Greece lurched closer to an exit from the euro as a meeting of finance officials to reach a deal over aid dissolved in acrimony, forcing leaders to call for an emergency summit for Tuesday.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras escalated his defiance towards the country's official creditors, with a pointed attack on the International Monetary Fund.

Greece was on the brink of economic meltdown as Germany looked poised to push the country out of the eurozone.

Greece faces a week of urgent diplomacy to free up bailout aid and avert a potential default as world leaders press for a final resolution to the standoff.

Of the many wonders to behold in Greece, Matt Derr has found a gem: local wine at $3 a glass.

Greece will be unable to find the 1.6 billion ($2.4 billion) sum it is due to hand the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month, one of the country's ministers has admitted.

That Apple should buy Greece with all the useless cash it has on hand is just a joke that won't go away.

Like a spoilt child and an angry parent locked in an experiment of tough love, Greece and its creditors are embroiled once more in a tug-of-war.

This image of a Greek soldier who singlehandedly saved 20 migrants on the coast of Rhodes after their boat hit rocks defined a week of tragedy.

Anti-austerity protesters seeking to spoil the inauguration of the ECB's new HQ in Frankfurt left a trail of destruction across the city.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won four more months to sell his policy program to creditors while keeping domestic voters on board.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras began the task of selling domestically a provisional deal with eurozone partners to extend bailout funds after securing a reprieve.

It seems history is repeating itself as Greece again finds itself in the headlines, asking Germany to re-think the terms of the bailout package or risk Greece leaving the European union.

Kiwi broadcaster Dennis Katsanos rediscovers his Greek heritage - and adds 4kg in weight.

Greece has lost a critical funding artery as the European Central Bank restricts loans to its financial system.

Greek voters have sent Europe's leaders a message: the austerity policy you have been pursuing in recent years is economically perverse, socially cruel and ultimately subversive.

Five years ago the prospect that Greece might need to revert to a currency of its own filled the euro zone with horror.

Greece's new far-left Syriza party promised to dump tough austerity measures - but will that mean the country will have to leave the Eurozone to do it?

Two years ago, news that a left-wing, anti-austerity party had won power in Greece would have sent seismic waves through Brussels and the money markets.

Anti-austerity party on the brink of a landmark election victory in Greece as critics claim it could haul the country out of the Eurozone and leave it bankrupt.

Exceptionally low oil prices have thrown world financial markets a curve ball by driving bond yields sharply lower and undermining share prices.

In dramatic terms 2014 ended with several big business and economic stories on cliff- hangers.

Greece will face a snap general election next month after MPs failed to elect a president in the final round of voting yesterday, prompting alarm in Athens’ financial market and the eurozone over the country’s commitment to its bailout terms.

Elton John once spent $73 million in 20 months. "I'm not a nest egg kind of guy", was his explanation at the time.

"The sphinxes are probably ready to reveal their secrets," says Greek Culture Minister Konstantinos Tasoulas.