g8 or g-8 or group of eight may be:

* group of eight, eight industrialized nations of the world (canada, france,

germany, italy, japan, united kingdom, united states of america, russia); also
known as the g7+1

he group of eight (g8), formerly g7 until russia joined, is an international forum

for the governments of canada, france, germany, italy, japan, russia, the united
kingdom and the united states. together, these countries represent about 65% of
the world economy.[1] the group's activities include year-round conferences and
policy research, culminating with an annual summit meeting attended by the heads
of government of the member states. the european commission is also represented at
the meetings.

each year, member states of the g8 take turns assuming the presidency of the
group. the holder of the presidency sets the group's annual agenda and hosts the
summit for that year. the presidency for 2007 belongs to germany, which will host
the 33rd g8 summit in heiligendamm from june 6 to june 8.
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146 german police officers injured in violent g-8 protests
posted: 3:37 p.m. edt, june 2, 2007
an estimated 30,000 people marched through the streets flanked by 13,000
police.
a car burns in rostock, germany, saturday during g-8 protests.
protestors in rostock were throwing rocks and flagpoles toward riot police.
protesters gather in the german city of rostock to demonstrate over the
upcoming g-8 meeting.
� authorities say 25 police officers seriously hurt
� g-8 demonstrators hurl rocks and flagpole at german riot police
� 17 protesters are arrested
===============================================
rostock, germany (ap) -- masked demonstrators showered police with grapefruit-
sized rocks and beer bottles, then were driven back with water cannon and tear gas
during a protest march saturday against the upcoming group of eight summit in
germany.

the clashes left smoke from burning cars and the sting of tear gas drifting
through the harborfront area in the north german port of rostock. some 146 police
were hurt, 25 of them seriously.

radicals "are smashing everything in their way to pieces," said karsten wolff, a
police spokesman.

the officially permitted march preceded a three-day summit beginning wednesday in

the seaside resort of heiligendamm, where german chancellor angela merkel hosts
the leaders of the other g-8 nations -- britain, france, japan, italy, russia,
canada and the united states.

the leaders are expected to discuss measures against global warming, the fight
against aids and poverty in africa, and the world economy. as in previous years,
the summit drew protesters of various stripes opposed to globalization, capitalism
and the g-8 itself.

most marchers were peaceful, but others pried up paving stones and broke them into
chunks before charging police. officers in helmets and full body armor fell back,
then charged the demonstrators.

five large green police trucks with twin water cannons mounted on top blasted
groups of rioters. a police car was destroyed and several parked cars burned,
spreading black smoke over the area.

protesters torched a large blue recycling bin.

police spokesman frank scheulen estimated the number of violence-minded

demonstrators at about 2,000. police put the size of the demonstration at 25,000,
while organizers said it was 80,000.

officials said 17 people were arrested.

werner raetz, an anti-globalization activist with attac, one of the organizing

groups, distanced himself from the violence: "there is no justification for these
attacks."

as for the further demonstrations that are planned for next week, raetz said both
sides should try to get the "emotional situation" under control.

police have built a seven-mile fence around the summit site at heiligendamm and
banned protests in the immediate area. there are several camps in the area for
protesters and marches are planned.

peter mueller, who was among the demonstrators, had tears streaming from bloodshot
eyes after the tear gas was released. "as long as the police were in the
background it was ok, but as soon as one took a step closer, it went out of
control," he said.

he shrugged. "what can you do? so ends the peaceful protest."

at one point, a line of police marched through a harborside street to scatter

demonstrators, and were pelted with stones from behind. one of the organizers
pleaded for calm from a loudspeaker.

"the police are heading back so we can hold our protest in peace, that is what we
want," he said.

the march began without violence, and most of the demonstrators remained peaceful,
gathering to listen to speeches from a stage in a large square near the
waterfront.

but some taunted members of the 13,000-strong police detachment from around
germany, and several hundred wore bandanas across their faces with sweat shirt
hoods pulled down low to obscure their identities.

the protesters from around europe and the world gathered at two locations early in
the day for rallies, then marched in two groups along three-mile routes to
converge on the harbor for the main demonstration.

police lined the path through the city, and helicopters flew overhead. most shops
and cafes were shuttered.

the protest was organized by several dozen groups under the motto "another world
is possible."

"the world shaped by the dominance of the g-8 is a world of war, hunger, social
divisions, environmental destruction and barriers against migrants and refugees,"
organizers said in leaflets handed out on the streets.
kay stenzel woke at 3 a.m. to drive in from the eastern city of bautzen with four
friends to voice their discontent with the g-8 leaders.

"they want to impose their wills upon the poor nations," he said, waving a red
flag emblazoned with a black cat -- an animal he chose because it was "unruly."

on their web site, organizers emphasized that they wanted a peaceful protest.

"there is no reason to be afraid to come to the big demonstration in rostock,"

they said. "we do not expect major problems with the police."

anti-globalization protests have plagued similar summits in recent years,

especially meetings of the world trade organization. in 1999, 50,000 protesters
shut down wto sessions in seattle as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
there were some 600 arrests and $3 million in property damage.

at subsequent wto meetings in cancun, mexico, and hong kong, smaller protests also
disrupted meetings. the street riots outside all three talks have been blamed for
contributing to the failure of negotiations inside.

at the g-8 meeting in genoa, italy, in 2001, police and protesters clashed in the
streets for several days and one protester was killed.

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