Protesters detained in G8 demos

Protesters who blocked a road leading to the site of the G8 summit and led police on a boat chase in the Baltic have been arrested.

At the start of the two-day annual Group of Eight gathering, thousands of demonstrators dodged the massive police presence and used tree trunks to blockade a road between Rostock and Bad Doberan before conducting a sit-down protest.

They had spent the night in the no-demonstration zone within a kilometre (half a mile) of the security fence surrounding the summit at the picturesque Baltic coastal resort of Heiligendamm.

Elsewhere, Greenpeace activists in a high-speed boat led security vessels on a chase before being intercepted in the Baltic Sea within sight of the shore.

Several activists in another boat, dressed in yellow flotation outfits, went overboard briefly after being pursued by police. Authorities have sealed off the waters and airspace around the summit as part of security precautions.

Around 16,000 police officers, along with scores of armoured personnel carriers, trucks with water-cannons atop and other support vehicles have also been deployed.

Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Blair held "nostalgic" final face-to-face talks with US President George Bush at the summit.

Their breakfast meeting was dominated by Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat of using atomic weapons over the building of a missile defence shield in Europe by the US. Other divisive topics included climate change and aid to Africa.

Mr Bush, standing alongside Mr Blair, told reporters that the talks had been a "nostalgic" moment.

Mr Blair, who leaves office on June 27, has been President Bush's staunchest supporter in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan since the terrorist outrage of September 11, 2001.

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