Nobel laureate Yunus takes charge of Bangladesh, hopes to heal strife-torn country

FILE PHOTO: People celebrate the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 5, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo

DHAKA (Reuters) -Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of Bangladesh's caretaker government on Thursday, hoping to help heal the country that was convulsed by weeks of violence, forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit and flee to neighbouring India.

Known as the "banker to the poor", Yunus is the pioneer of the global microcredit movement. The Grameen Bank he founded won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for helping lift millions from poverty by providing tiny loans to the rural poor who are too impoverished to gain attention from traditional banks.