Daily Times

Oslo: As speculation mounts ahead of Friday’s much-anticipated Nobel Peace Prize announcement, observers suggest the committee may sound the alarm over the war in Ukraine or climate change.

Prize experts are split over who will get it.

One camp thinks this year’s award winner will be a critique of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The other believes it will highlight the urgent need to combat global heating.

With a total of 343 top-secret nominations this year, the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee could also surprise experts and go with a completely different pick.

Henrik Urdal, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), said the Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny deserved to win the prestigious honour together.

“These are both champions of non-violent pro-democracy activities within their own countries,” he said.

“And both Navalny and Tikhanovskaya have also been very strong opponents of the war in Ukraine”.

Not since World War II has a conflict raged between two countries so close to Oslo, the home of the Peace Prize.

The committee could also make a statement against Putin’s war by giving the Nobel to those documenting suspected war crimes in Ukraine, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) or digital investigative group Bellingcat.