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European leaders are holding an emergency summit on Greece's debt crisis, trying to prevent a meltdown for the euro and a global economic slump.

European risk assets remain under pressure as investors digest the latest round of bank stress tests by the European Banking Authority.

Cutting Greece's debt will not solve the country's problems, ECB policymaker Jens Weidmann was quoted as saying on Sunday, adding Athens needed to raise its productivity instead.

The Italian austerity budget worth nearly 48 billion euros was approved by the upper house of parliament on Thursday, overcoming its first parliamentary hurdle.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called an emergency meeting of top officials dealing with the euro zone debt crisis for Monday morning, reelecting concern that the crisis could spread to Italy, the region's third largest economy.

Thousands of South Asian migrants have left Greece in recent months to escape the country's growing economic crisis, community leaders tell the BBC.

Austerity measures being adopted by many industrialized world governments in the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis are undermining economic recovery, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.

Eurozone finance ministers meet in Luxembourg, where they are expected to approve a 12bn-euro (£10bn) loan to debt-stricken Greece.

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that Europe's debt crisis must be contained.

Fueling the demonstrators’ anger is the perceived failure by politicians to alleviate the hardships imposed on a struggling population by a jobless rate of 21 percent.