This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.

Researchers have hopeful news for the international community. Anew study shows that fewer wars were reported around the world lastyear. A second study reports that last year's agreements fornon-nuclear weapons sales dropped in value. And a third studyreports the number of people seeking asylum decreased during thefirst half of this year.

We begin in Sweden. The Stockholm International Peace ResearchInstitute has recorded major decreases in armed conflict worldwide.The non-governmental organization counted nineteen major armedconflicts during two thousand three. A record thirty-three wars werereported for nineteen ninety-one. That was after the Soviet Unionfell apart.

The Stockholm study says three new wars started last year. TheUnited States led a coalition to invade Iraq, and two new conflictsstarted in Africa. One was in Liberia. The other was in the Darfurarea of Sudan. The Swedish organization said wars already inprogress included the separatist conflict in the Russian republic ofChechnya, and the continuing conflicts in the Middle East and IndianKashmir.

The second study measured the value of weapons transferagreements in two thousand three. The Congressional Research Serviceof the United States Library of Congress said world arms sales lastyear dropped to about twenty-five thousand million dollars. Theagency says this was the third straight year that world armsagreements decreased in value.

The report also says the United States continues to be theworld's largest arms seller. The United States made agreementsvalued at fourteen and one-half thousand million dollars. That isalmost fifty-seven percent of all weapons agreements worldwide.Russia made arms-transfer deals worth about four and one-halfthousand million dollars. The agreements were about seventeenpercent of total arms sales for the year.

Finally, the United Nations reported the average number of peopleseeking asylum in more than twenty-four industrial nations for sixmonths. The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said themonthly average for the first half of this year was the lowest sincenineteen eighty-seven. France, the United States, Britain, Germanyand Austria provided asylum for many refugees during that period.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written byJerilyn Watson. This is Gwen Outen.