2010-06-27 BBC
BBC News with Nick Kelly.
The leaders of the world's eight most powerful nations have sharply criticized North Korea and Iran. They condemned North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March and called on the Iranian leadership to respect human rights and the rule of law. Andrew Walker reports.
In a strongly worded section in the summit communique, the G8 said they deplored the sinking of the South Korean vessel with the loss of 46 lives. They called on North Korea to refrain from committing any attacks or threatening hostilities against its neighbour. The G8 also expressed concern that nuclear and missile tests by the North have increased tension, and called on the country to abandon all nuclear weapons. In the Middle East, the communique described the Israeli blockade of Gaza as "unsustainable" and called for humanitarian and commercial goods to be allowed in and out of the territory.
The G8 leaders will be joined by their counterparts from emerging countries later on Saturday for a meeting of the G20 grouping.
Groups of anti-globalization protesters have clashed with police in Toronto near the venue of the G20 meeting. A police car was set ablaze. A television reporter said the demonstrators were hurling objects at the police. It's thought the violence involves people who broke away from a peaceful march in the city.
President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai says neighbouring states must do more to stop illegal drugs, such as opium being smuggled out of his country. Mr Karzai said Afghanistan on its own didn't have the resources to stop the drugs trade, and he said forces outside Afghanistan were fuelling the growth of opium poppies.
"I do not want the international community, especially Central Asian countries, to point the finger towards Afghanistan or blame Afghanistan at international conferences. We accept our faults and shortcomings, but the situation today in Afghanistan has been imposed on us by outsiders. Outsiders and an international mafia are encouraging poppy cultivation in Afghanistan."
Britain is to impose a cap on immigration from outside the European Union from next month. It was a promise made by the Prime Minister David Cameron during the recent general election campaign. Some business leaders have warned that a rigid cap on migrants could lead to a shortage of skilled workers and damage the economy. Andy Tighe has this report.
During the election campaign, David Cameron said he wanted to reduce net annual migration from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands. But there have been reports that a number of his Conservative colleagues in the cabinet have taken up the concerns of some business leaders that too rigid a cap would exclude some of the most talented foreigners who want to work here. Now the Home Secretary is to announce a temporary limit of 24,100 non-EU workers, a reduction of around 5% to stop a rush of applications before a permanent cap next April.
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The Romanian tennis player Victor Hanescu has been fined 15,000 dollars for spitting at spectators at this year's Wimbledon tournament. Match officials said he had displayed unsportsmanlike behaviour. Hanescu appeared to lose his temper after a member of the crowd heckled him. Mike Lanchin has more.
Wimbledon's head referee, Andrew Jarrett, said that Hanescu would be fined half of the prize money he was due for having reached the third round of the tournament. Police have also been looking into the incident after four men were arrested at the courtside under the Public Order Act. Scotland Yard said there were no reports of racist language being used. It was not thought that the men were the target of Hanescu's outburst. The Romanian, who is not due to play in any other part of the tournament, has 10 days to appeal against the fine.
Polls have closed in the presidential election of the self-proclaimed state of Somaliland in the horn of Africa. Three candidates, including the incumbent president, are vying to be the next leader. Somaliland closed its borders after an Islamist group al-Shabaab warned people against voting, describing democracy as "the devil's principles". The Somaliland government called on voters to ignore the threat, and international monitors say the turnout appears to have been high. Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991.
The first president of Lithuania after it gained independence from the Soviet Union, Algirdas Brazauskas, has died following a battle with cancer. Mr Brazauskas started his political career in the Communist Party but became a vocal critic of Moscow in the late 1980s. The former president also served one term as Lithuania's prime minister before retiring from politics four years ago.
And Ghana has reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup after beating the United States two-one in extra time. They are the only African team still in the tournament. They will next play Uruguay who earlier beat South Korea by the same scoreline. Asamoah Gyan scored Ghana's crucial second goal.
And for now, that's the latest World News from the BBC.