Archive for October 14th, 2006
Saturday, October 14th, 2006After independence in 1971 and restoring democracy in ’91, Bangladesh witnessed the biggest achievement as Professor Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank were declared yesterday to win the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 for pioneering the use of micro-credit to benefit poor entrepreneurs.Prof Yunus is the first Bangladeshi and also the third Bangalee after poet Rabindranath Tagore and economist Amartya Sen to win the Nobel Prize.Grameen Bank, founded by Prof Yunus, has been instrumental by offering loans to millions of poor Bangladeshis, many of them women, without any financial security, in improving their standard of living by starting businesses with the ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006The auspicious and historic moment came at 3:03pm yesterday when the Norwegian Nobel Committee declared Dr Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank winners of the Nobel Peace Prize 2006."I heard the declaration live on a Norwegian television channel over telephone," said Nobel laureate Prof Yunus.In his instant reaction, the pioneer of the micro-credit concept said, "This is fantastic news for all of us--for Grameen Bank, Bangladesh, and all the poor countries and all the poor people around the world."Recipient of numerous national and international awards, Prof Yunus termed the Nobel achievement "the sky", but said it also "burdened us with ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006Muhammad Yunus, the visionary and developer of the unique microcredit concept, was born at an obscure village in Chittagong in June 28, 1940. He was the third of 14 children of Sufia Khatun and Mohammed Dula Miah, a jewellery merchant. But five siblings of Yunus died in infancy.The Grameen Bank, which Muhammad Yunus founded and shares the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 with, now has 2,211 branches covering 70,370 villages and 6.5 million people.Yunus is now leading a happy life in Bangladesh with his wife Mrs Afrozi and daughter Deena.EDUCATION AND EARLY CAREER Coming of a well-off family, ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006We all dream but Prof. Yunus' dream is audacious. He dreams of a world where poverty will be such a thing of the past that it will be exhibited in museums. Hyperbole? Not so for those who have read, talked or listened to him. It is simple, he says. Don't try and tell people how to solve their poverty. Give them opportunity to bring out their inner entrepreneurial creativity and they will change their own lot. Every human being wants to improve their lives. Our challenge is to let that urge bear fruit. And the way to do that is ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006In the field of development idea, Nobel prize for Professor Muhammad Yunus was long overdue and it is in recognition that the country has something to offer to the world, top economists, researchers and business leaders observed yesterday."We feel very proud. Nobel prize was long overdue for Yunus," said Professor Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a civil society think-tank.It is a great pride for the nation. Grameen Bank has become a globally renowned institution for pioneering microcredit, said Rehman, a teacher of Prof Yunus.Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, another noted economist and a former adviser to ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006President Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, opposition leader Sheikh Hasina, socio-political and cultural organisations, professional bodies and eminent personalities warmly greeted Dr Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank for winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 yesterday.They said Prof Yunus has made Bangladesh and its people proud by winning the prestigious Nobel Prize in Peace for his innovative concept of micro-credit to alleviate poverty.President Iajuddin Ahmed in a message said the image of Bangladesh will be brightened further across the world with Prof Yunus' winning the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.He wished Prof Yunus good health and happiness and further ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006Development groups and political leaders around the world Friday hailed the new Nobel Peace laureate, Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, for his work in helping millions escape poverty with small-scale loans. Dubbed the "Banker to the Poor", Yunus and his Grameen Bank won the prize jointly for their role in developing the concept of "micro-credit" -- a system of lending very small sums to people, particularly women, who are too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans, to start up their own enterprises.The United Nations warmly welcomed the award to Yunus and his bank. Secretary General Kofi Annan's spokesman Stephane Dujarric ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006Following is the official English text of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's citation in awarding the 2006 Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank:The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006, divided into two equal parts, to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006The Awami League (AL)-led 14-party opposition combine plans to go for a countrywide indefinite hartal and blockade programmes alongside a march towards Dhaka if the present government hands over power ignoring the opposition's demand for electoral reforms.The combine is preparing to bring to the capital thousands of demonstrators with sticks, oars and poles of boats from across the country if the government on expiry of its tenure on October 27 hands over power to a caretaker government headed by former chief justice KM Hasan. It also plans to keep the capital blockaded for an indefinite period to make the interim ...
(read more) Saturday, October 14th, 2006Six people, a guard and five domestic helps of a house, were slaughtered in the city's Pallabi area yesterday evening. The dead are guard Milon, 27, and servants Munir, 11, Rizia, 35, her son Tofael, 15, Anna, 11, and Khadiza, 14. The victims' hands were tied behind their backs.The incident took place at House no 20, Road no 24 in Pallabi residential area when the owner of the house, Kazi Sirajul Huq, went to an iftar party with his family.Sirajul told the press that he left the six at his house and went to his younger brother Kazi Ashraf ...
(read more) 
