Speedboat demonstrators in G8 summit protest

Protesters in speedboats today tried to breach a security cordon at the G8 Summit in Germany.

They were intercepted by security staff.

Yesterday, police used water cannon on stone-throwing demonstrators as several hundred protesters reached the seven-mile fence surrounding the G8 summit venue in the resort town of Heiligendamm.

Other protesters blocked roads leading from the airport to the summit site, as leaders began arriving on the first day of the three-day summit.

Today, the Group of Eight world leaders start their first day of joint talks with tough issues such as climate change and possible independence for Serbia’s Kosovo province in front of them.

The host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is pushing for an agreement on climate change, and favours mandatory cuts on emissions – while US President George Bush held his ground against them.