Nobel laureate Yunus to lead interim Bangladeshi administration

Muhammad Yunus is to head an interim government in Bangladesh (Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP/PA)

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head an interim government in Bangladesh after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down and fled the country amid a mass uprising against her rule led mostly by students.

The announcement early on Wednesday came from Joynal Abedin, the press secretary of President Mohammed Shahabuddin. Mr Abedin spoke to The Associated Press over the phone.