NEW YORK - FOCUSING on boardroom, not bedroom needs, famed men's magazine Playboy is pulling out of its New York offices, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

'We are closing our New York offices to integrate our online and printed publishing,' Martha Lindeman said.

ATLANTA (USA) - MGM Mirage's joint venture partner in an US$8 billion (S$12.2 billion) Las Vegas construction project said on Monday it sued the US casino company over the development and expressed concern about MGM's ability to survive.

Dubai World said its Infinity World unit asked Delaware Chancery Court for a judgment that would relieve it of obligations under the joint venture agreement.

LONDON - ALMOST 2,400 people were executed last year, including more than 1,700 in China alone, but the world moved closer towards abolishing the death penalty, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

A total of 2,390 people were put to death in 25 countries in 2008 and five states - China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the US - accounted for 93 per cent of the executions, the group said in an annual report.