Olmert defies calls to resign over bribe probe

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert defied a barrage of calls to resign on Friday after he admitted taking cash from an American businessman at the centre of a police inquiry into allegations of bribery.

Olmert, whose departure could disrupt US-sponsored peace negotiations with the Palestinians, continued with his duties after telling the nation in a late-night address on Israel's 60th Independence Day that he would resign only if the attorney general could produce sufficient evidence to indict him.

The prime minister, who is due to host US President George W. Bush next week, looked relaxed when he addressed Canadian Jewish fundraisers for Israel in Jerusalem on Friday.