UNEASY CALM PREVAILS IN BANGLADESH

Muhammad Yunus to take over the reins

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Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, known as the "banker to the poorest of the poor" said on Tuesday he was ready to head an interim government in Bangladesh after mass demonstrations forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country to India.

"I am honoured by the trust of the protesters who wish for me to lead the interim government," he said in a written statement to a news agency.

Yunus is currently out of the country but welcomed the ouster of Hasina's regime, describing the development as the "second liberation" of the country. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his anti-poverty campaign through the Grameen Bank, a mode; which was replicated across continents.

Yunus had been locked in a protracted row with the Hasina government due to obscure reasons while authorities initiated a series of investigations against him after she came to power in 2008. He was charged under dozens of cases. In January, Yunus was sentenced to six months in jail by a court on charges of labour law violation.