Church leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo are urging the government of the central African nation to rescind death sentences pronounced on two Norwegians

An art thief has broken into a church and stolen a precious 450-year-old painting called "Let the little children come to me" by the revered 16th century German artist Lucas Cranach (1472-1533).

Some Norwegian church leaders want a five-year moratorium on oil and gas exploration on Norway's continental shelf in the North Sea, in particular off the Lofoten archipelago in the Arctic Circle.

The (Lutheran) Church of Norway says its representatives were due to be present at a court case hearing yesterday on the future of one of the world's most ancient monasteries, Mor Gabriel in Turkey.

Norway's government has praised the country's small Roman Catholic Church for its role in supporting more than 100,000 labour migrants from Poland and other eastern European countries.

The signing of a declaration between a group representing Muslims and a leading Christian body in Norway, which supports the mutual right to convert between faiths without harassment, is the first pact of its type in the world, the two bodies have announced.

Conflict in Somalia is fuelling fears of a new refugee crisis, according to Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), a development agency with considerable experience in the region.