PRESIDENT OBAMA WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

A PRAYER FOR A PEACEFUL WORLD

US President Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. A stunning decision that comes just eight months into his presidency.

The Nobel Committee said he won it for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”.

The committee highlighted Mr Obama’s efforts to support international bodies and promote nuclear disarmament. Mr Obama – woken up with the news early on Friday – said in an address at the White House that he was “surprised and deeply humbled” by the award.

He said he did not feel he deserved to be in the company of some of the “transformative figures” who had previously received the award. Speaking outside the White House, he said he would accept the prize as a “call to action”.

There were a record 205 nominations for this year’s peace prize. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Chinese dissident Hu Jia had been among the favourites. Instead the committee chose Mr Obama, who was inaugurated less than two weeks before the 1 February nomination deadline.

Some around the world objected to the choice of Obama, who still oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched deadly counter-terror strikes in Pakistan and Somalia. The Norwegian Nobel Committee countered that it was trying “to promote what he stands for and the positive processes that have started now.”

It lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama’s calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.

The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts but Obama’s efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners’. The Nobel committee acknowledged that they may not bear fruit at all.