The heads of the world's eight leading economies will convene on Wednesday to begin the G8 summit in the secluded resort of Heiligendamm on the Baltic coast.

Crucial differences of opinion on key issues and countless protesters who aim to disrupt the summit are expected to make this year's meeting particularly turbulent.

The rioting began last week, when a peaceful demonstration involving tens of thousands of campaigners developed into the worst street violence seen in Germany for years, with hundreds of activists bombarding police with stones and torching cars. The violent anti-G8 protest left up to 1,000people injured.

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The German police have been preparing meticulously for the summit, determined to prevent such riots from recurring. All through the port city, sewer lids have been welded to their frames and shop windows boarded up with wooden planks.

Dozens of squad cars patrol the city to nip any disturbance of the peace in the bud.

The German hosts fear that a continuation of the protests might eclipse the summit itself, in which they intend to address an array of issues ranging from global warming through foreign aid to Africa to hedge funds and energy policy.

These issues are problematic enough even without the hordes of protesters who on Wednesday plan to break through the defensive perimeter that police have set up around the hotel where the world leaders are expected to meet.

The United States, for example, is adamant in its refusal to commit to a reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases it emits. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in contrast, has compiled a proposal for halving emission levels of greenhouse gases by the year 2050. Her initiative is supported by all other G8 members except the U.S., including Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom.

U.S. President George W. Bush fears that committing his country to such restrictions would compromise its ability to compete with rising powers such as China and India, which are showing very little concern for the environment.

Instead of endorsing Merkel's plans, Bush is promoting an alternative course of action that includes "extensive conversation" on the subject.


Another source of tension is the unfolding confrontation between Russia and the U.S. over the latter's plans to set up a missile defense system in eastern Europe. The hundreds of journalists who have been pouring into the area over the past few days will be paying close attention to Bush's body language and that of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who threatened to target Europe if the U.S. went ahead with its plans.

G8 members will also discuss foreign aid to Africa, against the background of its having broken a previous pledge to double foreign aid to this continent, currently the poorest on Earth. The Germans would also like to draft a code of ethics for hedge funds, aimed at preventing rapacious policies by these firms.

Meanwhile, the streets of Rostock belong to the ideologues who came to protest against the G8. Angry socialists roam the alleyways alongside peace activists, anti-nuke campaigners, environmentalists and, of course, black-clad anarchists.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, for whom this will be the last G8summit, once described the summit as "the anarchist traveling circus."

Others, however, have come not to protest the G8's existence, but rather certain aspects of its policies. Maja Andersen from Denmark, for instance, works for a nongovernmental organization that promotes welfare projects in Third World countries. "I came to tell them that their prosperity comes at the expense of starving people in Africa. We need them to increase our funding," she said.