Helsinki  - The prime minister of Iceland said Monday he hoped the cash-strapped North Atlantic nation will be able to get loans from its Nordic neighbours.

"We hope for a quick response," Prime Minister Geir Haarde told reporters before a meeting of Nordic prime ministers in Finland.

The global financial crisis that has battered Iceland was one of the main topics at the meeting of the Nordic Council organization that groups Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as three self-ruling territories including Greenland.

Reykjavik/Stockholm - An online petition recently launched in Iceland protesting the British government's recent use of anti- terrorist legislation to freeze Icelandic bank assets had Sunday gathered over 50,000 names.

The website also features photos of Icelanders holding signs with texts like "I am not a terrorist Mr Brown" and "Gordon Darling We are not to blame," with references to British Minister Gordon Brown and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.

The website, www.indefence.is, was set up to protest what was perceived as a "devastating attack" on Iceland after the British government earlier this month used legislation from 2001 to freeze assets in Icelandic banks.

Reykjavik/Washington - Iceland has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 2.1-billion-dollar emergency loan to help stabilize the country's economy, the two sides announced Friday.

An IMF team agreed to the loan during a visit to Iceland. The Washington-based crisis lender's executive board still has to approve the deal and could do so in early November, the IMF said. If approved, Reykjavik could immediately draw on 833 million dollars under the two-year arrangement.

Reykjavik  - The government of Iceland said Friday it has reached an agreement with a visiting team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 2-billion-dollar economic rescue plan.

The IMF team was to return to Washington to seek approval from the IMF's management, the government said. If approved, Reykjavik could immediately draw on 830 million dollars under the two-year arrangement.

Reykjavik/Oslo - Norway and Britain were Wednesday reported to be considering loans and other assistance to financially-troubled Iceland.

The economy of the North Atlantic nation of some 300,000 people has come under severe strain amid the global credit crunch.

A Norwegian delegation was heading for Iceland to discuss the situation and "how Norway can possibly help," Norwegian Transport and Communications Minister Liv Signe Navarsete told broadcaster NRK.

Reykjavik/Stockholm - Iceland was reported Monday to be inching closer to secure support for a rescue package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and several central banks.

The online edition of the Financial Times reported that the plan was worth 6 billion dollars, and that the IMF was to provide some 1 billion dollars.

Other central banks in the Nordic region as well as the central bank of Japan were also part of the overall deal, the report said.