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International Bazaar 2011 part 1 138
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Yunus Forced Out at Microlender
DHAKA, Bangladesh—Bangladesh's government ordered Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus from his post as head of his microfinance bank Wednesday—a blow for an activist whose revolutionary idea of giving out small loans lifted many out of poverty.
Tthe Grameen Bank said Mr. Yunus remained in charge and that it would fight the decision.
The demand for Mr. Yunus's removal as Grameen's managing director capped a string of problems that faced the outspoken government critic, including an apparently politically motivated defamation trial and accusations of an unauthorized bank transfer 15 years ago.
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Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus waves while appearing at the Bangladeshi court of Memensingh in January.
Bangladesh's central bank ordered him out, arguing that he violated the country's retirement laws, according to A.F.M. Asaduzzaman, an official at Bangladesh Bank.
Grameen Bank has been notified by letter, Mr. Asaduzzaman said, providing no further details. The government owns a 25% stake in Grameen, while the remainder is owned by its borrowers.
In a statement, however, Grameen said Mr. Yunus was still holding his post. Mr. Yunus is "continuing his work as the managing director of the bank," said the brief statement signed by Jannat-E-Quanine, general manager of the bank. "Since it's a legal issue, we will fight it legally."
Mr. Yunus founded the bank three decades ago, pioneering the concept of reducing poverty by making tiny loans to the poor. His work, which spurred a boom in such lending across the developing world, earned him and the bank the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
Recently, Yunus has been under pressure at home. In addition to his legal troubles, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused Grameen Bank and other microfinance institutions of charging high interest rates and "sucking blood from the poor borrowers."
But he remains a hero to the poor.
Shefali Akter, 25 years old, who has taken out two loans totaling 70,000 takas ($1,000) from Grameen since 2002, called Mr. Yunus's removal "bad news."
"The bank is all about him," she said by phone from northern Mymensingh district. "We know he is a respected man. He has brought honor to the country. We all have respect for him."
Efforts to remove Mr. Yunus from Grameen intensified in recent weeks, with the central bank claiming that the 70-year-old Mr. Yunus violated the country's retirement laws by staying on as the bank's head well past the mandatory retirement age of 60.
Grameen Bank says the normal retirement rule doesn't apply to it because the bank is run under a special 1983 law. Mr. Yunus was appointed managing director of the bank for an indefinite period in 2000, when he reached 60, the bank says.
Mr. Yunus couldn't be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith told reporters he had received a letter from the central bank accusing Mr. Yunus of flouting the retirement rules.
Khondoker Muzammel Huq, chairman of Grameen, received a copy of the letter and presented it Monday to the bank's board, but adjourned the meeting without making a decision on it.
Controversy swirled around Mr. Yunus after a Norwegian television documentary that screened in December accused him of transferring Norwegian development funds from Grameen Bank to another venture without prior approval in 1996. Pressure by the Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka resulted in the funds being transferred back in 1998, and the Norwegian government has said there was no indication Grameen was engaged in corruption or embezzlement.
In a recent statement, the secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee defended the panel's decision to award Mr. Yunus the Peace Prize.
"Without going into detail since there is a 50-year secrecy rule for the entire Nobel system, I can testify to the fact that the vetting process was actually even more thorough than what is normally the case," Geir Lundestad said.
Still, the Bangladesh government set up a committee in January to look into the allegations.
Mr. Yunus is also facing a defamation trial in connection with a 2007 interview in which he was quoted as saying, "They [politicians] are only after money. Their politics has nothing to do with ideology."
His lawyers have argued that since his comments weren't directed at any specific person, they don't constitute defamation.
At the time of the remarks, Bangladesh was under a state of emergency and many politicians, including Mr. Hasina, the current prime minister, were behind bars on charges of corruption. An interim government backed by the country's influential military eventually handed over power to the elected government of Mr. Hasina in January 2009.
Grameen Bank, founded in 1983 in Bangladesh, currently has nearly nine million borrowers, 97% of whom are women. Many use their small loans to make ends meet or to start small businesses.
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England did not have a bowling plan and Ireland took full advantage, says centurion Kevin O'Brien
England did not have a bowling plan and Ireland took full advantage, says centurion Kevin O'Brien
As John Mooney was engulfed by his team-mates one Irish voice was picked up by the microphones screaming “this is the greatest day of my life”.
You beauty: Ireland's John Mooney celebrates with Kevin O'Brien after the remarkable victory over England Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Nick Hoult, in Bangalore 9:42PM GMT 02 Mar 2011
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Irish joy was unbridled as the players celebrated on the outfield of the Chinnaswamy Stadium a famous victory over England, the near neighbour that deigns to play them once every two years and even controls their television rights deal.
Brendan O’Brien, himself a former Ireland player, watched from the stands as his son Kevin played a truly magnificent innings, combining the stroke play and power learned playing in his back garden with brother Niall, the Irish wicketkeeper.
“It is the biggest win Ireland cricket has ever had,” said William Porterfield, the Ireland captain. “We won against Pakistan but in terms of a one-off win it is the biggest.
“From a personal point of view, and I speak for a lot of Irish teams and not just cricket, beating England in any form of sport is a fantastic occasion. There will be a lot of people back home watching and we gave them something to smile about.
“It is good to show what we have been threatening to do for a while. We have believed for a long time we can go out there and do things like that, but it is different to actually go out there and do it.”
It took an Irishman not deemed good enough for county cricket to say what England have refused to admit in this tournament. Their bowling simply is not up to standard and O’Brien was as direct with his words as he was with his batting when summing up their failings.
“We took our chance and got the ball rolling and they did not have any answers for us,” he said. “They did not know what they were up to with their bowling plans and we took advantage of that. We were down to a run a ball and they were not hitting their straps or getting their yorkers right. They were given us a fourball every over and we knew if we just sat on it, hit the bad balls for four then we would walk to victory.”
And they did walk to victory, easing England aside like one of the great one-day sides of the past except this was an associate nation bereft of IPL stars and Ashes winners.
O’Brien admitted he thought his side had little chance when he walked to the crease with 222 needed for victory, a fanciful thought at the time but one that became a reality once they attacked in the power play.
“We bat a long way down but England were favourites and had the upper hand,” he said. “Myself and Cusack just took a chance by taking the power play and it came off. You can’t write yourself off in one-day cricket. Strange things happen. Once we got a few boundaries away we thought we could get on top of the English bowlers as other teams have in this tournament.”
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
3 and one heart
3 and one heart
San Francisco, CA
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