Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus takes over as interim leader

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- Bangladesh's next leader Muhammad Yunus was heading home from an overseas trip to take office later Thursday after imploring people to stay calm and be ready to rebuild the country after an uprising that ended the 16-year, increasingly autocratic rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Before leaving Paris, where he had been attending the Olympics, Yunus appealed for calm in Bangladesh amid tensions over the country's future. Bangladesh's military chief will welcome Yunus when he lands at Dhaka's main international airport on Thursday afternoon.

Yunuswas named as interim leader following talks among military officials, civic leaders and the student activists who led the uprising against Hasina. Yunus made his first public comments in the French capital on Wednesday before boarding a plane to return home.

He will be sworn in on Thursday night by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, authorities said.

Yunus congratulated the student protesters, saying they had made "our second Victory Day possible," and he appealed to them and other stakeholders to remain peaceful, while condemning the violence that followed Hasina's resignation Monday.