Sharon due to meet Blair today

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was paying a flying visit to Britain today for talks with Tony Blair on the conflict in the Middle East.

Mr Sharon and Mr Blair will discuss the wave of violence, as well as Israel’s response, which saw a lengthy military incursion into Palestinian territory earlier this year.

Mr Sharon is calling at 10 Downing Street on his way back from talks with US President George Bush in Washington.

Tensions in the Middle East were today being discussed by the foreign ministers of the G8 group of industrialised countries.

The ministers were meeting in the Canadian town of Whistler, British Columbia, where proceedings were expected to be dominated by the clash between India and Pakistan, which brought the nuclear-armed states to the brink of war.

Also on the agenda were the international efforts to halt terrorism and the reconstruction of Afghanistan following the recent war.