Oslo  - Norway urged Israel to "immediately" halt its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, which Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store described as "a dramatic escalation of the conflict."

Oslo - British singer Amy Winehouse has been served a summons to an appeals court hearing in Norway in January, the Norwegian online newspaper Nettavisen reported Wednesday.

In October 2007, the soul singer, her husband Blake Fielder-Civil and another member of her entourage spent a night in police custody after a small amount of marijuana was found in a hotel room while she was on tour in Bergen, western Norway.

The three accepted a fine but subsequently appealed the fine. A likely reason offered was that they wanted to avert potential problems when visiting the United States.

Oslo  - Norwegian police used teargas Monday evening to disperse protesters who broke through barricades outside the Israeli embassy in Oslo.

Several hundred people had earlier assembled near parliament to protest against Israel's air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

The protesters then continued to the embassy where youths threw stones and fired fireworks at police cordons and the embassy building, broadcaster TV2 reported.

Police responded with teargas. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Recent research has shown that intake of chocolate, wine and tea in moderation can help in improving cognitive performance. Research team from Norway and the Oxford University collected data from 2,031 older people aged between 70 and 74.

The study subjects were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding their habitual food intake. Mental ability of study subjects was also tested.

Oslo - Norwegians should prepare for a drawn-out economic crisis, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Friday.

The effects of the current financial crisis were likely to continue well into next year, he warned.

"Unemployment is increasing, many companies are struggling and the bank and credit markets are not functioning normally," he said.

Stoltenberg said the global economic situation was "serious" and the downturn was the worst in decades.

Oslo - The Norwegian central bank on Wednesday cut its lead rate a further 1.75 percentage points to 3.00 per cent, which was in line with market expectations.

The new cut takes effect Thursday, the central bank said.

The decision to lower rates was taken against the backdrop of weaker growth in Norway and internationally since the end of October, Norges Bank Deputy Governor Jan F Qvigstad said in a statement.

Meanwhile, "inflation is subsiding faster than expected," he added.