JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Pope Francis, anti-nuclear activists among Nobel Peace Prize contenders

Pope Francis, anti-nuclear activists among Nobel Peace Prize contenders

Friday, October 09, 2015, 11:45 GMT+7

Pope Francis and a line-up of anti-nuclear campaigners headed lists of favourites to win the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize on the eve of Friday's announcement.

The Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was named as a leading contender for the $972,000 prize by Norway's state broadcaster NRK and by Nobeliana, a website run by historians who specialise in tracking the award.

NRK said Pope Francis' opposition to nuclear weapons boosted his chances, alongside his help in brokering a deal between the United States and Cuba, and his encyclical on climate change. Nobeliana mentioned his calls for social justice.

Both organisations also highlighted Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, while Nobeliana picked out Sumiteru Taniguchi, a survivor of the atomic attack on Nagasaki.

NRK, which has correctly predicted a number of winners, mentioned Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as contenders for concluding a deal over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Private broadcaster TV2 reported that they, and probably an EU representative, were considered in the final round of deliberations by the committee which is due to announce the winner at 0900 GMT.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, Eritrean priest Mussie Zerai and the mayor of the Italian island of Lampedusa, Giusi Nicolini, have also been named widely because of their work dealing with the refugee crisis.

Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and its editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, known for their investigations into corruption, and Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, who helps victims of sexual violence, have also been mentioned by commentators.

Around 273 individuals and organisations have been nominated by past winners, political leaders and other dignitaries.

Reuters

Read more

;

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Latest news