Athens  - Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis called an emergency meeting with the country's president and the leaders of Greece's political parties on Tuesday in an effort to dispel the violence and rioting that has gripped the country for days.

"We will not accept individuals to use a tragic situation as an excuse for violence against society and democracy," said Karamanlis as he entered the meeting with President Carolos Papoulias, calling on "citizens to denounce all those responsible for the violence."

The USD is lower to start New York after a quiet steady open in Asia overnight; traders note trading was subdued in early trade but appetite for the Yen crosses finally began to push the USD lower. Technical trade was the rule as no real unexpected news was released . Falling back from Friday's highs the Greenback failed at several key technical support levels across all major pairs to start the week on the defensive. Equities were higher across the board with all major bourses in the black by several percent helping to support their respective currencies.

London, Dec 9 : Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has dismissed suggestions that he is cracking under the strain of managing Chelsea by claiming that he feels “zero pressure” compared with his time as coach of Brazil.

Scolari led his country to victory at the 2002 World Cup, but not without enduring some difficult moments along the way, most caused by the huge expectations of a nation that he described as comprising 180 million coaches, The Times reported.

Hong Kong  - A raft of measures including permanent cuts in salary and corporate taxes and investment in infrastructure have been proposed by the International Monetary Fund as a way of stimulating demand in Hong Kong, the government said Tuesday.

"Well targeted infrastructure investments should boost the economy's potential by further increasing skill levels and productivity," IMF directors said in a report on Hong Kong's economy.

Bangkok  - The Democrat party secured the backing of four smaller parties Tuesday to form Thailand's next coalition government, but it remained unclear whether it was sufficient to guarantee their lead.

"We reaffirm that our four parties support the Democrats," said Sanan Kacharnprasart, the acting head of the Chart Thai party which together with the Puea Pendin, Matchimathipataya and Ruan Jai Chart Pattana parties have thrown their support behind the Democrats to lead the next government.

But it was unclear Tuesday whether the "Friends of Newin" faction within the defunct People Power Party (PPP) was still backing the Democrats.