An anti-capitalist protester in his 20s has been shot dead in clashes with police during the G8 summit in the Italian port city of Genoa.

Several hours after the incident, the man's body was still on the ground at the city's Piazza Alimonda, surrounded by police confronting protesters who chanted their contempt.

Witnesses said a young woman was seriously injured after being run over by a police vehicle in the same incident. And a policeman is reported to have suffered serious injuries in the clashes. The man's death came as running battles raged between thousands of anti-globalisation demonstrators and police close to where the leaders of the world's richest countries and Russia - the Group of Eight (G8) - were holding their first day of talks.

Protesters dressed in black started fires, smashed windows, looted shops, broke into banks and post offices and pulled up cobblestones to hurl at the security forces.

Police responded with tear gas, water cannon and baton charges, leaving several people with blood streaming from head wounds. The authorities say more than 40 protesters and at least 30 police officers were injured in the clashes.

(Next follows some reporting designed to make it look as if the G8 summit were actually benign in intent. Rixon)

Health fund

In one of the first announcements from the summit, the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said the G8 leaders had agreed to create a $1bn fund to fight Aids and other diseases worldwide. He praised the pledge, but said much more was needed. ( The irony is, of course, that AID's was originally developed as part of a US bacteriological warfare program with goal of reducing the world's population. Which is exactly what it is doing. But don't expect the BBC to mention that. Rixon)

The G8 leaders are discussing the threat of a world recession, liberalising international trade and efforts to combat global warming. But they are not expected to heed the protesters' calls for the cancellation of poor countries' debts. (Debt's that are literally created out of nothing and owed to privately owned Banking Corporations. The IMF and the World Bank are both made up of privately owned banking conglomerates and operate in much the same way as the Federal Reserve Bank in the States or the Bank of England over here. Rixon.)

The demonstrators - protesting over what they see as the adverse effects of globalisation on poorer countries - held banners reading "Zero Debt" and "People Not Profits".

The clashes erupted about 1.5km (one mile) from the medieval palace - the Palazzo Ducale - where the G8 summit is being held, just outside the "red zone" exclusion area surrounding the summit venue.

Plumes of smoke hung over the city as the G8 leaders met behind a ring of steel and concrete.

BBC staff were instructed to leave the riot area after a camera crew was attacked by a group of anarchists. Staff from other media organisations were also targeted.

(What follows is meant to make the BBC sound like the voice of moderation and reason, in contrast to the violent protestors. Rixon)

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Genoa says the violence has drowned out the message of peaceful protesters in a sea of petrol bombs, tear gas and now blood.

In an effort to make the summit look less like a "rich man's club," the G8 invited representatives of developing countries to join them on Friday evening. African leaders, including South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, are in Genoa to present their plan for Africa's renewal, the New Africa Initiative.

Mr Mbeki has warned that over a five-year period Africa will need at least $10bn - just to tackle Aids. (Mbeki is pretty much a stooge for the New World Order. During my time in South Africa he was a frequent visitor to the head of Anglo American operation's head. This was before Mbeki's ascent to the presidency but in retrospect it was almost as if they were grooming him for the position. As a company Anglo American owns over 80% of all companies on the Jo'burg stock exchange and it is owned by the Oppenhiemers. And the Oppenhiemers originally set up their company at the behest of the Rothschilds. Rixon.)

Violence condemned
The summit will also discuss the problems of the world economy, which is slowing down dramatically. The political leaders say they want to deepen dialogue with their citizens, but they condemn violence and say they will not allow it to prevent meetings like the G8 going ahead.
(An edited version of a BBC report)

Pictured below: protester's throw cobble stones through a haze of tear gas.