MUMBAI - TWO luxury hotels that were stormed by Islamist militants re-opened amid tight security in Mumbai on Sunday, less than a month after devastating attacks that rocked India's financial and entertainment hub.

The Trident and Taj Mahal hotels received their first guests since the carnage, with staff praised for their dedication and resilience as others called for defiance in the face of extremism.

BANGKOK - THAI premier Abhisit Vejjajiva's newly unveiled cabinet set to work Sunday on building reconciliation and reviving the economy, despite the threat of protests over some appointments.

Key ministers from the Democrat Party met to discuss policy matters, a day before an official swearing in ceremony on Monday in front of the revered king.

WITH 2009 shaping up to be a 'difficult year', the Government will try to moderate public transport costs next year, promised Transport Minister Raymond Lim on Sunday.

The Public Transport Council (PTC) will continue to take economic conditions into account in its annual assessment of bus and train fares, due in the second half of next year, he added.

LONDON - INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said insufficient fiscal stimulus by governments to tackle the global slowdown may make a bad 2009 even worse, according to an interview released on Sunday.

Mr Strauss-Kahn told BBC radio that the IMF may need to cut its next economic growth forecasts, due in January, referring to '2009 as really being a bad year'.