Nobel laureate Yunus will head Bangladesh's interim government after unrest ousted Hasina

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head Bangladesh's interim government after longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising that left hundreds of people dead and pushed the South Asian nation to the brink of chaos.

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

A longtime political opponent of Hasina, Yunus is expected to return soon from Paris, where he is advising Olympic organizers, media reports said.

An economist and banker, he was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets. Yunus has been hailed for bringing thousands out of poverty through Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983, and which makes small loans to businesspeople who wouldn't qualify for regular bank loans.

Other members of the new government would be decided soon, after discussions with political parties and other stakeholders, Abedin said. The president had dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for an interim administration and new elections.

Shahabuddin also ordered the release of opposition leader Khaleda Zia from house arrest, a longtime Hasina rival who was convicted on corruption charges in 2018.

The streets of Dhaka, the capital, were calm Tuesday, a day after violence swept parts of the country amid Hasina's sudden departure. On Tuesday, jubilant protesters thronged the ousted leader’s residence, some posing for selfies with soldiers guarding the building after Monday's wave of looting.

The Bangladesh Police Association went on strike after police stations and security officials were attacked across the country Monday. The association said “many” officers had been killed but gave no number. Officers would not return to work unless their safety is assured, the association said. It also apologized for police attacks on student protesters, saying officers were “forced to open fire.”

Yunus, who had called Hasina's resignation the country’s “second liberation day,” had faced corruption charges during her rule that he derided as politically motivated. He could not immediately be reached for comment, but a key organizer of the protests, Nahid Islam, said he had agreed to head the interim administration.

Islam said protesters would propose more names for the Cabinet and suggested that it would be difficult for those in power to ignore their wishes.

Hasina fled to India by helicopter as protesters defied a military curfew to march on the capital, with thousands eventually storming her residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.

The unrest began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs, which critics said favored people with connections to her party. But they soon grew into a broader challenge to Hasina's 15-year rule, which was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, allegations of rigged elections and a brutal crackdown on her opponents.

The government's violent response to the demonstrations, which killed about 300 people in just a few weeks, only fueled the protests more.

The quick move to choose Yunus came after Hasina's resignation created a power vacuum and left the future unclear for Bangladesh, which has a history of military rule, messy politics and myriad crises. The military wields significant influence in a country that has seen more than 20 coups or coup attempts since its independence from Pakistan in 1971. Military chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman said Monday he had taken temporary control while a new government is formed.

Amid the celebrations, student Juairia Karim said it was a historic day. “Today we are getting what we deserve,” she said. “Everyone is happy, everyone is cheerful.”

But the country was still counting the toll of weeks of violence that produced some of its worst bloodshed since its war of independence. Many fear that Hasina's departure could trigger even more instability in the densely populated nation of some 170 million people, which is already dealing with high unemployment, corruption and climate change.

Violence in just the few days surrounding Hasina's resignation killed at least 109 people — including 14 police officers, and left hundreds of others injured, according to media reports which could not be independently confirmed. In the southwestern district of Satkhira, 596 prisoners and detainees escaped from a jail after an attack on the facility Monday evening, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported.

There are growing fears among the country’s Hindu minority, which has been targeted in the past during political unrest and which has long been seen as pro-Hasina, that they could again face attacks. Local reports of violence against Hindu leaders and other minorities could not be confirmed.

“Hindus are very afraid,” Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, leader of the Bangladesh branch of a Hindu movement, told the IANS news service. “Hindus are very afraid that they could be attacked anytime. This is because whenever the government falls, minorities are affected.”

The EU ambassador to Bangladesh, Charles Whitley, said on the social media platform X that European diplomats were “very concerned” about reports of anti-minority violence.

Opposition politicians have publicly called on people not to attack minority groups, while student leaders asked supporters to guard Hindu temples and other places of worship.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday urged people to exercise restraint in what it said was a “transitional moment on our democratic path.”

“It would defeat the spirit of the revolution that toppled the illegitimate and autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina if people decide to take the law into their own hands,” Tarique Rahman, the party's acting chairman, wrote on X.

“I think the next leader of the country should learn from the students that if anyone becomes corrupt, a traitor, or takes any action against the country, they will face the same fate," said Mohammad Jahirul Islam, a student in Dhaka.

Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January, an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the United States and the United Kingdom denounced the result as not credible.

After fleeing Dhaka, Hasina landed Monday at a military airfield near New Delhi and met Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Indian Express newspaper reported. She planned to travel to the United Kingdom, it said.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told Parliament that Hasina "at very short notice requested approval to come for the moment to India.”

Saaliq reported from New Delhi, India.

A student volunteer controls traffic, in the absence of traffic policemen on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

People keep guard in front of a police station which was vandalised on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

Students clean the area near the parliament building which was vandalised on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

The vandalised museum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

A boy celebrates with a national flag after the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

People stand near vandalised murals of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

People visit the vandalised museum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

A man visits the vandalised museum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

An army personnel stands guard in front of a vandalised boundary wall of Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

A man peeks inside the boundary wall of the vandalised house of Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

Protesters try to demolish a large statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina, after she resigned as Prime Minister, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

People visit the site where a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina, was demolished following her resignation as Prime Minister in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

A man sells snacks as people visit the vandalised house of Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

People crowd in front of the vandalised house of Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

A burnt car stands in the vandalised house of Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

FILE- Bangladesh's President Mohammed Shahabuddin stands with his wife Rebecca Sultana as they arrive for the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. (Adek Berry/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE- Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus smiles as he arrives to appear before a labor court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu, File)

FILE- Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Chairman of the Yunus Centre, speaks during a debate hosted by the Associated Press "Regions in Transformation: South Asia" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

FILE- Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus speaks to the media after he was granted bail by a court in an embezzlement case, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu, File)

FILE- Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, centre, is flanked by her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, left, and sister Sheikh Rehana as she speaks to the media after casting her vote in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Protesters stormed Hasina’s official residence on Monday, Aug. 5, as leader’s whereabouts are unknown. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

FILE- Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina delivers a speech during the Paris Peace Forum, in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Protesters stormed Hasina’s official residence on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, as leader’s whereabouts are unknown. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

People participate in a rally against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government demanding justice for the victims killed in the recent countrywide deadly clashes, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

People shout slogans as they take part in a protest against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government demanding justice for the victims killed in the recent countrywide deadly clashes, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

FILE- Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks during a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Jan. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

Protesters celebrate at the Parliament House premise after news of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

Protesters climb a public monument as they celebrate the news of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

Devices powered by lithium-ion batteries are overheating more often during airline flights and passengers often put them in checked bags that go into the cargo hold, where a fire might not be detected as quickly.

Overheating incidents rose 28% from 2019 to 2023, although such events remain relatively rare, UL Standards & Engagement said in a report released Monday.

E-cigarettes overheated more often than any other device, according to the report.

In 60% of the cases, the overheating — called thermal runaway — happened near the seat of the passenger who brought the device on board.

In July, a smoking laptop in a passenger’s bag led to the evacuation of a plane awaiting takeoff at San Francisco International Airport. Last year, a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after a battery caught fire in an overhead bin.

More than one-quarter of passengers surveyed for the study said they put vaping cigarettes and portable chargers in checked bags. That is against federal rules.

The Transportation Security Administration prohibits e-cigarettes and chargers and power banks with lithium-ion batteries in checked bags but allows them in carry-on bags. The rule exists precisely because fires in the cargo hold might be harder to detect and extinguish.

UL Standards & Engagement, part of a safety-science company once known as Underwriters Laboratories, said it based its findings on data from 35 passenger and cargo airlines including nine of the 10 leading U.S. passenger carriers.

The Federal Aviation Administration reports 37 thermal-runaway incidents on planes this year, through Aug. 15. There were 77 reports last year, a 71% increase over 2019, according to the FAA numbers.

Considering that airlines operate about 180,000 U.S. flights each week, incidents in the air are relatively uncommon, and lithium batteries can overheat anywhere.

“We also know that one of these thermal-runaway incidents at 40,000 feet does present unique risks,” said UL’s David Wroth.

Those risks have been known for many years.

After cargo planes carrying loads of lithium-ion batteries crashed in 2010 and 2011, the United Nations' aviation organization considered restricting such shipments but rejected tougher standards. Opponents, including airlines, argued that the decision on whether to accept battery shipments should be left up to the carriers, and some no longer take bulk battery shipments.

The most common lithium-ion-powered devices on planes are phones, laptops, wireless headphones and tablets. About 35% of reported overheating incidents involved e-cigarettes, and 16% involved power banks.

Travelers use kiosks to check in for flights in the Delta Airlines ticketing area at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FILE - In this June 19, 2014 file photo, baggage carts are towed to the Boeing 737 jet at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Ark., June 19, 2014. Devices powered by lithium-ion batteries are overheating more often during airline flights and passengers often put them in checked bags that go into the cargo hold, where a fire might not be detected as quickly. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)