Oslo - Norwegian energy giant Statoil Hydro's second-quarter earnings were boosted by record-high oil and gas prices, the group said Friday.

Net income was 18.91 billion kroner (3.68 billion dollars), up 36 per cent on the corresponding business quarter in 2007.

Turnover increased 34 per cent to 170.6 billion kroner, the group said, noting that net operating income surged 74 per cent to 62.6 billion kroner.

"The second quarter result is primarily influenced by high oil and gas prices," Statoil Hydro chief executive Helge Lund said in a statement.

Oslo - A man was arrested Wednesday after threating to detonate a homemade bomb

Oslo - Police were Friday investigating an attack on a refugee centre in south-eastern Norway where some 20 refugees were assaulted, police and local media reported.

Hospitals said Friday that the injured refugees were in stable condition.

The attack took place Thursday evening and several reports attributed the attack to rivalry between Chechen nationals and refugees of Kurdish background.

Ole Morten Lyng of the Valer refugee centre said the attack was conducted by some 40 to 50 Chechen nationals.

The assailants arrived in several vehicles, scaled the refugee centre's perimeter fence and used baseball bats and iron bars to beat refugees, he told broadcaster NRK. Some refugees were also stabbed.

Oslo - Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor Wednesday posted an increase in pre-tax profit and sales for the second quarter of 2008.

Pre-tax profit was 5.2 billion kroner (1 billion dollars), compared to 3.8 billion kroner for the corresponding business period of
2007.

Second-quarter sales were 23.8 billion kroner, up from 23.1

billion kroner from a year ago, the group said.

The sums included earnings from its company Kyivstar in Ukraine, where Telenor has been engaged in protracted measures to get audited financial information about the operator.

Oslo - Norwegian aluminium and power generation group Norsk Hydro on Tuesday posted lower second quarter earnings, citing that a weak US dollar and higher production costs failed to offset higher aluminum prices.

In line with a recent profit warning the group said earnings before interest and tax dropped 44 per cent to 1.6 billion kroner (315 million dollars), compared to 2.88 billion kroner for the corresponding business period 2007.

Hydro posted turnover of 23.98 billion kroner in the second quarter, down 4 per cent from the second quarter 2007.

Oslo - A blind dog has grabbed headlines in Norway after it was reported Thursday that she i