World briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 2001

Boat with 700 refugees lands off French coast

SAINT-RAPHAEL, France -- A boat carrying more than 700 people, most of them Iraqi Kurds, ran aground Saturday off the coast of southern France during what officials said was an immigrant smuggling attempt.

Officials evacuated 732 passengers from the boat, which came to a stop about 20 yards from the shore at Boulouris beach, between Saint-Raphael and the French Riviera resort of Nice.

There were no serious injuries among those aboard. It was unclear how many passengers evaded authorities by swimming ashore when the boat ran aground in the early morning darkness.

Officials said they believed the vessel was deliberately beached.

"The captain has fled, leaving the boat facing land, the propellers turned, so that the boat cannot drift away," said Georges Ginestat, mayor of Saint-Raphael. "It was professional work."

The Cambodian-registered boat, East Sea, left Greece, then made a stopover in Turkey. Many of its passengers were children.

The Interior Ministry said refugees who were not hospitalized would be turned away from France and returned to their point of boarding if they had no papers.

Rich nations see more growth ahead

PALERMO, Sicily -- Finance ministers from the world's richest nations expressed optimism Saturday that prospects for continued global growth remain good despite economic troubles in the United States and Japan.

"The basic factors that have supported sustained growth in many of the major industrial economies remain in place," the Group of Seven said in a joint statement closing Saturday's gathering.

Specifically addressing the dramatic U.S. slowdown that has raised concerns that the world's largest economy could be slipping into a recession, the ministers urged the United States to use interest rate policies and budget policies -- such as tax cuts -- to support a rebound in growth.

For Japan, the statement said that a "modest recovery" is expected but warned that "downside risks remain." Officials urged the Bank of Japan to pump more cash into the nation's money supply to stimulate growth.

Ministers from the seven nations -- Germany, France, Italy, Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada -- also reaffirmed their commitment to a debt relief initiative for poor countries.

Philippine leader promises aid to army

MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo promised cheap rice, sugar and vegetable seeds to the army Saturday in an effort to boost soldiers' living standards.

Speaking to alumni of the Philippine Military Academy, Macapagal-Arroyo said she also will create programs to train soldiers to fish for or plant their own food on available military land. "This aims to bring the men in uniform into the mainstream of rural development, making them a major participant in attaining food security," the president said.

Elsewhere . . .

IRISH RAIL EXPLOSIONS: The main railway line between Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Dublin was closed Saturday after explosions were reported close to the track. There were no reports of injuries.

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