Police in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka used tear gas and sound grenades on Friday to disperse hundreds of members of the banned militant group Hizb-ut-Tahrir seeking to march to demand the country's secular democracy be replaced by an Islamic caliphate.

Bangladesh's interim leader says he felt "dazzled" when asked to take charge after long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina was driven from power last year. "I had no idea I'd be leading the government," Muhammad Yunus told the BBC. "I had never run a government machine before and had to get the buttons right.

Students in Bangladesh who led a mass uprising to topple former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August are now diving into politics by forming a new political party.

Bangladeshi students at the forefront of protests that ousted Sheikh Hasina as prime minister last year launched a political party on Friday to contest elections likely to be held by the end of the year.