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Saturday, December 4, 2010

3 Dec, 2010, 02.10PM IST,IANS Grameen Bank founder Yunus refutes anomalies charge




DHAKA: Bangladeshi Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has refuted a charge that he had transferred $100 million aid meant for his micro-credit bank Grameen to other projects.

The bank's founder told The Daily Star newspaper that he had done so 14 years ago "to ensure maximum transparency and responsible use of the bank's revolving fund".

In Norway, from where the funds came, the government has said it was probing the charge levelled in a TV documentary that alleged that the fund had been transferred to other Grameen projects in breach of contract with the loan givers.

International Development Minister Erik Solheim said that it was "totally unacceptable that aid is used for other purposes than intended", BBC reported.

A documentary maker has alleged that cash was diverted from Grameen Bank to other parts of Grameen.

The documentary, titled "Caught in Micro Debt", has alleged that Grameen Bank had transferred about $100 million it received from donors to Grameen Kalyan in 1996 and then got back the money as loan in breach of agreement.

This led to a spat between the Norwegian government and Grameen Bank.

The documentary was aired Tuesday on the National Norwegian Television, NRK.

The episode took place about 14 years ago and it was presumably ironed out as the documentary showed a compromise had been reached concerning transfer of the funds Norway granted to Grameen Bank.

Under the compromise, 170 million Norwegian kroners was transferred back to the bank, the newspaper said.

Grameen Bank said the allegations of fund misuse are false and it will release a detailed statement on the affairs soon.

Grameen Kalyan is a spin-off created in 1996 by Grameen Bank, which set up an internal fund called Social Advancement Fund (SAF) by imputing interest on all the grant money it received from various donors.

(Source:ETI)

3 Dec, 2010, 02.10PM IST,IANS Grameen Bank founder Yunus refutes anomalies charge




DHAKA: Bangladeshi Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has refuted a charge that he had transferred $100 million aid meant for his micro-credit bank Grameen to other projects.

The bank's founder told The Daily Star newspaper that he had done so 14 years ago "to ensure maximum transparency and responsible use of the bank's revolving fund".

In Norway, from where the funds came, the government has said it was probing the charge levelled in a TV documentary that alleged that the fund had been transferred to other Grameen projects in breach of contract with the loan givers.

International Development Minister Erik Solheim said that it was "totally unacceptable that aid is used for other purposes than intended", BBC reported.

A documentary maker has alleged that cash was diverted from Grameen Bank to other parts of Grameen.

The documentary, titled "Caught in Micro Debt", has alleged that Grameen Bank had transferred about $100 million it received from donors to Grameen Kalyan in 1996 and then got back the money as loan in breach of agreement.

This led to a spat between the Norwegian government and Grameen Bank.

The documentary was aired Tuesday on the National Norwegian Television, NRK.

The episode took place about 14 years ago and it was presumably ironed out as the documentary showed a compromise had been reached concerning transfer of the funds Norway granted to Grameen Bank.

Under the compromise, 170 million Norwegian kroners was transferred back to the bank, the newspaper said.

Grameen Bank said the allegations of fund misuse are false and it will release a detailed statement on the affairs soon.

Grameen Kalyan is a spin-off created in 1996 by Grameen Bank, which set up an internal fund called Social Advancement Fund (SAF) by imputing interest on all the grant money it received from various donors.

(Source:ETI)

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Pro-opposition Lawyers Protest Against Appellate Division Verdict/National Woman's Cricket Team Gets Warm Welcome Upon Arrival From 2010 Asian Games





Pro-opposition Lawyers Protest Against Appellate Division Verdict

Pro-Awami League lawyers led processions too, in support of the verdict


Lawyers of Begum Khaleda Zia, in hands with Supreme Court bar council, showed stand-in protest before the court room after the verdict on Khaleda Zia's residence was given by the Appellate Division. The AD gave the verdict that the government order to excrete the allotment of Begum Khaleda Zia's cantonment residence was valid. The lawyers present outside the court reacted immediately at this verdict, which they denote as the partiality of a deformed judiciary in favor of the ruling party.

Though extraordinary security measures were taken to prevent any rallies or processions from being held, both the pro-opposition lawyers and the pro-Awami League lawyers led processions inside the court compound, respectively in protest and in support of the Appellate Division verdict.
(Source: Bangladesh First)

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In Pictures

National Woman's Cricket Team Gets Warm Welcome Upon Arrival From 2010 Asian Games With Silver


Bangladesh woman's cricket team gets a warm welcome at the airport upon their arrival in Dhaka with the silver medal from the 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou, China. To the journey to the final match of the competition against Pakistan where the tigresses suffered a 10 wickets defeat, they played against Hong Kong, Japan and China earlier. All the three opponents were beaten including China being beaten in the semifinal. The tigresses arrived in Dhaka airport at 22 November midnight where the jubilant officials already had arranged a warm reception ceremony for the girls who made Bangladesh proud in the 2010 Asian Games.

(Source: Bangladesh First)

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Program News
As President Obama Tackles Climate Change in Indonesia, Internews Helps Train Local Journalists How to Cover the Story
(November 10, 2010) President Barack Obama pledged this week that the United States will offer $136 million to tackle climate change in Indonesia, a country environmentalists say is “ground zero” for global environmental challenges.
Understanding the challenge in Indonesia, Internews is already at work making sure the story of environmental issues there are covered knowledgeably and responsibly.
With a $200,000 grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Internews has embarked on a two-year project to strengthen and expand the nascent Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (SIEJ). The project will build the capacities of media and journalists to meet the urgent rising challenges of Indonesia’s environmental risks, changes and needs.
The project aims to increase the quantity, quality and impact of environmental coverage in the Indonesian media, and to help provide technical and financial support to Indonesian journalists.
Internews has worked in numerous countries to build the technical and scientific understanding of issues such as climate change, biodiversity, oceans, forests and environmental health among local journalists as part of its Earth Journalism Network (EJN) initiative led by James Fahn, a journalist and author specializing in environmental issues.
“A local, informed debate on the environment can only start with local, informed journalists,” Fahn said. “Generally speaking, the people and communities who suffer the effects of environmental degradation most acutely also tend to be the least informed about these issues, and the most poorly served by the media, and that’s certainly the case in Indonesia, as well. With this Packard Foundation funding, we are helping to change that.”
With the support of Internews and the Packard Foundation, the SIEJ aims to help Indonesian journalists publish or broadcast some 200 stories on environmental issues over the next two years, including at least 20 in-depth investigative reports. The number of journalists involved in the SIEJ is expected to grow to 250 trained professionals.
Indonesia is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, and a virtual superpower when it comes to marine biodiversity. Although Indonesia occupies only 1.3% of the Earth's land surface, it is home to large portions of the world’s known species, including approximately 12% of mammals, 16% of reptiles and amphibians, 17% of birds and 25% of fish.
Each year, new species are found in Indonesia, while at the same time the country has the largest number of vertebrate species under threat of extinction: 128 species of mammals and 104 species of birds.
(Source: Internews)

Monday, November 29, 2010

UN TRUST FUND TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ISSUES ANNUAL CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Press Release
For immediate release
Date: 23 November 2010

Media Inquiries
Gretchen Luchsinger, Media Specialist
UNIFEM Headquarters
+1 212 906-6506, gretchen.luchsinger [at] unifem.org
UN TRUST FUND TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ISSUES ANNUAL CALL FOR PROPOSALS

United Nations, New York — The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) today launched its annual global Call for Proposals for programmes that support country-level efforts to end violence against women and girls. The criteria, eligibility requirements and application guidelines are available at www.unifem.org/untfevaw. The deadline for application is 20 January 2011.

Civil society organizations, governments, and UN Country Teams (working in partnerships with governments and civil society) are invited to submit applications for grants of a minimum of US$100,000 up to a maximum of US$1 million for a period of two to three years.

As one of his UNiTE campaign benchmarks, the UN Secretary-General has set a target of raising a minimum of US$100 million for the UN Trust Fund by 2015, in order to realize existing commitments to ending violence against women and girls.

Established in 1996 by the UN General Assembly, the UN Trust Fund is managed by UNIFEM (part of UN Women) on behalf of the UN system. Today, the UN Trust Fund is an essential source of support and a hub of knowledge for promising approaches to address violence against women and girls. In 2009, the UN Trust Fund received a total of 1,643 proposals and awarded US$20.5 million to 26 initiatives in 33 countries and territories.

The UN Trust Fund relies on the support from governments. In 2009–2010, its donors included the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America.

The UN Trust Fund has also received vital support of its partners in the private sector and nonprofit organizations, including Avon and Avon Foundation for Women; Johnson & Johnson; the United Nations Foundation; UNIFEM (part of UN Women) National Committees in Austria, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom; and Zonta International and Zonta International Foundation.