"Tom Thumb", as the doctors call him, might be world's most premature boy as he was born at just 25 weeks. At birth he weighed 9oz which is less than the weight of a coke can. He was almost the length of an A4 paper.

'Tom Thumb' was delivered by Caeserean section at the University of Medicine at Goettingen in Germany in June 2009.

It was only this week, after doctors decided he was strong enough for his parents to take home that they made public his struggle to stay alive.

'After studying all the relevant documents we can say with some certainty that he was the smallest child in the world to survive such a premature birth last year,' said Stefan Weller, a spokesman for the university.

It was only in December that the baby was finally pronounced as 'stable' in the intensive care ward of the hospital having attained a weight of 8.2lb - considered average in Germany for a child at birth.

For 24 hours a day, around the clock, the child was in an incubator and hooked up to feeding tubes, breathing tubes, a heart monitor, a catheter and a plethora of electronic devices to monitor every vital sign for every second of the day.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Look at him now -

The previous record is said to have been held by Tyler Martin who was born 11 once in New Jersey, in the U.S.

It seems like Tom Thumb (true identity not disclosed on parents request) is a true fighter! Best of luck to the family.

"Tom Thumb", as the doctors call him, might be world's most premature boy as he was born at just 25 weeks. At birth he weighed 9oz which is less than the weight of a coke can. He was almost the length of an A4 paper.

'Tom Thumb' was delivered by Caeserean section at the University of Medicine at Goettingen in Germany in June 2009.

It was only this week, after doctors decided he was strong enough for his parents to take home that they made public his struggle to stay alive.

'After studying all the relevant documents we can say with some certainty that he was the smallest child in the world to survive such a premature birth last year,' said Stefan Weller, a spokesman for the university.

It was only in December that the baby was finally pronounced as 'stable' in the intensive care ward of the hospital having attained a weight of 8.2lb - considered average in Germany for a child at birth.

For 24 hours a day, around the clock, the child was in an incubator and hooked up to feeding tubes, breathing tubes, a heart monitor, a catheter and a plethora of electronic devices to monitor every vital sign for every second of the day.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Look at him now -

The previous record is said to have been held by Tyler Martin who was born 11 once in New Jersey, in the U.S.

It seems like Tom Thumb (true identity not disclosed on parents request) is a true fighter! Best of luck to the family.

A mysterious image of a coiled snake appeared on a 400-year old portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. The portrait was created by an unknown artist in the 1580s or early 1590s and seems like the snake was removed due to obvious ambiguity. A snake can on one hand mean wisdom and on the other, satan worship.

A statement from the gallery said: 'The snake is mainly black but has greenish blue scales and was almost certainly painted from imagination.'

Tarnya Cooper, curator of 16th century paintings at the gallery, said the snake is a unique attribute in portraits of the queen.

'The portrait of Elizabeth I with a hidden serpent is a really unusual survival. Yet it is difficult to know exactly why the serpent may have been originally included, or how common this motif might have been.

'The queen certainly owned jewellery and costume including emblems of serpents, which were probably understood as a symbol of wisdom.

'However, no other portrait of Elizabeth appears to depict her holding a snake.'

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

A mysterious image of a coiled snake appeared on a 400-year old portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. The portrait was created by an unknown artist in the 1580s or early 1590s and seems like the snake was removed due to obvious ambiguity. A snake can on one hand mean wisdom and on the other, satan worship.

A statement from the gallery said: 'The snake is mainly black but has greenish blue scales and was almost certainly painted from imagination.'

Tarnya Cooper, curator of 16th century paintings at the gallery, said the snake is a unique attribute in portraits of the queen.

'The portrait of Elizabeth I with a hidden serpent is a really unusual survival. Yet it is difficult to know exactly why the serpent may have been originally included, or how common this motif might have been.

'The queen certainly owned jewellery and costume including emblems of serpents, which were probably understood as a symbol of wisdom.

'However, no other portrait of Elizabeth appears to depict her holding a snake.'

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

British Police has changed 33-year old Staci Hargreaves for stabbing her boyfriend 28-year old Gavin Taylor with a 4 inch stiletto heel. The incident occurred during an argument between the couple while they were returning in a cab at 2 am on Sunday after a night out in Huddersfield. She is reported to have kicked him when the heel of her stiletto passed through his eye socket and touched his brain. Gavin is currently in a stable but critical condition.

Neighbours confirmed last night that he and Hargreaves were a couple - and said his injury was an accident.

One said: "They're boyfriend and girlfriend. He was in the front of the taxi, she was in the back. It was a kick." Another friend added: "He was on a night out and this is a domestic gone wrong."

Source: www.thesun.co.uk

Taylor had earlier been convicted for 16 months for drowning a drunk father of two for laughs.

Father of three Chris Mattison, 42, had been dangled over the freezing River Thame and then left to drown when the line holding him broke.

His body was found four days later.

Four people were jailed for the attack, including Taylor, with another sent to a young offenders' institution. Taylor admitted false imprisonment.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

British Police has changed 33-year old Staci Hargreaves for stabbing her boyfriend 28-year old Gavin Taylor with a 4 inch stiletto heel. The incident occurred during an argument between the couple while they were returning in a cab at 2 am on Sunday after a night out in Huddersfield. She is reported to have kicked him when the heel of her stiletto passed through his eye socket and touched his brain. Gavin is currently in a stable but critical condition.

Neighbours confirmed last night that he and Hargreaves were a couple - and said his injury was an accident.

One said: "They're boyfriend and girlfriend. He was in the front of the taxi, she was in the back. It was a kick." Another friend added: "He was on a night out and this is a domestic gone wrong."

Source: www.thesun.co.uk

Taylor had earlier been convicted for 16 months for drowning a drunk father of two for laughs.

Father of three Chris Mattison, 42, had been dangled over the freezing River Thame and then left to drown when the line holding him broke.

His body was found four days later.

Four people were jailed for the attack, including Taylor, with another sent to a young offenders' institution. Taylor admitted false imprisonment.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Daughter of ex-US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, is engaged to long term boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky, who is a banker at Goldman Sachs.  They are reported to have got engaged over the Thanksgiving holidays. 

Marc's parents are Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and Ed Mezvinsky, who are old friends of Clintons and have served the congress. Ed Mezvinsky was released from federal prison last year after pleading guilty in 2002 to charges of bank and wire fraud.

Congratulations to the newly engaged couple!

Daughter of ex-US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, is engaged to long term boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky, who is a banker at Goldman Sachs.  They are reported to have got engaged over the Thanksgiving holidays. 

Marc's parents are Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and Ed Mezvinsky, who are old friends of Clintons and have served the congress. Ed Mezvinsky was released from federal prison last year after pleading guilty in 2002 to charges of bank and wire fraud.

Congratulations to the newly engaged couple!

A Wisconsin farmer, Paul Springer, has a knack for collecting "freak" animals like 6 legged cow, etc.

From WSAW -

On Paul Springer's farm near Mineral Point, it's not unusual to find the unusual. Pointing to a cow he purchased that was born with a fifth leg attached to its back, Springer said, "Freak of nature....it happens!"

It's just the most recent of many deformed animals Paul has purchased and given a home to over the years. He's owned everything from five-horned sheep to six-legged cows. He even once acquired a two-headed calf that had died at birth.

You might have seen some of Paul's animals if you've ever been to a Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. He's sold six deformed animals to Ripley's' around America, including a six-legged cow named "Slim" on display at the Ripley's in the Wisconsin Dells. "Slim" is positioned right across from the skull of Paul's two-headed calf.

His fascination with "freaks" began in the mid 1970s, when he bought a 6-legged calf named Boldegard, an animal destined for the slaughterhouse, if Paul had not purchased him. "I neutered him, otherwise all I would have had was a mean piece of baloney; couldn't have taken him any where!"

He and Boldegard traveled the country, and people paid to see the steer. "I had him since he was a week old. He was the most gentle. I could lead him around like a dog."

Boldegard lived a long 14 years, and it was tough when he had to be put down, because Paul gets attached to the misfit animals.

Even though he's made some money from these animals other farmers wanted to get rid of, it's about more than that. He has a soft spot for them. Paul said, "There's something about them that maybe I feel sorry for. I give them a life. Most people will put them down and sell them. I am proud of them!"

Paul said the odds of a six-legged calf being born alive are about one in four million! So, he depends on a network of fellow farmers to let him know if an animal is born with deformities. He does not take animals that are suffering.

When Paul buys a deformed farm animal, he buys them some time in the process. Pointing to the five-legged cow, he said, "Somebody would have eaten her up at McDonald's somewhere. At least she extends her life here."

He feels there's a lesson to be learned at his stable of the strange. "People who see them, it gives them a chance to realize that everything isn't, whether it be human beings or pigs or people or cats or dogs, we're not all born normal. Just because somebody has a handicap, they shouldn't be shunned. They should be given every chance, and love and attention that's possible."

Saying that farming is in his blood, he has no plans to retire. He hopes one of his grandchildren goes into farming some day and takes over the farm.

Meantime, he'll continue to keep his eye out for the odd. Asked if he ever see

A Wisconsin farmer, Paul Springer, has a knack for collecting "freak" animals like 6 legged cow, etc.

From WSAW -

On Paul Springer's farm near Mineral Point, it's not unusual to find the unusual. Pointing to a cow he purchased that was born with a fifth leg attached to its back, Springer said, "Freak of nature....it happens!"

It's just the most recent of many deformed animals Paul has purchased and given a home to over the years. He's owned everything from five-horned sheep to six-legged cows. He even once acquired a two-headed calf that had died at birth.

You might have seen some of Paul's animals if you've ever been to a Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. He's sold six deformed animals to Ripley's' around America, including a six-legged cow named "Slim" on display at the Ripley's in the Wisconsin Dells. "Slim" is positioned right across from the skull of Paul's two-headed calf.

His fascination with "freaks" began in the mid 1970s, when he bought a 6-legged calf named Boldegard, an animal destined for the slaughterhouse, if Paul had not purchased him. "I neutered him, otherwise all I would have had was a mean piece of baloney; couldn't have taken him any where!"

He and Boldegard traveled the country, and people paid to see the steer. "I had him since he was a week old. He was the most gentle. I could lead him around like a dog."

Boldegard lived a long 14 years, and it was tough when he had to be put down, because Paul gets attached to the misfit animals.

Even though he's made some money from these animals other farmers wanted to get rid of, it's about more than that. He has a soft spot for them. Paul said, "There's something about them that maybe I feel sorry for. I give them a life. Most people will put them down and sell them. I am proud of them!"

Paul said the odds of a six-legged calf being born alive are about one in four million! So, he depends on a network of fellow farmers to let him know if an animal is born with deformities. He does not take animals that are suffering.

When Paul buys a deformed farm animal, he buys them some time in the process. Pointing to the five-legged cow, he said, "Somebody would have eaten her up at McDonald's somewhere. At least she extends her life here."

He feels there's a lesson to be learned at his stable of the strange. "People who see them, it gives them a chance to realize that everything isn't, whether it be human beings or pigs or people or cats or dogs, we're not all born normal. Just because somebody has a handicap, they shouldn't be shunned. They should be given every chance, and love and attention that's possible."

Saying that farming is in his blood, he has no plans to retire. He hopes one of his grandchildren goes into farming some day and takes over the farm.

Meantime, he'll continue to keep his eye out for the odd. Asked if he ever see

Jamie McCourt, wife of Frank McCourt (owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers) has filed for divorce to end her 30 year marriage. Frank maintains that he is the sole owner of Dodgers but Jamie has announced that Dodgers will be treated just like any other real estate.

Here are the benefits Jamie is requesting:
- travel by private jet
- 5 star hotel accommodations
- travel expenses - Unlimited
- business dinners 5 nights per week
- business lunches 5 days per week
- parking spots at Dodger Stadium
- flowers in the office
- making Dodger Legends available for events without charge
- provision of Dodger autographed items as requested for use in business and charitable activities
- hair and makeup for Dodger events
- access to team doctors for McCourt family members
- access to the owner's suite for Dodger home games and non-baseball events at the stadium
- Tickets to All-Star games and playoff games -- even if the Dodgers aren't playing
- a pass to all National League games

Then there's this: Jamie lists her monthly living expenses at $488,928 -- THAT'S PER MONTH!!!!!!!!
Of those expenses, $333,000 goes towards her residence and vacation homes.

In the documents, Jamie claims the McCourt estate is valued in excess of $1 BILLION. Source: www.tmz.com

Jamie McCourt, wife of Frank McCourt (owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers) has filed for divorce to end her 30 year marriage. Frank maintains that he is the sole owner of Dodgers but Jamie has announced that Dodgers will be treated just like any other real estate.

Here are the benefits Jamie is requesting:
- travel by private jet
- 5 star hotel accommodations
- travel expenses - Unlimited
- business dinners 5 nights per week
- business lunches 5 days per week
- parking spots at Dodger Stadium
- flowers in the office
- making Dodger Legends available for events without charge
- provision of Dodger autographed items as requested for use in business and charitable activities
- hair and makeup for Dodger events
- access to team doctors for McCourt family members
- access to the owner's suite for Dodger home games and non-baseball events at the stadium
- Tickets to All-Star games and playoff games -- even if the Dodgers aren't playing
- a pass to all National League games

Then there's this: Jamie lists her monthly living expenses at $488,928 -- THAT'S PER MONTH!!!!!!!!
Of those expenses, $333,000 goes towards her residence and vacation homes.

In the documents, Jamie claims the McCourt estate is valued in excess of $1 BILLION. Source: www.tmz.com

Nobel Prize for Peace for 2009 was awarded to US President Barack Obama. The award was a surprise for not only people in US and rest of the world, but even for Obama himself.

Check the rest of the contenders -

Colombian senator Sen. Piedad Cordoba

For her efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict between Government of Colombia and FARC guerrilla group.

During 2007, Córdoba participated as an official government mediator in the Humanitarian exchange discussions between the Government of Colombia and the FARC guerrilla group, along with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. After the end of the mediation in November, FARC announced that it would release the hostages Clara Rojas and Consuelo González as a result of Cordóba's and Chávez's previous work. Her efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict led to her being nominated as one of the contenders for the 2009 Nobel Peace Price.

Córdoba has been judicially denounced for treason under Colombian law after making controversial declarations against the Colombian government and its president during a political event in Mexico in March 2007, a charge which is currently under investigation by the Supreme Court. She will be investigated for relations with the FARC, as part of the farcpolitics scandal.

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan

For initiating peaceful dialogue between cultures and religions

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan (born October 15, 1966 in Amman, Jordan) is a Jordanian prince, professor of philosophy, and claims to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

He is the author of the interfaith dialogue manifesto “A Common Word Between Us And You.” That document, initially signed by 138 Muslim scholars and addressed to the leaders of all main Christian churches around the world, marked a fresh approach in interfaith dialogue by stressing two common core principles in Islam and Christianity. As the group says on its website: “Simply put, it is about the Two Golden Commandments: Love of God and Love of Neighbor, and it is an invitation to join hands with Christians on such a basis, for the sake of God and for the sake of world peace and harmony.” In an unusual departure, the document based its argument on quotes from both the Bible and the Koran, opening a new path for the world’s two largest faiths to communicate with each other. (from here)

Sima Samar (Head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission)

For her work as a women's rights activist in Afghanistan

Dr. Sima Samar is the Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and, since 2005, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan.

She obtained her degree in medicine in February 1982 from Kabul University, the first Hazara woman to do so. She practiced medicine at a government hospital in Kabul, but after a few months was forced to flee for her safety to her native Jaghoori, where she provided medical treatment to patients throughout the remote areas of central Afghanistan.

In 1984, the communist regime arrested her husband, and Samar and her young son fled to the safety of nearby Pakistan. She then worked as a doctor at the refugee branch of the Mission Hospital. Distressed by the total lack of health care facilities for Afghan refugee women, she established in 1989 the Shuhada Organization and Shuhada Clinic in Quetta, Pakistan. The Shuhada Organization was dedicated to the provision of health care to Afghan women and girls, training of medical staff and to education. In the following years further branches of the clinic/hospital were opened throughout Afghanistan.

After living in refuge for over a decade, Samar returned to Afghanistan in 2002 to assume a cabinet post in the Afghan Transitional Administration led by Hamid Karzai. In the interim government, she served as Deputy President and then as Minister for Women's Affairs. She was forced into resignation from her post after she was threatened with death and harassed for questioning conservative Islamic laws, especially sharia law, during an interview in Canada with a Persian-language newspaper. During the 2003 Loya Jirga, several religious conservatives took out an ad in a local newspaper calling Samar the Salman Rushdie of Afghanistan.

She currently heads the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

She is one of the 4 main subjects in Sally Armstrong's 2004 documentary [Daughters of Afghanistan]. In the documentary, Sima Samar's work as the Minister of Women's Affairs and her subsequent fall from power is shown.

Dr. Samar publicly refuses to accept that women must be kept in purdah (secluded from the public) and speaks out against the wearing of the burqa (head-to-foot wrap), which was enforced first by the fundamentalist mujahideen and then by the Taliban. She also has drawn attention to the fact that many women in Afghanistan suffer from osteomalacia, a softening of the bones, due to an inadequate diet. Wearing the burqa reduces exposure to sunlight and aggravates the situation for women suffering from osteomalacia.

Quang Do

For his political values and efficient methods of non-violence as the best way of promoting democracy and human rights

Thích Quảng Độ is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, religious leader, and critic of the Vietnamese government. Following the death of Thich Huyen Quang, he is the current Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, a currently banned religious body in Vietnam.

In March 1992, after more than ten years of internal exile, Thich Quang Do took it upon himself to return to Saigon. In August 1994, he wrote a 44-page document addressed to Party General-Secretary Do Muoi detailing the persecution against the UBCV since the communists came to power in Vietnam. For writing this document, he was arrested on January 4, 1995.

On August 15, 1995, Thich Quảng Độ and five other monks and laity were trialed by the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City and convicted of "sabotaging government policies and damaging the interests of the state." The chief evidence was the defendants' attempt to organize an emergency food convoy to flood victims in the Mekong delta and the distribution of letters written by Thich Huyen Quang, the patriarch of the UBCV, who was under house arrest until his death in 2008. Thich Quảng Độ received a prison term of five years.

He was released from prison on August 30, 1998. Periodically detained and interrogated, he decried human rights abuses in interviews with the foreign media and letters to world leaders. Widely respected internationally, he was nominated for the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize by 200 parliamentarians from the US, Canada, Australia, France and Belgium.

On March 23, 1999, he was detained and interrogated for six hours after travelling to Quang Ngai province to meet with the 80-year old patriarch of the UBCV. He was then forcibly escorted back to Ho Chi Minh City.

In June 2001, authorities formally placed Venerable Thich Quang Do under house arrest after he announced his intention to escort back to Saigon the 82-year old patriarch of the UBCV living under house arrest for the last 19 years. Security police currently maintain a 24-hour cordon around the pagoda of Venerable Thich Quang Do.

In January 2008, the Europe-based magazine A Different View chose Ven. Thích Quảng Độ as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy. Others in the list include Nelson Mandela, Lech Wałęsa, Corazon Aquino, and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Quảng Độ broke house arrest in July 2008 to stay at the bedside of his colleague, Thích Huyền Quang, who died in house arrest at his monastery.

Malahat Nasibova

For her courageous and unwavering struggle for a free and independent press

She is an Azerbaijanian journalist and human rights activist. Risking her own safety, she reports on abuse of power, human rights violations and corruption in the isolated autonomous republic Nakhchivan, which is part of Azerbaijan. She was awarded the the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize 2009 for her courageous and unwavering struggle for a free and independent press.

Denis Mukwege

For his treatment of women who were gang raped by Congo Militia

Denis Mukwege  is a Congolese gynecologist. Working in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been gang-raped by Congolese militia, Mukwege has probably become the world's leading expert on how to repair the internal physical damage caused by gang rape.He has treated 21,000 women during the Congo's 12-year war, some of them more than once, performing up to 10 surgeries a day during his 18-hour working days. He has described how his patients arrive at the hospital sometimes naked, usually bleeding and leaking urine and faeces from torn vaginas

Nobel Prize for Peace for 2009 was awarded to US President Barack Obama. The award was a surprise for not only people in US and rest of the world, but even for Obama himself.

Check the rest of the contenders -

Colombian senator Sen. Piedad Cordoba

For her efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict between Government of Colombia and FARC guerrilla group.

During 2007, Córdoba participated as an official government mediator in the Humanitarian exchange discussions between the Government of Colombia and the FARC guerrilla group, along with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. After the end of the mediation in November, FARC announced that it would release the hostages Clara Rojas and Consuelo González as a result of Cordóba's and Chávez's previous work. Her efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict led to her being nominated as one of the contenders for the 2009 Nobel Peace Price.

Córdoba has been judicially denounced for treason under Colombian law after making controversial declarations against the Colombian government and its president during a political event in Mexico in March 2007, a charge which is currently under investigation by the Supreme Court. She will be investigated for relations with the FARC, as part of the farcpolitics scandal.

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan

For initiating peaceful dialogue between cultures and religions

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan (born October 15, 1966 in Amman, Jordan) is a Jordanian prince, professor of philosophy, and claims to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

He is the author of the interfaith dialogue manifesto “A Common Word Between Us And You.” That document, initially signed by 138 Muslim scholars and addressed to the leaders of all main Christian churches around the world, marked a fresh approach in interfaith dialogue by stressing two common core principles in Islam and Christianity. As the group says on its website: “Simply put, it is about the Two Golden Commandments: Love of God and Love of Neighbor, and it is an invitation to join hands with Christians on such a basis, for the sake of God and for the sake of world peace and harmony.” In an unusual departure, the document based its argument on quotes from both the Bible and the Koran, opening a new path for the world’s two largest faiths to communicate with each other. (from here)

Sima Samar (Head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission)

For her work as a women's rights activist in Afghanistan

Dr. Sima Samar is the Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and, since 2005, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan.

She obtained her degree in medicine in February 1982 from Kabul University, the first Hazara woman to do so. She practiced medicine at a government hospital in Kabul, but after a few months was forced to flee for her safety to her native Jaghoori, where she provided medical treatment to patients throughout the remote areas of central Afghanistan.

In 1984, the communist regime arrested her husband, and Samar and her young son fled to the safety of nearby Pakistan. She then worked as a doctor at the refugee branch of the Mission Hospital. Distressed by the total lack of health care facilities for Afghan refugee women, she established in 1989 the Shuhada Organization and Shuhada Clinic in Quetta, Pakistan. The Shuhada Organization was dedicated to the provision of health care to Afghan women and girls, training of medical staff and to education. In the following years further branches of the clinic/hospital were opened throughout Afghanistan.

After living in refuge for over a decade, Samar returned to Afghanistan in 2002 to assume a cabinet post in the Afghan Transitional Administration led by Hamid Karzai. In the interim government, she served as Deputy President and then as Minister for Women's Affairs. She was forced into resignation from her post after she was threatened with death and harassed for questioning conservative Islamic laws, especially sharia law, during an interview in Canada with a Persian-language newspaper. During the 2003 Loya Jirga, several religious conservatives took out an ad in a local newspaper calling Samar the Salman Rushdie of Afghanistan.

She currently heads the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

She is one of the 4 main subjects in Sally Armstrong's 2004 documentary [Daughters of Afghanistan]. In the documentary, Sima Samar's work as the Minister of Women's Affairs and her subsequent fall from power is shown.

Dr. Samar publicly refuses to accept that women must be kept in purdah (secluded from the public) and speaks out against the wearing of the burqa (head-to-foot wrap), which was enforced first by the fundamentalist mujahideen and then by the Taliban. She also has drawn attention to the fact that many women in Afghanistan suffer from osteomalacia, a softening of the bones, due to an inadequate diet. Wearing the burqa reduces exposure to sunlight and aggravates the situation for women suffering from osteomalacia.

Quang Do

For his political values and efficient methods of non-violence as the best way of promoting democracy and human rights

Thích Quảng Độ is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, religious leader, and critic of the Vietnamese government. Following the death of Thich Huyen Quang, he is the current Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, a currently banned religious body in Vietnam.

In March 1992, after more than ten years of internal exile, Thich Quang Do took it upon himself to return to Saigon. In August 1994, he wrote a 44-page document addressed to Party General-Secretary Do Muoi detailing the persecution against the UBCV since the communists came to power in Vietnam. For writing this document, he was arrested on January 4, 1995.

On August 15, 1995, Thich Quảng Độ and five other monks and laity were trialed by the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City and convicted of "sabotaging government policies and damaging the interests of the state." The chief evidence was the defendants' attempt to organize an emergency food convoy to flood victims in the Mekong delta and the distribution of letters written by Thich Huyen Quang, the patriarch of the UBCV, who was under house arrest until his death in 2008. Thich Quảng Độ received a prison term of five years.

He was released from prison on August 30, 1998. Periodically detained and interrogated, he decried human rights abuses in interviews with the foreign media and letters to world leaders. Widely respected internationally, he was nominated for the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize by 200 parliamentarians from the US, Canada, Australia, France and Belgium.

On March 23, 1999, he was detained and interrogated for six hours after travelling to Quang Ngai province to meet with the 80-year old patriarch of the UBCV. He was then forcibly escorted back to Ho Chi Minh City.

In June 2001, authorities formally placed Venerable Thich Quang Do under house arrest after he announced his intention to escort back to Saigon the 82-year old patriarch of the UBCV living under house arrest for the last 19 years. Security police currently maintain a 24-hour cordon around the pagoda of Venerable Thich Quang Do.

In January 2008, the Europe-based magazine A Different View chose Ven. Thích Quảng Độ as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy. Others in the list include Nelson Mandela, Lech Wałęsa, Corazon Aquino, and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Quảng Độ broke house arrest in July 2008 to stay at the bedside of his colleague, Thích Huyền Quang, who died in house arrest at his monastery.

Malahat Nasibova

For her courageous and unwavering struggle for a free and independent press

She is an Azerbaijanian journalist and human rights activist. Risking her own safety, she reports on abuse of power, human rights violations and corruption in the isolated autonomous republic Nakhchivan, which is part of Azerbaijan. She was awarded the the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize 2009 for her courageous and unwavering struggle for a free and independent press.

Denis Mukwege

For his treatment of women who were gang raped by Congo Militia

Denis Mukwege  is a Congolese gynecologist. Working in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been gang-raped by Congolese militia, Mukwege has probably become the world's leading expert on how to repair the internal physical damage caused by gang rape.He has treated 21,000 women during the Congo's 12-year war, some of them more than once, performing up to 10 surgeries a day during his 18-hour working days. He has described how his patients arrive at the hospital sometimes naked, usually bleeding and leaking urine and faeces from torn vaginas