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IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was detained in New York Saturday night after allegedly sexually assaulting a maid in his hotel.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a possible French presidential candidate, was hauled off the Air France flight about 10 minutes before it was to take off at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday afternoon and turned over to police for questioning in connection with an alleged sexual assault.

Two minutes before IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s France-bound airplane was set to take off on Saturday at the Kennedy International Airport, he was pulled off by Port Authority personnel, reported the New York Post.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, was arrested in New York City on Saturday, accused of a brutal sexual attack on a hotel employee in Manhattan, according to reports citing police sources.

The Portuguese economy contracted for the second straight quarter, placing the debt-strapped country into another recession as the Lisbon government anxiously seeks to reduce spending and increase taxes.

Greece seems not to have met terms of its international rescue package recently, European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny was quoted as saying on Friday.

John Lipsky, the number two official at the International Monetary Fund, said on Thursday he will step down from his post when his term expires at the end of August.

Despite bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal, Europe's debt crisis could still spread to core euro zone countries and the emerging economies of eastern Europe, the International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday.

Public services have been halted including trains, ferries and flights have been disrupted by the protests in Athens on Wednesday morning.

Growth in eastern Europe should accelerate only slightly this year as domestic demand recovers, but trouble in the euro zone periphery, wide budget deficits and inflation pressures still pose risks, the IMF said on Thursday.

Greek police clashed with stone-hurling youths and thousands protested against austerity in Athens on Wednesday as EU and IMF envoys began talks with the government on stepping up fiscal reforms.

Greece has been brought to a standstill by a massive strike called by labor unions to protest to government’s austerity programs.

Senior EU and IMF inspectors arrived in Athens on Wednesday to press Greece to shore up its finances, while workers walked off the job to protest against austerity-induced recession.

Greece is nearing agreement for supplemental EU/IMF loans of 50 to 60 billion euros to cover its funding gap in 2012 and 2013 in exchange for bold privatizations, Greek newspapers reported on Wednesday.

Greek labor unions, students and others are planning massive a nationwide rally and general strike for tomorrow to protest the government’s austerity budget and deep spending cuts, as well as the imposition of European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) onto the country’s affairs.

Greece denied a report on Tuesday it was discussing a new 60 billion euros bailout with international lenders and its borrowing costs rose amid fears it may have to restructure its debt without further EU help.

Spot Gold prices rose for the second day running in London on Tuesday, reclaiming half of last week's 7% drop from the all-time Dollar high as world stock markets rallied again with commodity prices.

Greece said it was discussing with its euro zone partners ways to plug a 27 billion euro ($39 billion) funding hole next year as a fresh credit rating cut on Monday made its return to markets even more difficult.

The British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has warned that Greece may need additional bailout funding, but that the U.K. is unlikely to contribute to any such payouts.

Portugal signed up to a tough but fair 78-billion-euro international bailout plan on Thursday which will send it into recession for two years with a recovery only likely in 2013, European Union and IMF officials said.

Portugal's caretaker government signed up to a 78 billion euro EU/IMF bailout on Thursday, warning its terms would push it into recession this year and next.

The Portuguese will likely descend into a deep recession over the next two years, after Lisbon country signed terms of a bailout from the European Union, warned the country’s finance minister.

Portugal's two key opposition parties signaled after meeting European and IMF officials that they will back a 78-billion-euro bailout that is expected to consign the economy to two years of recession.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Wednesday he would press for lower interest rates for Dublin's EU/IMF bailout but insisted higher corporate taxes would not be part of any such deal.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Wednesday he would press for lower interest rates for Dublin's EU/IMF bailout but insisted higher corporate taxes would not be part of any such deal.

Portugal's two key opposition parties signaled after meeting European and IMF officials on Wednesday they will back a 78-billion-euro bailout that is expected to consign the economy to two years of recession.

Portugal's main opposition party met European and IMF officials on Wednesday and said they would consider whether to back a 78-billion-euro bailout after a source said the terms would propel the economy into two years of recession.

Conditions attached to a 78 billion euros bailout of Portugal's debt-ridden economy are likely to propel it into a deep recession for two years, an official source said on Wednesday.

Portugal reached a deal with the European Union and the IMF Tuesday on a 78 billion euro 3-year bailout, the third euro zone member to do so after Greece and Ireland, caretaker Prime Minister Jose Socrates said.