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BRITAIN

G-7 agrees to debt relief

LONDON -- Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations said yesterday they were willing to provide up to 100 percent debt relief to the world's poorest nations, but insisted that developing countries ensure the money would be spent wisely.

Britain's Treasury chief, Gordon Brown, said at the close of the G-7 summit in London that debt relief would be "agreed on a case-by-case basis."

After a two-day meeting in London, G-7 finance ministers said developing countries must have "sound, accountable and transparent institutions" and develop policies for poverty reduction and sustained economic growth. Britain has made tackling poverty in Africa and the developing world a priority.

FRANCE

Workers want to keep 35-hour week

PARIS -- Hundreds of thousands took part in demonstrations across the country yesterday to protest government plans to change the 35-hour workweek.

Organized by an alliance of trade unions and backed by the opposition Socialist Party (PS), more than a half-million people took part in marches in 100 towns and cities -- with 90,000 joining the largest demonstration in Paris. Police put the overall figure at slightly more than 250,000.