Cameron quits attending EC summit

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron has cancelled plans to visit Japan and New Zealand this week to attend a meeting of the European Council, British officials said on Sunday.

"As a European Council has been called for Wednesday, the Prime Minister has had to regretfully cancel his planned trip to Japan and New Zealand," an official working for Cameron's office said.

The council meeting will be held on Wednesday in Brussels, where euro zone leaders will pursue efforts to agree a plan to speed up efforts to contain a deepening sovereign debt crisis.