Father of hybrid rice nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Yuan Longping, father of China's hybrid rice, has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.

Yuan, an 84-year-old academic from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, started developing hybrid rice in the 1960s, and produced the world's first varieties of hybrid rice in 1974.

Thanks to his and other researchers' achievements, China's total rice output has increased significantly since then.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it has received 278 nominations this year, the highest number ever. The previous record of 259 was in 2013.

Other nominees included Russian President Vladimir Putin, US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden and Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old Pakistani women's education activist.