Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus

Pressure has been growing on Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus -- appointed the country's "chief adviser" after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August -- to set a date. The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the "extremely tough" challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of some 170 million people. "Election dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026," he said in a broadcast on state television.