Greek President to hold last-ditch talks to avert second election

Greece's President will hold a fresh round of talks today to try to persuade political leaders to form a coalition government.

Elections a week ago failed to produce a clear winner.

With one of the main parties, the far left Syriza party, already saying it will not attend today's discussions, a fresh election is looking increasingly likely.

The leader of Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, has ruled out entering a coalition with pro-bailout parties, as he says any new Government must cancel austerity.

A date of June 17 has already been earmarked as a possible date for a second general election and several opinion polls in Greece show the Syriza party will top the poll.