Merkel, Pope in running for Nobel Prize, so is Donald Trump

Oslo: Donald Trump, Greek islanders helping desperate migrants, Angela Merkel and the pope -- some may seem more likely than others but all are understood to be in the running for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.

According to a copy of the nomination letter Harpviken said he had received, brash tycoon Trump -- who has attracted international condemnation by calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States -- deserves the prize for "his vigorous peace through strength ideology, used as a threat weapon of deterrence against radical Islam, ISIS, nuclear Iran and Communist China".

Thousands of people around the world are allowed to make nominations for the Peace Prize, including members of parliament and government ministers, former laureates and some university professors.

The Nobel Institute accepts all valid nominations, so having one's name on the list is not to be taken as a sign of approval.

The five members of the panel that selects the laureate are also allowed to put forward their own nominations when they hold their first meeting on February 29.

Harpviken said he believed Edward Snowden, the American who exposed mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency, could be a winner this year.

Many people took to Twitter to express their disbelief at Trump’s nomination for the coveted award.