Nuclear watchdog head wins Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO - The UN nuclear watchdog and its head, Mohamed ElBaradei, won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their efforts to limit the spread of atomic weapons.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee picked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ElBaradei, an Egyptian, from a record field of 199 candidates.

The two had been among favourites for the award, which also included the 60th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

The prize, named after Swedish philanthropist Alfred Nobel, is worth $1.3 million and is due to be handed out in Oslo on December 10.

- REUTERS