The Philippine president is calling on Asian leaders meeting in Beijing next week to convene a special session to tackle the impact of the global economic crisis.

European leaders agreed to several measures _ German Chancellor Angela Merkel called them a “tool kit” _ that governments will be able to use to shore up financial institutions and stop banks’ financing problems from contaminating the wider economy. A few highlights:

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy says countries that use the euro will temporarily guarantee bank refinancing to ease the credit crunch.

A draft declaration by euro-zone leaders says their governments plan to temporarily guarantee future loans among private banks to unlock frozen credit markets.

A draft declaration by leaders of countries that use the euro currency says their governments would temporarily guarantee future bank debt to encourage lending and ease credit markets.

The president of the European Commission said he was very hopeful that a meeting of European leaders Sunday would take an important step toward a coordinated response to the global financial crisis.

European leaders are searching for a common response to the spreading financial crisis which has ricocheted across the Atlantic to their shores.

South Korea’s ruling party says President Lee Myung-bak will propose a summit with China and Japan to discuss how to cope with the current global economic crises.

Leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Italy will seek at a summit in Paris Saturday to reassure investors and markets jittery about a growing financial and economic crisis.

The global financial crisis is forcing the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Italy to come together for an emergency summit this weekend, but differences on how to respond to the economic turmoil could drive them apart.