Bangladesh, Dhaka: Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed to lead Bangladesh's interim government after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned amid escalating protests. The decision was made during a meeting between President Mohammed Shahabuddin and leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which has been at the forefront of the demonstrations. The meeting also included military and civil society leaders. Yunus, known for his Nobel Prize-winning work in micro-credit, was chosen by the student movement, which rejected a military-led government.

Protests, initially sparked by university students opposing the government's quota system for civil service jobs, have intensified due to high unemployment, resulting in violent clashes and around 300 deaths. President Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament to facilitate the formation of the interim government and new elections. Additionally, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia was released, and Tarique Rahman, the exiled chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is set to return.