In less than one hour from now, today, Friday October 9, 2020, the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be announced exactly at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) in Oslo.
Although the Norwegian Nobel Committee has a tradition of keeping its decision close to its heart, there are still a lot of speculations about who the cap will fit amongst the nominees.
Candidates who have been anticipated to win the contest include the Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg; the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who was attacked by a nerve agent in which Russian President Vladimir Putin was said to be complicit; and the World Health Organization for its efforts in battling the coronavirus pandemic.
Although supporters of U.S. President, Donald Trump are comfortable touting him as deserving of the highly respectable honor, pundits say the only thing the US president and his supporters should look forward to is disappointment.
According to Associated Press report, “there are 318 candidates — 211 individuals and 107 organizations. Nominations can be made by a select group, including national lawmakers, heads of state and certain international institutions.
“Along with enormous prestige, the prize comes with a 10-milion krona ($1.1 million) cash award and a gold medal to be handed out at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s death. This year’s ceremony will be scaled down due to the pandemic.
On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. Tuesday’s prize for physics honored breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes, and the chemistry prize on Wednesday went to scientists behind a powerful gene-editing tool. The literature prize was awarded to American poet Louise Glück on Thursday for her “candid and uncompromising” work.
The prize for outstanding work in the field of economics is expected to be announced next week. “The announcement is anticipated as a chance to impart hope at a time when the world faces numerous disruptions, including the coronavirus pandemic, accelerating climate change, and threats to democratic governance,” the AP report says.
