197 nominations in for 2008 Nobel Peace Prize

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Algeria's president and the artificial world language of Esperanto are believed to be among the nearly 200 nominations for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The secretive prize committee released the final count yesterday, saying 197 nominations - 164 individuals and 33 organizations - were postmarked by the Feb. 1 nomination deadline for the prestigious award.

"This is the second-highest number we've had," committee secretary Geir Lundestad said. "The highest number was 199, in 2005."