Bangladesh Chief Justice to resign after protest ultimatum

The chief justice of Bangladesh's top court said Saturday he had agreed to resign "in principle" after an ultimatum to do so from protesters, broadcaster Jamuna TV reported.

Obaidul Hassan, who was appointed to helm the Supreme Court last year and is seen as a loyalist to ousted premier Sheikh Hasina, was told to step down by protesters who gathered outside the court in the capital Dhaka.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of Bangladesh's caretaker government on August 8, 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.

As chief adviser of the caretaker government, Yunus, also known as the 'banker to the poor', is tasked with bringing stability back to the country, which witnessed some of its worst violence in decades and then hold fresh parliamentary elections.

"The country has the possibility of becoming a very beautiful nation," Yunus earlier told reporters when he arrived in Dhaka, following medical treatment in Paris, after protesters backed him for the role in a caretaker government.