New Delhi - The Muslim militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has denied British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's accusation that the outfit was responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks, a news report said Monday.

The Pakistan-based LeT also said that Ajmal Kasab, the lone attacker captured alive, was not a member of the organization, the IANS news agency reported.

"The LeT rejects accusations by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The LeT denied its involvement in the Mumbai attacks but the British Prime Minister levelled an allegation against Lashkar which has no proof," a press release issued by LeT said, according to IANS.

Vienna- The price for oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) jumped by 2.18 dollars Thursday, as the cartel's president Chakib Khelil called for a "drastic" cut of oil production at its upcoming meeting.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at 40.12 dollars Thursday, the Vienna-based organization said Friday.

Oil prices were also boosted by the news that Saudi Arabia was producing several hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of crude less than estimated, Vienna-based consultants JBC Energy said.

Tokyo - Japan's lower house on Friday voted in favour of a one-year extension to the Japanese military's logistical support mission for the US-led anti-insurgency fight in Afghanistan.

Japan refuels US ships and other navy vessels in the Indian Ocean, but is banned from direct military participation by its pacifist constitution.

The vote overruled an earlier decision by the upper house, which is controlled by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DJP), against an extension of the mission, which runs out on January 15. 2009.

The more powerful lower house, where the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Taro Aso holds a solid majority, is empowered by the constitution to overturn upper house decisions.

Johannesburg - The British government minister responsible for Africa, Mark Malloch Brown, was due to hold talks with South Africa's Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Thursday about the situation in neighbouring Zimbabwe, where a cholera outbreak has killed close to 800 people.

South Africa's foreign ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa confirmed that Malloch Brown would be visiting Dlamini-Zuma before later meeting Zimbabwean refugees at a church in downtown Johannesburg.

Malloch Brown's visit comes after South Africa this week ruled out taking part in any military intervention in Zimbabwe to depose President Robert Mugabe.

Geneva - Chiefs of several leading international companies launched a call on YouTube Monday, asking for the public to submit ideas on how to combat corruption.

Executives appearing on the video streaming Website - including Alan Boeckmann of the Fluor Corporation, Peter Bakker of the Dutch delivery company TNT and Samuel DiPiazza, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers - said over 1 trillion dollars were lost annually to corruption.

They said, in a short clip just over a minute in length, that bribes hindered workers' ability to get jobs and patients' access to basic medical care.

Washington, Dec 8 : New estimates by Worldwatch Institute in the US have revealed that genetically modified (GM) crops have reached 9 percent of global primary crop production in 2007, bringing the total GM land area up to 114.3 million hectares.

According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), GM production has been on the rise since the crops were first introduced more than a decade ago, and it now includes 23 countries.

But, controversy over the benefits of genetic modification continues, including questions about the technology’s ability to deliver on promises of enhanced yields and nutrition.