Oslo - Norway has decided to contribute a field hospital to the incoming United Nations mission in Chad, the Norwegian Defence Ministry said Tuesday.

The UN Mission known as MINURCAT II will also comprise neighbouring Central African Republic, and was due to begin as of March 15 next year when a European Union force leaves the region.

The UN mission was aimed at protecting civilians living in and near refugee camps, and also to protect aid workers in eastern Chad.

Oslo - A former Norwegian top diplomat who in 1985 was given a 20-year sentence for espionage failed Monday to get a new hearing.

Arne Treholt's appeal was rejected by the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission which conducted a lengthy investigation, commission chairwoman Janne Kristiansen said. One of the five members on the panel favoured a new review, Kristiansen said.

The independent commission was created in 2004 and can order a review if "new evidence or new circumstances" come to light or if a criminal offence was committed by investigators, prosecutors, defence lawyer or others.

Oslo - House fires claimed ten lives across Norway this weekend, according to authorities.

Four bodies of people aged between 17 and 22 were found in the remains of a burned-out single-family home on the island of Hery on Sunday. The deceased had been attending a party in the house. Authorities said there might be further bodies, since 20 people had attended the party. No cause for the blaze had been established.

Oslo - Six people died in a fire in a residential building in the Norwegian capital Oslo early Saturday, possibly as a result of the fire alarm being switched off and the only emergency exit being nailed shut, according to the police.

Thirty-three residents of the building were caught unawares by the fire as most were asleep, the police said.

As the fire service arrived three minutes after the alarm was raised at 3:42 am, many of the mostly young residents were sitting dazed on window sills - some in just boxer shorts and T-shirts - waiting to be rescued by ladder.

Oslo  - The Norwegian whaling quota for next year was set at 885 minke whales, the Fisheries Ministry said Thursday. That compares with a quota of 1,052 whales for
2008.

Published reports suggested that 532 whales were caught during the 2008 whaling season that opened in April and ended in early September.

The ministry said 750 whales would be allowed to be caught in coastal areas including the North Sea, the Barents Sea and the area around Svalbard.

Oslo - A Norwegian bishop who wracked up huge personal debts in an effort to help his son who lost millions on online gambling said Wednesday he was to step down next year.

Bishop Ernst Baasland of the city of Stavanger, western Norway, and his wife were declared bankrupt in September.

Press reports have suggested the son, 34, lost some 60 million kroner (10 million dollars) on online gambling sites.

Both Baasland and his wife borrowed large sums from friends, acquaintances and banks to help the son. They said the loans were intended for the son's IT business leading to questions if they deceived the creditors.