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.