New chief election commissioner in Bangladesh

A new chief election commissioner has been appointed in Bangladesh after two weeks of political wrangling between the political parties.

He is M.A. Syed, who is currently the head of a financial watchdog.

He will now oversee the general election next year.

Mr Syed was selected by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, but the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party rejected the appointment, saying there should have been a political consensus on it.

It had earlier refused to meet the government to discuss the matter.

The BNP has called two days of protests across Bangladesh starting from tomorrow Tuesday. Mr Syed's predecessor, Mohammed Abu Hena, resigned earlier this month for what he said were health reasons.

The opposition had been putting pressure on him for some time to resign.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service