Human rights activists from China, Russia top speculation as 2008 Nobel Peace Prize winners

Last year, he correctly guessed that former U.S. Vice President Al Gore would share the prize for his climate awareness campaign.

Irish bookmaker Paddypower was giving 7-4 odds on Hu on Thursday, but did not list Gao. Nordic bookmaker Betsafe had 5-1/2 to 1 odds on Hu and 10-1 on Gao.

The last time the Nobel committee took a slap at China, with the 1989 award to Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Beijing reacted with rage, threatening to break off relations with Norway if anyone from the government or the royal family attended the awards ceremony.

The king and queen and other government members attended anyway.

The awards committee is appointed by Norway's parliament, but answers neither to the lawmakers nor the government.

Toennesson, and others, said the committee could also pick the 80-year-old Vietnamese monk and dissident Do (4-1 odds from Paddy and 7-1 from Betsafe), who works for religious freedom, democracy and human rights.

Russian human rights lawyer Yusupova is also seen as a possible pick and a sharp criticism of the Kremlin's crackdown on press freedoms and human rights.

Helge Hveem, a professor of political science at the University of Oslo, was backing a little-mentioned long-shot: Eastern Congo Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josue for his efforts to ease ethnic tensions.

Hveem wrote than the Congo is one of the world's most violent places and that Josue "meets violence with fearless mediation, suggestions and peace efforts."

The peace prize is presented in Oslo while Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics and economics are handed out in Stockholm, Sweden. The ceremonies are always on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.

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On the Net:

http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org

http://www.prio.no

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