as firms duck controls with 'flat-pack' weapons
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1886021,00.htmlWorldwide spending on weapons is expected to reach record levels this year at a time when the arms industry is increasingly able to avoid export controls, human rights and aid agencies say in a report published yesterday.
By the end of the year, military spending is estimated to reach $1,058bn (£561bn), about 15 times the amount spent on international aid, say Amnesty, Oxfam, and the International Action Network on Small Arms (Iansa).
Arms sales record as firms duck controls with 'flat-pack' weapons
· Spending to surpass cold war heights, says report
· Shipping components avoid embargoes and bans
Richard Norton-Taylor
Tuesday October 3, 2006
The Guardian
The figure is higher than the cold war record reached in 1987-88 of $1,034bn in today's prices, they claim, adding that last year the US, Russia, Britain, France and Germany accounted for an estimated 82% of all arms transfers.
Other countries are emerging as major exporters. Brazil, India, Israel, Singapore, South Africa, and South Korea have arms firms in the top 100, Amnesty says.