WikiLeaks among record 241 Nobel peace nominations

OSLO // The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it has received a record 241 nominations for the 2011 peace prize.

Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, WikiLeaks and Cuban dissidents are among the candidates who have been publicly announced by those who nominated them. The committee does not reveal the names of nominees.

The winner will be announced in October.

Geir Lundestad, the permanent secretary of the committee, says 188 individuals and 53 organisations have been nominated for the prestigious award. The deadline for nominations was February 1.

The imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his nonviolent struggle for human rights in his homeland. The award infuriated China, which accused the Nobel committee of honouring a criminal.