Yunus to receive highest US civilian award

                 Yunus to receive highest US civilian award

                    Honoured for lifetime achievements in poverty alleviation

                                     Prof Muhammad Yunus. Photo: Yunus Centre

Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus will receive Congressional Gold Medal, the United States’ highest civilian award, on Wednesday, according to the Yunus Centre.

The Bangladeshi microcredit pioneer will be given the honor at a joint session of the US Congress in its capital, Washington DC. John Boehner, Speaker of the US Congress, will hand over the award.

Prof Yunus is currently in the USA to receive the prestigious US award.

US President Barack Obama earlier awarded Yunus the President’s Gold Medal.

According to sources at the Yunus Centre, the Nobel Laureate is scheduled to deliver a speech afterwards on issues like social business and poverty elimination.

In a short statement from New York, Dr Yunus dedicated this honor to the people of Bangladesh.

Since the American Revolution in 1776, the US Congress has commissioned gold medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions to humanity. The medals are given to honour individuals, institution or an event who are widely acclaimed by Americans for their sacrifice and contributions.

“Dr Yunus is being honoured for his lifetime achievements in the cause of alleviating poverty in Bangladesh and globally. Through his creative ideas, hard work and brilliant implementation of the idea of microcredit throughout Bangladesh and globally, Prof Yunus has made brilliant contributions in the cause of helping millions of poor, especially women, take charge of their lives to overcome heartbreaking poverty,” said Yunus Centre.

Since sharing the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen Bank, Professor Yunus has redoubled his efforts to build a global consensus around the idea that business can be used for good works—coining the term “Social Business” to describe businesses that shun the profit maximisation motto and instead commit themselves to solve societal problems such as poverty, hunger, illiteracy, environmental degradation, among others, it said.

Venezuela Gives Chávez Protégé Narrow Victory

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  Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

President-elect Nicolás Maduro celebrated with his wife, Cilia Flores

Amar Desh stops publication temporarily

                Amar Desh stops publication temporarily

 

The Amar Desh authorities have decided to temporarily stop publications of the vernacular daily as they alleged due to government’s obstruction to printing the newspaper.

They alleged that the government had illegally sealed off the printing press of the newspaper.

The administration again barred printing of the newspaper when they went to Al-Falah Printing Press to publish the daily temporarily, the authorities said at a press conference on Monday.

Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder, a lawyer for the daily, said they would go to the Supreme Court and seek a direction about publishing the newspaper.

He said the government had committed a contempt of court by violating a SC directive which allowed the daily to continue its publication in 2010.

About deputy commissioner’s permission to print the newspaper from Al-Falah, Advocate Saleh Uddin Ahmed, another counsel for the daily, said they applied to the DC according to the Printing Presses and Publications (Declarations and Registrations) Act-1973.

He said the law did not make it obligatory for the press authorities to take permission from the DC to print the newspaper.

Police arrested Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman on April 11 and sealed off the daily’s printing press on that night.

Later on the night of April 13, the law enforcers seized copies of the daily and picked up 19 Amar Desh staff from Al-Falah Printing Press owned by the daily Sangram.

Military chiefs committed to constitution

                   Military chiefs committed to constitution

The chiefs of three services on Monday categorically said they are “oath-bound to keep loyal to the country’s constitution and the elected government” despite any kind of provocation.

The heads of Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force also told the parliamentary standing committee on defense ministry that they would not engage in or support any extra-constitutional activities by any quarter.

Army Chief General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, Navy Chief Vice Admiral Muhammad Farid Habib and Air Chief Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Enamul Bari made the pledge separately.

The pledges came when the members of the House body came down heavily on the BNP chief for her last month comment centring the armed forces.

Addressing a rally in Bogra on March 24, Khaleda Zia made some remarks on the army, including that the armed forces would not play the role of “silent spectators when people are being killed” and that “it would play its role in due time”.

Pointing to BNP chief’s remark, lawmakers present at Monday’s meeting lambasted Khaleda saying her comments were “nothing but to virtually inviting army to take state power,” M Idris Ali, head of the committee, told The Daily Star after the JS body meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

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US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) is greeted by British Foreign Minister William Hague outside Lancaster House in central London, on April 11, 2013, ahead of a G8 Foreign Ministers meeting. US Secretary of State John Kerry and other G8 foreign ministers were on Thursday to hold a second day of talks in London focused on Syria after rebels again appealed for weapons.

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Painful Indian Rituals

An Indian devotee with his tongue pierced with metal rods and lemons hung with pins on his body participates in a religious ritual at the Hindu goddess Mariamman temple, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 11, 2013. The devotees perform ritualistic acts of inflicting pain on themselves as an act of penance with the belief that it will bring welfare to their families and that their prayers will be answered.