BANGLADESH

Faced with student protests, BUET has permanently expelled two of the three students who assaulted another injuring him grievously.

On Sunday the authorities had expelled the three for six months, but students protested throughout the night demanding their permanent expulsion.

In a meeting on Monday afternoon, the board of residence and disciplinary committee decided to expel assaulters Saifullah Sikder Mithun and Sujit Saha of metallurgy 2008 batch.

BUET pro-vice chancellor Habibur Rahman told reporters about the duo's permanent expulsion order after the meeting on Monday.

The third student, Arif Raihan Dip of mechanical engineering 2009 batch, is expelled for six months following Sunday's order which was first given. All three were members of Chhatra League, ruling Awami League's student wing.

A four-strong committee to look into the matter was also formed on Sunday and submitted its findings earlier on Monday. The disciplinary committee gave the new decision upon the probe report.

Following a dispute on Dec 28 between the senior and junior batches over entering a concert organised for the rag day of the outgoing batch, Sujit, Mithun and Dip on Dec 31, beat Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Department final year student Tousif Ahmed Ishan with hockey stick and iron rod in his room in the Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall to take revenge.

Ishan is currently undergoing treatment at the capital's Square Hospital with severe injuries in his both hands and legs. BUET authorities have already announced to bear the expenses of his treatment.

According to rules, expelled students can apply to the academic council within 15 days to reconsider their expulsion order.

One of the protesters, CSE department student Nur-e-Bahar Yasha told reporters, "Though we have agreed with the authority's decision, we are hoping that even if they apply, their punishment won't be reduced."

Meanwhile, when asked whether organisational actions would be taken against the three, BUET unit Chhatra League general secretary Tonmoy Ahmed on Monday told : "It was their personal matter. The organisation will not take responsibility for their own actions."

Meanwhile, extra police have been deployed on the university campus and the hall premises to avoid any untoward incident following the current situation.

The students of the university, who have been surrounding the offices of vice chancellor and pro-vice chancellor for the last two days, demanding their expulsion and protesting the incident, have returned to their dormitories and home after hearing the authority's decision around 9pm.

Expatriates have set a new record by remitting around $ 1.15 billion in December, the central bank says.

The previous record was $ 1.1 billion, received in August.

"It (December remittance) was the highest last year, as also in Bangladesh's history. I hope the trend will continue in future as well," Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman told  on Monday.

"The central bank has taken several steps to increase remittance through banking channel. It's a reflection [of these steps]," he said. "We want 100 percent remittance to come through the banking channel. We are working on it."

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) researcher Zaid Bakht said, "It's a welcome improvement amid the economic crisis. It will ease the balance of payment crisis."

According to Bakht, expatriates are remitting more as value of dollar rose against taka in recent past.

"Many expatriates might have had savings and they are sending the money to the country after the value of dollar went up. It might be the reason behind the increase in remittance," he said.

Banks sold dollar at Tk 82 on Monday, according to the Bangladesh Bank.

In the last year, value of dollar rose against taka by 15 percent, with December itself witnessing an increase by about Tk 5.

INCREASED TRANSFER OF FUNDS

The country received around $ 6.07 billion remittance in the first half of the current fiscal -- a 9.27-percent increase over $ 5.5 billion received in the same period the year before.

The rate of increase in remittance had been a measly 1 percent between July and December 2010.

Expatriates sent $ 1.01 billion in the first month of the current fiscal. The amount was $ 855.4 million in September 2011, $ 1.03 billion in October and $ 908.1 million in November.

The remittance inflow grew 25.92 percent in December 2011 in comparison with November, and 18.09 percent vis-à-vis December 2010.

While the flow of remittance usually increases before Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, December did not have any such festival, which should herald more cheers for the economy.

The increased rate of remittance has lifted some pressure off the central bank's foreign exchange reserve. The reserve, which was $ 9.2 billion two weeks ago, stood at $ 9.64 billion on Monday.

BB governor Atiur Rahman said letters were sent to Bangladesh missions in every country, asking them to inspire expatriates to remit more through banks. "Expatriates are requested to communicate with the central bank whenever they face any problem," he said.

According to BB, $303.9 million came through four state-owned commercial banks, while $ 10.5 million through two specialised banks. Thirty private banks handled remittance of $ 816.8 million and nine foreign banks $ 13 million, according to the central bank.

Global beverage giant Coca-Cola will open its first plant in Bangladesh to tap growing demand for carbonated soft drink, a top local investment official has said.

"The company has already registered with the Board of Investment to invest about $50 million by 2013," BoI executive chairman SA Samad told .

Coke's bottling operations will bring in Tk 3.76 billion foreign equity and manage another Tk 375 million working capital locally, according to information it provided to the investment board.

The Atlanta-based soft-drink behemoth has set its sight on starting commercial operation by Sept 2013 at a plant in Tongi where it will produce Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, juice and juice-based drink, and packaged drinking water.

Currently, Abdul Monem Ltd and Pran Group bottle the products.

The plant is expected to produce 222 million bottles worth Tk 9 billion a year.

Coca-Cola in 2009 submitted its first proposal to invest $51 million to expand its business in the country and submitted another proposal in 2010 making clear its intent to set up a modern production facility.

The second proposal said that the company wants to "set up an indirect wholly owned local subsidiary that will establish a new state of the art beverage manufacturing facility in Bangladesh."

The US-backed soft-drink maker would take at least three years to complete the processes and the entire equity capital of this subsidiary will be funded by its foreign source, it added.

The processes involved acquisition of suitable land and setting up facility, securing all required approvals, licences, consents and permission from the proper authorities.

Coca-Cola started business in Bangladesh with an agreement with Tabani Beverage, owned by a Pakistani national, in 1965.

After independence, Tabani was put under the Freedom Fighters' Welfare Trust and it continued its business up to 2008.

The multinational company used to sell Tabani the liquid concentrate of its brands and Tabani produced cold drinks and marketed them.

The global giant asked Tabani to scale up its capacity in 1978 which it failed to do. Coke then signed another agreement with Abdul Monem Group to produce the cold drinks.

Tabani had the right to distribute its products in greater Dhaka and Rajshahi divisions while Monem entered into a contract to distribute them in Chittagong and Khulna divisions.

The companies at that time only produced regular glass bottle (RGB) drinks and it continued production until 2001, when Monem introduced PET bottles in the market.

In 2003, Coca-Cola asked Tabani to improve its quality and set up an effluent treatment plant to on the factory premises, but it did not.

Eventually, Coca-Cola scrapped the contract with the Tabani in 2008 and now has come up with the investment proposal aiming to benefit from the expanding market.

A government investigation committee has found the driver of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) bus responsible for the accident that led to amputation of senior journalist Nikhil Bhadra's leg.

"The investigation found the bus driver responsible for the accident," convener of the committee Moinuddin told the media after submitting the report to the communications secretary on Monday.

He said the committee has made a few recommendations in their report, including sending Nikhil Bhadra abroad for an artificial limb.

The five-member investigation committee was formed on Dec 28 by the communications ministry to look into the issue following the accident in front of the National Press Club.

Dhaka Reporters' Unity president Shakhawat Hossain Badshah was the journalists' representative in the committee. The other members represented the government, BRTC and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

Obaidul Quader had earlier told the media that the driver, if found responsible for the accident, would receive the highest punishment in line with recommendations from the committee.

Bhadra is a senior reporter with Bengali daily 'Kaler Kantha'. His colleagues had demonstrated for over five hours soon after the accident on Oct 28, demanding arrest of the bus driver who had hit and wounded him.

Pallabi police arrested the driver the following day.

A lawyer has withdrawn a case he had filed against RAB personnel seven months back, accusing the force of abducting his son, after getting his trace.

Metropolitan magistrate Roksana Begum Happy on Monday accepted the case withdrawal application by Md Khabiruddin.

Khabiruddin lodged the case on May 31 accusing that two RAB, two jail officials and four other unknown people abducted his son Toufique Hasan, a second-year student of Stamford University.

The officials are RAB-10 deputy director Mohammad Harun and flight lieutenant Mohammad Imon, Dhaka Central Jail senior jailer Touhidul Islam and deputy jailer Md Imran Hossan.

Toufique was arrested along with two others with posters of banned Islamist outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir on Feb 22 from the city's Siddheshwari Balur Math area. A case was filed against the three with the Ramna Police Station the same day under anti-terrorism law.

A number of people were picked up by plain-clothes people identifying themselves to be RAB personnel late last year from different parts of the country. Bodies of some of them were found later, prompting human rights organisations to express concern.

RAB, however, denied their involvement in any 'secret killing'.

'NO SATISFACTORY ANSWER'

Khabiruddin in his case withdrawal application said he found his son attending his (Toufique's) grandma's death anniversary programme at Teghoria village in Manikganj district on Dec 26.

He told : "When I asked my son about his mission, I did not get any satisfactory answer from him."

He said Toufique is now with his mother at a Siddeshwari apartment.

Khabiruddin said in the case that following the arrest, his son had secured bail on May 13 but RAB personnel, in plain clothes, had picked him up from the jail gate.

"A group of four to five people dragged Toufique into a microbus as soon as he came out of the jail at 10pm," he said.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka had ordered departmental investigation into the abduction.

The cabinet approved on Monday a law to clamp down on pornography with a provision to jail offenders for up to 10 years.

A draft of Sonadia Deep Sea Port Authority Act 2011 also got clearance in principle at a meeting of the cabinet, chaired by prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said.

The draft Pornography Control Act 2011 includes another provision of slapping Tk 500,000 fine, Azad said.

The cabinet approved draft of detailed and brief versions of president Zillur Rahman's speech to be delivered in the first parliament session this year, he said. The president will read out the short version and the detailed speech will be presented to the MPs.

The ministers also provisionally endorsed the draft of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Control Act 2011, Azad said. Proposals to ratify SAARC Convention on Co-operation on Environment and Charter of the Asian Institute of Technology were also approved, he added.

PROTECTING HONOUR

Azad said the draft Pornography Control Act 2011 includes provisions to punish offenders with different terms in jail and different amounts of fine.

The act provides for punishing those who will give false information and file false charges, the prime minister's aide said. They will be awarded up to three-year jail term, he said.

The act bans production, preservation, transportation and marketing of any kind of pornography, Azad said and added abettors or the offenders will also face punishment.

Such crimes will be tried in a special court or tribunal.

Pornography has spread in society like a disease, he observed and said the law has been made to protect youths and the honour of innocent women.

SONADIA PORT

Japanese consultancy firm Pacific Consultant International conducted a feasibility survey on nine locations in the Bay of Bengal and recommended Sonadia as the best place for establishing a deep sea port.

Its report said the deep sea port would facilitate export-import not only for Bangladesh but also the Indian ports of Haldia and Kolkata and for the seven northern states in that country.

It will also contribute to transport of goods to Hunan province of China and Myanmar. The 96-jetty port will meet the needs of 400 million people in these regions.

The work is likely to begin next year and the entire construction will be completed in 2055.

Medium to severe cold wave may start flowing in the second week of this month, the Met department says.

Meteorologist Abul Kalam Mallik told  on Monday evening that the night temperature may fall two to three degrees due to the rainfall continuing from Sunday night in various areas of the country under the influence of cyclonic storm Thane.

"January is considered the coldest month in Bangladesh. From the second week of January, there will be a second cold wave which will be medium to severe in nature," he said.

He said another cold wave may follow in mid-January. The rain may last until Tuesday afternoon, he added.

The Met department says the highest rainfall was recorded in Comilla's Maijdicourt, 5 millimeters, from Sunday evening to Monday evening.

The rainfall was 4 mms in Mymensingh, 3 in Jessore and Tangail, 2 in Dhak, Chuadanga, Sylhet and Satkhira and 1 in Shrimangal, Chandpur, Khulna, Mongla and Rajshahi.

The highest temperature in the country was 28 degrees Celsius in Cox's Bazar and the lowest 15 degrees in Dinajpur.

The severe cyclonic storm Thane moved westwards and crossed the coast of Tamil Nadu of India and now lies close to Puducherry. The cyclone is likely to move in a westerly direction and weaken gradually.

Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Mongla were advised to lower signals.