Argentinian President Eduardo Duhalde has set elections for late 2003 and unveiled an austerity budget he hopes will lift the country out of economic crisis.

Argentina’s top banker has resigned as mounting anger over draconian savings curbs pushed thousands of Argentines into fresh street protests and the value of the peso slumped to new lows.

Eduardo Duhalde, Argentina’s fifth president in two weeks, was greeted by thousands of jeering, pot-banging demonstrators who swarmed the streets of the capital early this morning.

Eduardo Duhalde, an old-style populist from the Peronist party, was sworn in as Argentina’s fifth president in two weeks today - and immediately lashed out at the unbridled free market policies he blames for the country’s economic chaos.

Argentina’s interim president Adolfo Rodriguez Saa has resigned after a volatile week in office, saying his support collapsed within his Peronist party as he tried to surmount a deep economic crisis.

Argentines took to the streets banging pots and pans in a noisy outpouring of discontent, demonstrating against a month-old banking freeze limiting cash withdrawals.

Argentina's congress has appointed Adolfo Rodriguez as interim President until elections take place in March.

Last-minute political wrangling delayed the Argentine Congress from appointing an interim president last night as legislators argued over how long a caretaker should remain in office and when to call new elections.

Argentina's president Fernando De la Rua has submitted his resignation, following the collapse of his government.

Argentina's finance minister has resigned amid widespread rioting that has claimed the lives of five people and injured 100.

Argentina's president has signed an order declaring a state of emergency in a bid to end violence in the capital and other major cities across the country.