Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood on Thursday said the government has decided to set up three more Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) by 2029 to find a lasting solution to the country's energy crisis. "A decision has been made to set up three more FSRUs at Payra, Mongla and Hiron Point. The process of finding investors has already begun," the minister said, joining a seminar organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at BRAC Centre by video link.
Iqbal said gas supply across the country is currently being disrupted following a fire incident at the Maheshkhali FSRU, adding that engineers are continuously working to resolve the problem and operations are being run by synchronising boilers. He said LNG procurement has not been halted despite the damage to the FSRU with sufficient cargo LNG being purchased so that gas supply can resume as soon as the problem is fixed.
Sixteen Bangladeshis were killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (Aug.9). The victims were from Naogaon, Natore and Rajshahi, the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry said in a statement early Monday. Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury expressed deep shock and sorrow over the deaths. He said the Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia is maintaining round-the-clock contact with the local authorities.
The officials concerned have been instructed to bring back the bodies of the deceased expatriates as soon as possible and ensure all necessary government assistance and compensation for their families. Mohammed Saiful Islam, Naogaon Deputy Commissioner (DC), said 10 of the victims are from Atrai upazila. The deceased are believed to be aged between 25 and 35. The fire broke out at the factory in Khordam city, Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, at around 3:30pm Bangladesh time on Sunday.
Five more children died from measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours leading up to 8:00am on Thursday (Aug. 13), raising the overall death toll from the ongoing outbreak to 890. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has classified all five of the latest casualties as suspected. With the latest figures, the total number of suspected measles deaths has reached 791, while the number of confirmed deaths remained unchanged at 99, as no new confirmed measles deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
Among the five new suspected fatalities, the highest concentration was recorded in Dhaka, with two deaths reported in both the Dhaka division and Dhaka district. A total of 951 suspected measles cases were recorded in the 24 hours till Thursday morning, taking the overall suspected case tally to 140,076. During the same period, 74 new confirmed measles cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 17,543.
A bomb placed inside a pressure cooker at a mosque ground in the Sadhapur area of Savar, Dhaka, was defused. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Bomb Disposal Unit defused the bomb on Wednesday. A loud explosion was heard from a distance, and white smoke was seen rising into the sky. Sub-Inspector (SI) Imran Hossain, in charge of the Bhabanipur Police Camp in Savar, told Prothom Alo that the DMP Bomb Disposal Unit arrived at the scene on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier, around 1:30am on Tuesday night, local residents found a blue plastic drum at the premises of Laltek Ghora Mosque at Goper Bari in Sadhapur. Inside the drum was a pressure cooker wrapped in black Scotch tape. Local residents later took the pressure cooker out of the drum, placed it on the mosque ground and informed the police. SI Imran Hossain said police went to the scene at around 8am after being informed and found the pressure cooker wrapped in black Scotch tape. The Bomb Disposal Unit was then informed.
