Bangkok - Thai prime minister Somchai Wongsawat on Friday rebuffed intense pressure to resign following a violent police crackdown against anti-government protestors.

Somchai, elevated last month, rejected a strong suggestion on Thursday by army commander Anupong Paojinda that he step down.

"This government was produced by the democratic system, It is not right that it be brought down by a mere opinion," Somchai said.

"Everyone should work together for the good of the country," he added.

Amsterdam - Rotterdam, the second largest Dutch city, will have a Moroccan-born Muslim mayor from January 1, as Ahmed Aboutaleb was presented Friday as future mayor by the city council.

The government still has to approve 47-year-old Aboutaleb's appointment, but this is considered a formality.

The Labour politician is the first mayor to be born and raised outside the Netherlands. He is also the first Muslim to become a mayor in the Netherlands.

Aboutaleb was born in Morocco and migrated to the Netherlands at the age of 14. He is currently deputy minister of social affairs, and before served as an alderman in Amsterdam.

New Delhi, Oct 17 : A Bill on the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) was introduced in the Rajya Sabha today.

The bill is aimed at incorporating provisions in the existing law to combat financing of terrorism. It also introduces a new category of offences, which have cross border implications.

Under the bill, the Enforcement Directorate will be empowered to search the premises immediately after the offence is committed and the police has filed a report under the Code of Criminal Procedures.

Johannesburg/Harare - Talks between President Robert Mugabe and pro-democracy leader Morgan Tsvangirai over the share of government ministries between them were due to resume Friday for the fourth successive day, with no sign the deadlock could be resolved.

Even the usually optimistic Herald, the daily propaganda newspaper of Mugabe's ZANU(PF) party, said in a headline, "Cabinet talks hit brick wall" after Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a lesser faction of the MDC, disbanded late Thursday after eight hours of fruitless debate.

Washington - Calling Senator Barack Obama the "right man for a perilous moment," the Washington Post newspaper Friday endorsed the Democratic candidate for the US presidency, adding its national weight to 39 other regional newspapers - including the Boston Globe and St Louis Post Dispatch - that have declared for the centre-left candidate.

New York - An international human rights watchdog on Friday accused the Singapore government of trying to silence critics with unfair defamation lawsuits.

Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch's deputy director for Asia, said the lawsuits, used against opposition politicians and critical media, make "a mockery of Singapore's claim to be a model democracy."

"Opposition criticism of the government is an essential ingredient of a democratic political system," she added, urging the wealthy city-state to stop its limitations on free political speech.