Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Nobel laureate Yunus cancels meet in Bangladesh

Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus Thursday (27) cancelled an international conference of social business entrepreneurs outside the Bangladeshi capital after it failed to get police security.

Yunus, 77, has been at odds with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina since 2007 when he made a brief foray into the country’s highly polarised politics.


In 2011, he was sacked as the head of pioneering micro-lender, Grameen Bank, in a move widely believed to have been orchestrated by Hasina.

The celebrated former economics professor challenged his sacking in the highest court, but lost.

After the ouster, Yunus has been championing not-for-profit social businesses across the globe and he holds a conference for social entrepreneurs every year in Dhaka to promote innovative ideas.

This year some 2,000 people including 400 foreigners have registered to join the international conference on July 28-29 at a convention centre near the capital Dhaka.

But Yunus's office, which has been holding the conference for the last seven years along with its Social Business Day celebrations, has said the meet has been cancelled "due to unavoidable circumstances" .

"With a heavy heart we inform you that we are cancelling the 7th international conference organised on 28-29 July 2017 on the occasion of Social Business Day," Yunus Centre said in a statement.

The centre said about 200 international participants have already arrived in Dhaka, including Thomas Gass, an Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, who was to be the keynote speaker.

The decision was announced moments after national police chief Shahidul Hoque told reporters that the meet did not have permission as the police were "kept in the dark", according to online newspaper bdnews24.com.

"Police did not have have sufficient time to get prepared for such a big conference where representatives from 36 nations were to take part," Saheli Ferdous, assistant inspector general of police, said.

A Yunus Centre official said they have been coordinating with the security agencies for weeks and even held a meeting with them earlier this week.

Yunus set up Grameen Bank, which co-won the Nobel prize with him in 2006, in 1983 to make collateral-free micro loans to millions of rural entrepreneurs.

Hasina has accused him of "sucking blood" from the poor, and in recent months suggested he was responsible for the World Bank pulling a $1.2 billion loan for a controversial bridge project.

More For You

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

India declines UN investigator’s participation in Air India crash probe: Report

INDIA has declined a request from the United Nations aviation agency to allow one of its investigators to observe the probe into the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12, Reuters reported, citing two senior sources familiar with the matter.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had offered to provide assistance by sending one of its investigators, following the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner earlier this month. It was an unusual move, as ICAO typically deploys investigators only upon request from the country leading the investigation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anna Wintour

Wintour’s style of leadership earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”

Getty Images

Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years

Key points

  • Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years
  • She will remain Vogue’s global editorial director and hold senior roles at Condé Nast
  • Wintour transformed US Vogue into a global fashion authority
  • The 75-year-old has received numerous honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom

End of an era at US Vogue

Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor of US Vogue, bringing to a close a 37-year tenure that redefined the publication and saw her become one of the most influential figures in global fashion.

The announcement was made on Thursday (26 June) during a staff meeting in New York. Wintour, 75, will no longer oversee the day-to-day editorial operations of Vogue’s US edition. However, she will continue to serve as Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, maintaining senior leadership roles across the company.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

FILE PHOTO: A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

THE people responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal may not face trial until 2028, according to the senior police officer leading the investigation.

Commander Stephen Clayman has said that the process is taking longer because police are now looking at a wider group of people, not just those directly involved in decisions about the faulty Horizon computer system, reported the Telegraph.

Keep ReadingShow less