Tense confrontation over German nuclear transport

A train carrying a consignment of nuclear waste to a storage site in northern Germany has been temporarily reversed to a secure location after protesters blocked the railway.

Demonstrators have cemented themselves to the tracks, and while efforts to remove them have been going on through the night, it may be several hours before the route is clear.

Earlier police fought running battles with protesters at the train's end station in Dannenberg where the consignment is due to be transferred to lorries for the final leg of its journey to the Gorleben storage site.

A BBC correspondent at the site says the demonstrators are hoping that the huge cost of the security operation will force the government to reconsider future shipments.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service