It’s a black day

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Thursday termed the amendment to Grameen Bank Ordinance ‘a black day’ for the nation and said it would mark the beginning of the end of the glorious history of Greameen Bank.’
The founder of Grameen Bank made the remarks in a press statement within hours of the government
notifying the amended ordinance in its official

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Autonomy curbed

4 leading personalities censure govt move
Civil society leaders yesterday condemned the government move to curtail the autonomy of the Nobel winning Grameen Bank as an undemocratic decision that they believe would give negative signals to the world.
The cabinet approved of an amendment to the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, which would reduce the power of GB board, giving more authority to the chairman to choose its new

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I’m fearful of its future

Grameen Bank
I’m fearful of its future 
Says Yunus in an open letter
Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday urged stakeholders and the government not to take any step to change the legal structure of the Nobel-winning Grameen Bank.
In an open letter to the borrower owners of Grameen Bank, Yunus expressed his fear that steps are afoot to alter the management

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No Yunus

Muhith rules out Nobel hero-led search committee for Grameen Bank MD
The government yesterday dismissed the proposition of making Prof Muhammad Yunus the head of a committee to find the managing director for Grameen Bank.
“Some members [of the Grameen Bank board] proposed appointment of Dr Yunus as the chairman of the search committee. But we cannot accept this as a previous MD should not

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Yunus among 12 greatest entrepreneurs

Fortune Magazine’s List
Yunus among 12 greatest entrepreneurs
Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus has been named by Fortune magazine as one of the 12 Greatest Entrepreneurs of Our Time.
This list published in the magazine’s latest issue places Prof Yunus among the band of highly exclusive individuals, all of whom are known throughout the world for their innovation, vision

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Yunus unwilling to be WB chief

Thanks PM for proposal; says he would rather head ‘World Social Business Bank’ in future
Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus has said he is not interested in taking the helm of the World Bank, as he wants to dedicate his life to social business.
In a statement issued yesterday, he, however, thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for proposing his name for the WB presidency. He described the proposal as

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Let poor prove their ability

Prof Yunus tells Vienna Social Business Summit
Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday said the poor people of Bangladesh were like Bonsai, who have been stunted by oppression. But they have the ability to grow if they are given the opportunity.
He was addressing the concluding session of the third Global Social Business Summit, hosted by Germany-based Grameen Creative Lab at the Congress Centre in the capital of

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Yunus meets Hillary Clinton

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus met the US secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, at her office in the state department on Thursday.
They discussed a broad range of issues relating to microcredit and social business as tools to fight poverty, and other issues relating to women and global justice, according to a message from

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Yunus’s lawyers call HC order ‘perverse’, ‘biased’

Lawyers acting for Mohammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, argued on Monday before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court that the High Court order, which had ‘summarily dismissed’ their application challenging the legality of Bangladesh
Bank’s attempt to remove their client from his post of managing director, was ‘perverse’,

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Appoint Yunus as chairman

Grameen Bank employees urge govt
Employees of Grameen Bank yesterday urged the government to appoint Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus as chairman of the microfinance bank to ensure its smooth running.
“If Prof Yunus cannot be allowed to work as managing director for crossing retirement age, he should be appointed chairman,” said Md Shamsul Alam, president of Grameen Bank

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Yunus wants to see Grameen Bank unharmed

Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said he want to see Grameen Bank remains unscathed in future.
The microcredit guru told this to the review committee on the issues relating to Grameen Bank while presenting his exit plan at a meeting at

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Yunus’ plea hearing adjourned till Apr 4

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned till April 4 the hearing on the appeals filed against the High Court verdict that upheld a Bangladesh Bank order removing Muhammad Yunus from the office of Grameen Bank managing director.
The seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque

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US for govt talks with Yunus

Blake says compromise possible; Wolfensohn backs amicable solution
The United States yesterday called for a dialogue between Prof Muhammad Yunus and Bangladesh government to reach a solution to the dispute over the status of the Nobel laureate in the Grameen Bank he founded.
“‘I do believe that a compromise is possible and I am encouraging dialogue between the

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Room still there for compromise

Blake says about Yunus’ removal after meeting PM; Muhith says Yunus could be a fellow at GB
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake yesterday said “there is still room for compromise” in resolving the issue arising from the removal of Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus as the Managing Director of Grameen Bank he founded.
“Such a compromise will also allow us to continue very good progress that we made in our

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Norwegian Television’s big lie

by David Bergman
Tom Heinemann, the director of the documentary broadcast on Norwegian television which accused Muhammad Yunus of transferring aid money out of the Grameen Bank and using some of it to fund a telecom company, appears on the cusp of securing a big scalp.
There can be little doubt that without the broadcast of this documentary in November 2010—a

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More support for Yunus from abroad

The world’s best-known microfinance institutions and over a dozen Bangladeshi scholars living abroad condemned the government move to remove Prof Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank.
In a statement, Tilman Ehrbeck, chief executive of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and Vijay Mahajan, chair of the CGAP board, said, “We are deeply concerned by the

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Abed, Yunus among world’s top 100

Two renowned Bangladeshis have been included in a list of ‘Top 100 Individuals’ who have committed themselves to improve the lives of girls and women around the world.
Founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of Brac, were included in the list prepared by US-based

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Grameen Bank on Joy’s letter

Sajeeb Wajed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has riddled Grameen Bank with allegations of tax evasion, fraud and illegal activities under its founder Muhammad Yunus, prompting the microlender to issue a firm rebuttal.
In a statement yesterday, the “Bank for the Poor” disputed Joy’s letter, published in a section

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Full SC bench to decide Yunus’ fate

Hearing on Mar 15; move on to find new MD for Grameen Bank
Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus yesterday filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in a final attempt to stay as the managing director of Grameen Bank he founded nearly three decades ago.
In the appeal filed with Supreme Court chamber judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, Dr Yunus sought a stay on a High Court ruling that upheld his removal by the Bangladesh Bank on

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