Washington - World leaders agreed to "substantive" measures Saturday to reform the international finance system to ensure the global economy does not suffer from another crisis caused by faulty loans and risky banking policies, US President George W Bush said Saturday.

"This was a very successful summit," Bush said at the conclusion of an emergency conference in Washington designed to stave off a rapid collapse of the world economy.

Washington - The world's 20 top economies reached a deal to better regulate global financial markets and take steps to halt a global economic slide in an emergency summit hosted by US President George W Bush in Washington.

The declaration includes a call for better regulation of the world's financial system and to bolster government spending aimed at spurring economic growth at a time when the global economy risk sliding into recession.

Washington - The world's 20 leading economies are holding an historic summit in Washington Saturday to hammer out plans for launching a new global financial order amid signs of a sharp economic deterioration and renewed share market turmoil.

Launching moves aimed at overhauling the international financial system and endorsing measures to spur world economic growth form the two strands of the Saturday summit of so-called Group of 20 (G20) leaders which is being hosted by US President W Bush.

Washington - The world must not fail to protect developing countries from a recession that was not of their making, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned Saturday.

"Our willingness to take specific steps to support developing countries in this period of exceptional difficulty will be a test of our collective leadership," said Singh, an economist, former central bank governor and finance minister, and the architect of India's economic reforms programme in the 1990s.

Washington - The worlds 20 top economies reached a deal Saturday to better regulate global financial markets and take steps to halt a global economic slide.

Negotiators agreed on a final declaration Saturday morning in Washington, where world leaders gathered for the first-ever summit of the Group of 20 (G20) nations, Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa has learned.

Leaders will sign off on the agreement later Saturday, promising that "all financial markets, financial products and market participants" will be subject to regulation or appropriate supervision, according to the final declaration obtained by dpa.

Reykjavik - Around 6,000 Icelanders protested over the financial crisis Saturday by throwing eggs, tomatoes and toilet paper during a demonstration at the country's parliament, police reported.

The number of people to show up for one protest was unusual for Iceland, which has a total population of 320,000.

Speakers at the demonstration called for the resignation of Prime Minister Geir Haarde and for early elections.