Pope Francis, Snowden, Malala tipped for Nobel Peace prize

Despite a year seemingly filled with gloom and near constant reminders of humanity’s failings, the Nobel Peace prize will reward a person, or organisation, who’s worked tirelessly for peace despite the world’s many hurdles.

Last year, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons became the surprise winner awarded for its mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stocks and 16 years of wider global efforts.

This year, US whistleblower Edward Snowden, girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai and Pope Francis are tipped for the peace prize.

Pope Francis is favoured to win the peace award by bookmakers William Hill Plc and Paddy Power Plc, with odds of 11-4 and 9-4, respectively. Since his election in March 2013, Francis, 77, has pleaded for a reduction of inequalities on a global basis, including in a message to this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

This year saw a record 278 peace prize nominations and, while the list is secret, some names have been revealed by their sponsors, including that of Snowden, who was nominated by two Norwegian members of parliament.

The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded Friday, October 10.

The current list of favourites includes:

>> Pope Francis, pope of the Catholic Church

>> Edward Snowden, a former US intelligence contractor who leaked information about surveillance programs and top-secret US weapons’ designs, and is now hiding in Russia to avoid prosecution

>> Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani female adolescent who was shot by the Taliban, and has now taken safe refuge in the West

>> Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist who specialises in treating female victims of rape

>> Novaya Gazeta (New Gazette), a Russian newspaper known for its critical coverage of the Putin regime