Athens - Greece's two largest unions said on Tuesday they will go ahead with planned 24-hour strikes Wednesday to protest the government's austere economic policies, amid nationwide rioting that has crippled the country.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis appealed to union leaders of the private-sector federation GSEE and public-sector union ADEDY to cancel the strikes in an effort to stop the violence, triggered by the fatal police shooting of a teenager Saturday, from escalating for a fifth consecutive day.

Athens - Amid a sea of broken glass and charred debris in Athens' high-end shopping district of Kolonaki, dozens of people are gathered outside a jewellery shop whose entrance is filled with flowers and mourning notices.

Unlike many of the neighbouring shops lining this popular pedestrian lane, such as luxury clothing store Raulph Lauren and Parisian leather goods retailer Lancel, rioters left the tiny jewellery shop untouched in their spree of destruction.

Athens - A crucial European Champions League match between Panathinaikos Athens and Anorthosis Famagusta was due to go ahead as planned on Tuesday night after security guarantees were given by the authorities in the riot-plagued Greek capital.

The European Football Union UEFA gave the nod after meeting earlier in the day with police representatives and officials from both clubs.

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."

Athens  - The Greek capital Athens and dozens of other cities were left crippled Tuesday after several days of arson and looting, triggered by the fatal shooting of a teenager by police.

Described as the worst riots in decades, thick black smoke, flames and tear gas had engulfed central Athens for hours as students set fire to cars, banks, shops and several buildings including the offices of state airline Olympic Airways, the Foreign Ministry, a luxury department store and Greece's main law school.

While calm had returned to Athens at dawn Tuesday, new protests were expected later in the day following the boy's funeral, which was scheduled to take place Tuesday afternoon in the seaside district of Paleo Falio.

Athens  - The situation in the Greek capital Athens calmed down early Tuesday after three days of heavy rioting, triggered by the fatal police shooting of a teenager, media reports said, but unrest was likely to continue.

Violence was concentrated on the area around the Polytechnic University, where several dozen hooded youths were still holding out, but police remained on high alert.

A government spokesman denied reports that a country-wide state of emergency was to be declared.

Late Monday, Athens was ablaze and gripped by chaos while dozens of other cities were crippled for a third straight day by arson and looting in the worst riots in decades.