Peace prize winner urges global fight against poverty

BANGLADESHI economist Muhammad Yunus yesterday received the Nobel Peace Prize and urged world leaders to fight against poverty and stop spending money on wars.

Yunus and the Grameen Bank that he founded won the peace prize for their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans to the poorest of the poor, especially women in rural Bangladesh.

Their work helping start businesses from basket weaving to chicken farming has pioneered a global movement known as microcredit.