Oslo (Norway), Oct. 10 : Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari has won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for his peace-building and brokering efforts in international conflicts for more than 30 years, including his role in a 2005 accord between Indonesia and rebels in its province of Aceh, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

"These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to ''fraternity between nations'' in Alfred Nobel''s spirit," the committee said in announcing the prize.

Oslo- Human rights activists from China, Russia or Vietnam topped speculations on the eve of the announcement of this year's Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The five-member Nobel Committee advises nominators not to announce their proposals but there are no rules against the procedure, allowing fodder for speculation before Friday's announcement.

In 2007 the prize was shared by former US vice president Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for their efforts to raise awareness about climate change.

Oslo - A member of Norway's ruling Labour Party said Thursday she would not seek re-election to parliament next year after disclosures that she routinely placed calls to clairvoyants and fortune tellers at taxpayer expense.

Saera Khan, elected to the legislature in 2005, said in a statement late Wednesday she "regretted" that she had not disclosed the calls. She added that she had provided compensation for phone expenses that were over the average for a Norwegian member of parliament.

Oslo- A Norwegian literature festival has cancelled an invitation to controversial British historian David Irving, organizers said Thursday.

Irving, who in 2006 was sentenced in Austria for denying the Holocaust, was invited to the Norwegian Festival of Literature at the end of May 2009.

The invitation generated a lot of criticism and on Thursday, the festival's artistic director, Stig Saeterbakken, resigned.

Oslo, Copenhagen - Norway's central bank said Wednesday it will hold a meeting on interest rates earlier than planned, citing the ongoing financial turmoil.

Meanwhile, Denmark's central bank on Wednesday said it would keep its key rates unchanged "for the time being." This comes a day after the lending rate and the rate of interest for certificates were raised from 4.6 per cent to 5.0 per cent.

Oslo  - Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store arrived Tuesday in Afghanistan on his first visit since a suicide attack in mid-January forced him to cut short his visit.

The suicide attack on a hotel in Kabul that claimed eight lives including that of a Norwegian newspaper reporter.