Meanwhile, the Bush administration has rejected pressure to open talks with Iran about its actions in Iraq.

China's leaders have rejected American pressure to ease political repression, arguing that it amounts to blatant interference in their internal affairs.

The President is said to have angrily rejected such pressure, regarding it as gross misconduct, and granted the dissolution.

And he rejected pressure from some state legislators to delay the program for a year.

The Bush administration has rejected pressure to open talks with Iran on Iraq.

The report said that China had rejected American pressure to stop selling weapons to Syria.

In an emergency meeting Friday, the leadership again rejected pressure to disband the party, saying it could still contribute to change, the newspaper said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected pressure from Syria and Libya to quit the peace process.

"I have never corrupted anybody," Mr. Berlusconi said on Tuesday during a television address in which he rejected pressure to resign over the investigation.

The brown beans are also a key source of revenue for Laurent Gbagbo, who has rejected pressure to step down.