Jimmy Carter Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Former US president Jimmy Carter today won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights and to promote economic and social development".

The Norwegian Nobel committee cited Mr Carter's "vital contribution" to the Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt, his efforts in conflict resolution on several continents and the promotion of human rights after his presidency.

"In a situation currently marked by threats of the use of power, Carter has stood by the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved through mediation and international cooperation based on international law, respect for human rights and economic development," the citation said.

This year, a record 156 people were nominated for the prize, many of whom had participated in global efforts to combat terrorism following the September 11 attacks on the US last year.

Nominees ranged from the US president, George Bush, to Pope John Paul II, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and even U2's lead singer, Bono.

Last year's award, worth 10m Swedish kronor (£700,000), went to the UN and its secretary general, Kofi Annan, on the 100th anniversary of the first prize. That award was widely predicted in advance.

The secretive, five-member committee made its decision last week after months of deliberations as it sought the right message for a world still dazed by the September 11 attacks, the war on terrorism that followed and concern about a possible US military strike against Iraq.

Today's announcement capped a week of Nobel prizes, with the awards for literature, medicine, physics, chemistry and economics already announced in Sweden's capital, Stockholm.