Bangladesh's Yunus loses final legal battle

Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a final attempt by Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus to overturn an order sacking him from the bank he founded. Yunus's lawyers lodged a recall request after his appeal was turned down last month in a power struggle with the government for control of Grameen Bank, where he developed the concept of microfinance cash loans to tackle poverty. "The Supreme Court has dismissed Yunus's final petition," Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told AFP after a short hearing which Yunus did not attend. "After this order, Yunus should not cling to his position any more." Yunus, 70, was removed as head of Grameen Bank by the Bangladesh central bank on March 2 but he defied the order, returning to work and lodging a legal case challenging the dismissal. He and Grameen Bank won the Nobel peace prize in 2006 "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below." The microfinance model has been copied in developing countries around the world and his sacking was widely criticised by international supporters and the United States government.