Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to head Bangladesh’s interim government

Decision came during meeting of military chiefs and organisers of the student protests that helped drive longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power

• Profile: who is Muhammad Yunus?
• Explainer: Why has Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled?
• Mass protests in Bangladesh - in pictures

The Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will be the head of Bangladesh's interim government after the longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising that left hundreds of people dead and pushed the south Asian country to the brink of chaos.

The decision, announced early on Wednesday by Joynal Abedin, the press secretary of the country's figurehead president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, came during a meeting that included military chiefs, organisers of the student protests that helped drive Hasina from power, prominent business leaders and civil society members.