Bangladesh's incoming interim leader Muhammad Yunus appeals for calm. He'll take office Thursday

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s incoming interim leader Muhammad Yunus appealed for calm Wednesday and urged all parties to help the country rebuild after weeks of violence that killed hundreds and prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India.

Yunus, a Nobel peace laureate, was in Paris for the Olympics when he was named interim leader following talks among military officials, civic leaders and the student activists who led the uprising against a prime minister seen as increasingly autocratic. Yunus made his first public comments in the French capital Wednesday before boarding a plane to return home.

He congratulated the student protesters, saying they had made “our second Victory Day possible,” and appealed to them and other stakeholders to remain peaceful, while condemning any violence since Hasina’s resignation Monday.

“Violence is our enemy. Please don’t create more enemies. Be calm and get ready to build the country,” Yunus said.

Bangladesh’s military chief, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a televised address that Yunus would be sworn in Thursday night and that he expected him to usher in a “beautiful democratic” process. The military leader said that those responsible for violence since Hasina’s resignation would be brought to justice.

Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, told reporters in Paris: “I’m looking forward to going back home and seeing what’s happening there, and how we can organize ourselves to get out of the trouble that we are in.″

Asked when elections would be held, he put his hands up as if to indicate it was too early to say. ″I’ll go and talk to them. I’m just fresh in this whole area.″

A tribunal in Dhaka earlier on Wednesday acquitted Yunus in a labor law violation case, involving a telecommunication company he founded, in which he was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. He had been released on bail in the case.

Ailing opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia also urged calm on Wednesday, a day after the country's figurehead president ordered her release from house arrest.

Zia urged her supporters not to follow a path of destruction, in an address at a rally via video link from her hospital bed. It was her first public speech since 2018, when she was convicted of corruption charges and jailed.

“No destruction, no anger, and no revenge, we need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she told members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Zia's son and the acting head of the party, Tarique Rahman also addressed the crowd online from London, where he has been living in exile since 2008. Rahman faces several criminal cases and was convicted of corruption and a grenade attack, charges dismissed by supporters as politically motivated.

Zia, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2006, had been sentenced in 2018 to 17 years in prison. Her party said the case was aimed at keeipng her away from politics. Hasina's then-government denied the allegation.

On Wednesday, the capital Dhaka was calm two days after violence gripped the country amid Hasina’s sudden departure. Students activists cleaned streets and managed traffic in parts of Dhaka, after police went on strike earlier in the week following violent attacks on police stations.

The country’s newly appointed police chief, Mainul Islam, ordered officers to return to work by Thursday evening.

Bangladesh's President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a symbolic figure temporarily acting as the chief executive under the constitution, asked security officials on Wednesday to take stern action against any troublemakers.

The president had dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the path for an interim administration that is expected to schedule new elections, but it's not clear when they will take place.

Shahabuddin named Yunus as the head of an interim government in consultation with the army, student leaders and other stakeholders. Yunus, an economist and banker, has been a longtime opponent of Hasina, who had called him a “bloodsucker” allegedly for using force to extract loan repayments from rural poor, mainly women. Yunus has denied the allegations.

Violence in days surrounding Hasina’s resignation killed at least 109 people — including 14 police officers, and left hundreds of others injured, according to media reports, which could not be independently confirmed. Reports said more attacks took place across the country also on Tuesday. The looting of firearms also was reported in local media.

In the southwestern district of Satkhira, 596 prisoners and detainees escaped from a jail after an attack on the facility Monday evening, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported.

Homes of former ministers and MPs belonging to Hasina's party were looted, torched or vandalized. People were seen on social media taking valuables from the home of Hasina’s younger sister in Dhaka’s Gulshan area. Four separate neighbors confirmed the looting in comments to The Associated Press.

Local media also reported that ruling party officials were among the dead in this week's violence, mostly outside Dhaka. There also were reports of violence against the Hindu community and other minorities, triggering condemnation from Human Rights Watch. Details of that violence could not be independently confirmed.

Opposition politicians have publicly called on people not to attack minority groups, while student leaders asked supporters to guard Hindu temples and other places of worship.

The unrest began in July with protests against a quota system for government jobs, which critics said favored people with connections to Hasina's party. But they soon grew into a broader challenge to Hasina’s 15-year rule, which was marked by human rights abuses, corruption, allegations of rigged elections and a brutal crackdown on her opponents. More than 300 people died in just a few weeks.

The quick move to choose Yunus came when Hasina’s resignation created a power vacuum and left the future unclear for Bangladesh, which has a history of military rule, messy politics and myriad crises.

The military, which took temporary control until the interim government could be sworn in, wields significant influence in a country that has seen more than 20 coups or coup attempts since its independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Many fear that Hasina’s departure could trigger even more instability in the densely populated nation of some 170 million people, which is already dealing with high unemployment, corruption and a complex strategic relationship with India, China and the United States.

Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January, in an election boycotted by her main opponents. Thousands of opposition members were jailed before the vote, and the U.S. and U.K. denounced the result as not credible.

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Associated Press writers Andrea Rosa and Ahmed Hatem contributed to this report from Paris.

Students clean a wall that was vandalised with graffiti in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

Military personnel stand guard on a street as members of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) walk to take part in a rally in front of the party's headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

People read newspapers pasted on a wall in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

A girl participates in a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to victims of recent countrywide violence, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

People participate in a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to victims of recent countrywide violence, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

A student volunteer controls traffic, in the absence of traffic policemen on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

People walk past a vandalised shopping center in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

Students clean pillars that were vandalised with graffiti in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Tuj Johora)

People gather in front of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headquarters during a protest rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

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

People gather in front of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headquarters during a rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus walks with his luggage at Charles de Gaulle's airport in Roissy, north of Paris, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus stands with his luggage at the check-in desk at Charles de Gaulle's airport in Roissy, north of Paris, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

People gather in front of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headquarters during a protest rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus checks in his luggage 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)

People gather in front of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headquarters during a protest rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

FILE- Nobel Peace Prize winners Muhammad Yunus, right, and Grameen Bank representative Mosammat Taslima Begum display their medals and diplomas at City Hall in Oslo, Norway Sunday Dec. 10, 2006. (AP Photo/John McConnico, File)

FILE- Muhammad Yunus, an economist from Bangladesh who founded the Grameen Bank and won a Nobel Peace Prize, is seen at the end of a press conference in Paris Monday Feb. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)

Volunteers manage road traffic in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Thursday decried antisemitism hours after an explosive CNN report detailed how one of his allies running for North Carolina governor made a series of racial and sexual comments on a website where he also referred to himself as a “black NAZI.”

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson vowed to remain in the race despite the report, and the Trump campaign appeared to be distancing itself from the candidate while still calling the battleground state a vital part to winning back the White House. Trump has frequently voiced his support for Robinson, who has been considered a rising star in his party despite a history of inflammatory remarks about race and abortion.

Trump did not comment on the allegations during his Thursday address to a group of Jewish donors in Washington. His campaign issued a statement about the CNN story that did not mention Robinson, saying instead that Trump “is focused on winning the White House and saving this country" and that North Carolina was a “vital part of that plan.”

Robinson's reported remarks — including a 2012 comment in which he said he preferred Adolf Hitler to the leadership in Washington — clashed with Trump's denunciations of antisemitism in Washington and his claim that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, sympathized with enemies of Israel. The story also could threaten Trump's chances of winning North Carolina, a key battleground state, with Robinson already running well behind his Democratic opponent in public polls.

“This story is not about the governor’s race in North Carolina. It's about the presidential race," said Paul Shumaker, a Republican pollster who's worked for Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and warned that Trump could risk losing a state he won in 2016 and 2020.

“The question is going to be, does Mark Robinson cost Donald Trump the White House?” Shumaker added.

After allegations against Robinson became public, a spokesman for Harris’ campaign, Ammar Moussa, reposted on social media a photo of Trump and the embattled candidate. “Donald Trump has a Mark Robinson problem,” he wrote.

The North Carolina Republican Party issued a statement standing by Robinson, noting he “categorically denied the allegations made by CNN but that won't stop the Left from trying to demonize him via personal attacks.”

Trump has angled to make inroads among Black voters and frequently aligned himself with Robinson along the campaign trail, which has more and more frequently taken him to North Carolina. At a rally in Greensboro, he called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” in reference to the civil rights leader, for his speaking ability.

Robinson has been on the trail with Trump as recently as last month, when he appeared with the GOP nominee at an event in Asheboro, North Carolina.

Recent polls of North Carolina voters show Trump and Harris locked in a close race. The same polls show Democrat Josh Stein with a roughly 10-point lead over Robinson.

Both Trump and Harris, the Democratic nominee, were making appearances meant to fire up their core supporters, with Harris participating in a livestream with Oprah Winfrey.

Trump appeared Thursday with Miriam Adelson, a co-owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

“My promise to Jewish Americans is this: With your vote, I will be your defender, your protector, and I will be the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House,” Trump said during the donor event in Washington, titled “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America.”

“But in all fairness, I already am,” Trump added.

Trump also has been criticized for his association with extremists who spew antisemitic rhetoric such as far-right activist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. And when former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke endorsed Trump in 2016, Trump responded in a CNN interview that he knew “nothing about David Duke, I know nothing about white supremacists.”

But during his four years in office Trump approved a series of policy changes long sought by many advocates of Israel, such as moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights.

In his remarks, Trump criticized Harris over the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war and for what he called antisemitic protests on college campuses and elsewhere.

“Kamala Harris has done absolutely nothing. She has not lifted a single finger to protect you or to protect your children,” Trump said. He also repeated a talking point that Jewish voters who vote for Democrats “should have their head examined.”

Multiple attendees at the event said they weren't familiar with the story about Robinson or declined to discuss it. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a conservative North Carolina Republican who was asked about the CNN report beforehand, told reporters she wasn't taking questions.

Later Thursday, Trump was scheduled to address the Israeli-American Council National Summit to honor the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. That summit will also focus on the fight against antisemitism.

Harris on Thursday faced pressure from parts of her liberal base over the war. Leaders of the Democratic protest vote movement “Uncommitted" said the group would not endorse Harris for president, but also urged supporters to vote against Trump. The group, which opposes the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. weapons transfers to Israel.

“Uncommitted” drew hundreds of thousands of votes in this year's Democratic primaries, surfacing a rift within the party. The group has warned that some Democratic voters may stay home in November, particularly in places like Michigan.

Harris’ campaign did not directly address the group’s announcement, but said in a statement that she will “continue working to bring the war in Gaza to an end in a way where Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Dr. Miriam Adelson introduces Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump during a "Fighting Anti-Semitism in America" event, Thursday, Sept. 19 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Fighting Anti-Semitism in America" event, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Oprah Winfrey speaks before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris joins her at Oprah's Unite for America Live Streaming event Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024 in Farmington Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, center right, poses for a photograph with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., upon her arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich., enroute to join Oprah Winfrey at Oprah's Unite for America Live Streaming event Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Fighting Anti-Semitism in America" event, Thursday, Sept. 19 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Fighting Anti-Semitism in America" event, Thursday, Sept. 19 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) leadership conference, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)