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Nobel Winner Yunus Returning to Bangladesh to Lead New Government

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus gestures while speaking to the media upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle's airport in Roissy, north of Paris, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus gestures while speaking to the media upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle's airport in Roissy, north of Paris, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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Nobel Winner Yunus Returning to Bangladesh to Lead New Government

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus gestures while speaking to the media upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle's airport in Roissy, north of Paris, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus gestures while speaking to the media upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle's airport in Roissy, north of Paris, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus was flying back to Bangladesh on Thursday to lead a caretaker government after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina.
Yunus, 84, could be sworn in as the country's new leader as soon as Thursday evening to begin what the army chief has vowed will be a "beautiful democratic process".
The prospect of Yunus standing alongside military leaders was almost unimaginable a week ago, when security forces were shooting dead protesters who had taken to the streets demanding that Hasina resign, said AFP.
But the military on the weekend turned on Hasina, and she was forced to flee to neighboring India as millions of Bangladeshis celebrated her demise.
The military then agreed to students' demands that Yunus, who won the Nobel in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work, lead an interim government.
"I'm looking forward to going back home, see what's happening and how we can organize ourselves to get out of the trouble we are in," Yunus told reporters in Paris' airport on Wednesday.
Yunus had travelled abroad this year while on bail after being sentenced to six months in jail on a charge condemned as politically motivated, and which a Dhaka court on Wednesday acquitted him of.
"Be calm and get ready to build the country," Yunus said Wednesday in a statement before beginning his journey back home.
"If we take the path of violence everything will be destroyed."
Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said Wednesday that he hoped to swear in the interim government on Thursday evening and that he backed Yunus.
"I am certain that he will be able to take us through a beautiful democratic process," Waker said.
Yunus said he wanted to hold elections "within a few" months.
- 'Beautiful way' -
Few other details about the planned government have been released, including the role of the military.
But Bangladeshis voiced hope as they joined a rally in Dhaka on Wednesday of the former opposition Bangladesh National Party.
"I expect that a national government will be formed with everyone's consent in a beautiful way," Moynul Islam Pintu told AFP.
"I expect that the country is run in a nice way, and the police force is reformed so that they can't harass people."
Hasina, 76, who had been in power since 2009, quit on Monday as hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Dhaka.
Jubilant crowds later stormed and looted her palace.
Monday's events were the culmination of more than a month of unrest, which began as protests against a plan for quotas in government jobs but morphed into an anti-Hasina movement.
Hasina, who was accused of rigging January elections and widespread human rights abuses, deployed security forces to quash the protests.
At least 455 people were killed in the unrest, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and hospital doctors.
- Military move -
The military's switching of allegiances was the decisive factor in her demise.
It has since acceded to a range of other demands from the student leaders.
The president dissolved parliament on Tuesday, a key demand of the students and the BNP.
The head of the police force, which protesters have blamed for leading Hasina's crackdown, was sacked on Tuesday.
The new chief, Md. Mainul Islam, offered an apology on Wednesday for the conduct of officers and vowed a "fair and impartial investigation" into the killings of "students, common people and the police".
Ex-prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, 78, was also released from years of house arrest, while some political prisoners were freed.
The military has demoted some generals seen as close to Hasina and sacked Ziaul Ahsan, a commander of the feared Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force.
Police said mobs had launched revenge attacks on Hasina's allies and their own officers, and also freed more than 500 inmates from a prison.
Protesters broke into parliament and torched TV stations. Others smashed statues of Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's independence hero.
But since Tuesday, streets in the capital have been largely peaceful.

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Trump Nominee Pete Hegseth Weathers Democrats’ Grilling to Emerge Largely Unscathed

US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Nominee Pete Hegseth Weathers Democrats’ Grilling to Emerge Largely Unscathed

US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, endured fierce Democratic grilling over everything from his inexperience and his past opposition to women in combat to emerge largely unscathed among Republicans at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host and decorated veteran, is one of the most controversial figures ever nominated to be Secretary of Defense and any vote to confirm him is expected to be very close.

But he weathered the four-hour hearing without making any major gaffe that might have alienated Republicans and even won critical backing from Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who holds sway in her party.

Several other committee Republicans, to laughter from a friendly audience packed with supporters wearing Hegseth hats, praised the 44-year-old, who has slammed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, and, in his latest book, questioned whether the top US general has the job because he's Black.

Asked if he would fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C.Q. Brown, if he takes over the military, a possibility first reported by Reuters, Hegseth declined to rule it out, saying he would be carrying out a broad review.

"Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given," Hegseth said.

Hegseth had strongly opposed women in combat roles but walked back that stance during the hearing.

"Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job," said Senator Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

A number of episodes have sparked concern, including a 2017 sexual assault allegation against Hegseth that did not result in charges and which he denies. He has also been accused of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at veterans' organizations. Hegseth has vowed to abstain from alcohol if confirmed and said he made financial errors but denied wrongdoing.

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand slammed Hegseth's past remarks about women, saying he would have to fundamentally change how he sees women who constitute 18% of the US military.

"We have hundreds - HUNDREDS - of women who serve in the infantry, lethal members of our military ... But you degrade them," Gillibrand said in a heated exchange.

"Please explain these types of statements because they're brutal, and they're mean."

Despite strong support from Trump's Republicans, Hegseth's confirmation will likely be by a narrow margin, compared with the 93-2 vote for President Joe Biden's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and 98-1 for Jim Mattis, Trump's first nominee for the position.

After the hearing, Ernst, who pundits speculated could vote against Hegseth and perhaps convince others to do the same, said she supported Hegseth.

"Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense," Ernst said in a statement.

As Hegseth walked into the packed hearing room, he was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation, with chants of "USA, USA, USA" and a shout of "Get 'em, Petey."

Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican who leads the committee, endorsed Hegseth, calling him "unconventional," and adding, "Regarding his personal conduct, Mr. Hegseth has admitted to falling short, as we all do from time to time."

Republican senators, including Markwayne Mullin and Tim Sheehy, strongly backed Hegseth. Mullin dismissed concerns about him, particularly his personal life, as political theater.

"It's all for show," Mullin said.

ACCOUNTABILITY IS COMING

Hegseth's opening remarks, praising Trump, were repeatedly interrupted by protesters. He vowed to restore a "warrior culture" to the US military and said accountability was coming for those who fall short.

"Everyone from the top, from the most senior general to the most lowly private, (we) will ensure that they're treated fairly," Hegseth said.

When asked about remarks opposing women in combat, Hegseth cited the need to eliminate quotas for frontline roles. Gillibrand fired back that no such quotas exist.

During the hearing he told Ernst, herself a veteran, that he would support women in combat "given the standards remain high, and we will have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded."

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost both legs during combat in Iraq, chided Hegseth over gaps in his knowledge of foreign policy and lack of management experience.

"You say you care about keeping our armed forces strong ... then let's not lower the standards for you. You sir, are a no-go at this station," Duckworth said.

In a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was branded an "insider threat" by a fellow member of the Army National Guard over his tattoos. Hegseth noted the incident during the hearing, which led him to be pulled from Guard duty in Washington during Biden's inauguration.

In recent weeks, Trump's party has coalesced around his pick.

Still, the slim Republican Senate majority means that Hegseth can lose support from no more than three senators to be confirmed, if Democrats and independents unite against him.

Cabinet nominees almost never lose Senate votes. The last nominee who was defeated was former Senator John Tower, a nominee to be Secretary of Defense, in 1989. Tower was investigated over claims of drunkenness and inappropriate behavior with women.

If confirmed, Hegseth could make good on Trump's promises to rid the military of generals he accuses of pursuing progressive diversity policies.

The next secretary of defense faces huge challenges, including active conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and the expansion of China's military, which received only glancing attention during a hearing focused far more on culture war issues.

The committee is expected to vote on Hegseth's nomination as soon as Monday, the day of Trump's inauguration, paving the way for his consideration by the full Senate.