations Are better armed London a weaker nations that have obtained technically advanced strategic weapons can now threaten their More powerful neighbors the Edi tors of Jane s strategic weapon systems warned  past few years have seen the number of mis Sile capable nations increase editors Duncan Len nox and Roger Loasby wrote in the first edition of the Book published tuesday. This was not too important when the weapons concerned were Short Range and relatively inaccurate but increasingly the trend has been for longer Range and More accurate missiles they said. Jane s said that in the last 12 months a chinese missile known As the Css-2, with a Range of More than 900 Miles has been sold to Middle East coun tries that also have soviet technology. There have also been reports those countries Are negotiating to acquire the More advanced Miami by of chinese missiles the Book says. In some instances missile acquisitions Are combined with a probable capability to provide nuclear warheads and once this happens the whole thrust of  within the existing nuclear Powers is blunted they said. The editors said Short Range ballistic missiles arc being developed or arc owned by at least 16 coun tries outside nato and the Warsaw pact including Argentina Brazil India Egypt North Korea South Yemen and Taiwan. They said it is not Clear whether any of the mis Siles being developed or sold outside the big five nuclear Powers the United states soviet Union Britain France and China Are being armed with nuclear warheads. But they noted the last report by the International atomic Energy Agency suggested that another eight countries Argentina Colombia India Israel North Korea Pakistan South Africa and Vietnam have the capability to manufacture nuclear War Heads. The Book said that in addition to the increasing number of countries possessing ballistic missiles there is a further proliferation of the stationing of ballistic and cruise missiles on ships and submarines. The dangers and vulnerabilities arc obvious previously Safe deployments of ships to trouble spots around the world could in the future be threatened by such forces in the hands of smaller nations the editors wrote. With the improved accuracies and lethality of some conventional warheads All nations should be aware of the changing  the editors predict that space would be used in any future confrontation not Only Between the superpowers but also smaller nations. The scope for intelligence gathering monitoring of events navigation meteorological data gathering global communications and perhaps the eventual positioning of defensive and offensive weapons in space makes it essential for any nation planning to defend itself to be involved in military space re search they wrote. World population May double by 2025, report says by the Washington Post Washington the world s population currently 5.2 billion could approximately double to 10 billion by 2025, and could reach 14 billion before the end of the next Century unless birth control use increases dramatically around the world within the next few decades according to a report released tuesday by the in. Population fund a Nipa. The report revises an estimate that the Agency made a decade ago and that has been widely quoted since. The earlier pre diction was that the world s population would stabilize at about 10 billion late in the 21st Century. Thai estimate assumed a greater increase in the worldwide use of family planning than has occurred. There has been a failure to address the problem on the scale that it should be addressed said Stirling d. Scruggs Dep Uty director of the Agency s division of external affairs. In order to hold population growth to the older lower estimate the percentage of the world s women of reproductive age who use birth control would have to increase from the current level of 45 per cent to 71 percent by 2025, the report said. Only a few Western european countries and China have such a High level of birth control use. In the United states the rate is about 65 percent. The More pessimistic Outlook comes despite the considerable Success that International family planning efforts have had in the last 20 years. Birth rates Are declining for More than 90 percent of the world s population. Worldwide the aver age number of children per woman has dropped from 6 to 3.6. Despite these gains the world s population is growing by 1.7 percent a year because of declining death Rales and be cause in Many developing countries peo ple of reproductive age make up a Large proportion of the population