Four people were burnt in a gas cylinder explosion at a restaurant in the capital's Malibagh. The injured were admitted to the burns unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The employee of the hotel Sabuj, (24) Maruf (16) and Julhas (18) Abdul Hannan, (40) was burnt in the incident. The incident took place at  Shahjalal Hotel at Malibagh intersection on Wednesday evening (March 20). DMCH Police Outpost In-Charge, Bachchu Mia confirmed the matter. Quoting the duty doctor of DMCH, he said, "The hands, face and legs of the victims were burnt. They have been kept under observation. The condition of the victims is not critical. ’  

Health minister Samanta Lal Sen said about 90-100 percent of the bodies of most of the victims were burnt in the gas cylinder blast in Gazipur. All of them are in critical condition. He said this to the reporters while visiting the burnt victims admitted to the hospital on Wednesday (March 13) evening. Five adults and seven children are undergoing treatment at the ICU of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, he added. At least 35 people, including women and children were burnt in the incident at around 5:30 pm. According to some sources, a cooking gas cylinder started leaking at a house in the colony. The resident of the house brought the it to the main door and threw the gas cylinder on the road, leading to the unfortunate explosion.  

The government has fixed the new price of gas and electricity. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division fixed the new price of gas by issuing a notification on Tuesday afternoon (Feb 27). The State Minister of the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid confirmed the matter at the secretariat. Although the new price has been fixed, the price of gas will remain the same at the customer level. It has been increased only for power generation. However, the newly fixed price of electricity is going to be effective to the consumers from March 1.

Gas supply will remain suspended for three hours in some areas of the capital on Tuesday. Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited said this in a press release on Monday (Feb 26). The supply will remain suspended in some areas of Dhaka from 11:00am to 2:00pm on Tuesday (Feb 27) for emergency replacement of gas pipeline. Gas supply will remain suspended for three hours in Maghbazar, Noyatola, Madhubagh, Tejgaon, Hatirjheel, Mirerbag, Gabtala, Greenway, Peyarabagh and Eskaton (Dilu Road and surrounding areas).  

Two blasts hit Iran's main gas pipeline in what the government called a "terrorist act." Iranian officials did not immediately point the finger at the attackers. Iran's Oil Minister Javad Owji said two explosions along Iran's main south-north gas pipeline network were caused by sabotage. But his televised statement made no mention of possible suspects. "This terrorist act of sabotage occurred at 1 a.m. (9.30 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday morning in the network of national gas transmission pipelines in two regions of the country," Owji on Thursday. He added that only the villages near the damaged pipeline were experiencing gas outages and that those would be fixed later today. Iranian authorities denied reports that the incident caused gas cuts to industrial plants and offices. Owji pointed to a similar incident in 2011, which he called an act of sabotage, that temporarily cut gas to four different regions of the country.   What do we know about explosions? According to the National Iranian Gas Company, the saboteurs attacked pipelines in the cities of Borujen in the southwestern provinces of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and Safashahr in the southern province of Fars. Company manager Saeed Aghli said there were no casualties. Authorities said the ensuing fires were under control in both cases. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, and Iranian officials did not immediately assign blame. In 2017, Iranian Arab separatists claimed to have bombed two oil pipelines in coordinated attacks in the western Khuzestan region. Iran has also generally blamed agents of its arch-foe Israel for similar acts of sabotage in the past.

A huge gas blast in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has killed at least three people and injured nearly 300. A lorry carrying gas exploded in Embakasi district at about 23:30 (20:30 GMT), "igniting a huge ball of fire", a government spokesperson said. Housing, businesses and cars were damaged, with video showing a huge blaze raging close to blocks of flats.   Earlier, the government had said the blast happened at a gas plant. The cause is still being established. Embakasi police chief Wesley Kimeto said a child was among those who died in the explosion, adding that the death toll could rise. The Kenya Red Cross said it had taken 271 people to hospital and treated 27 others on site.   The fireball from the blast had "spread widely", according to Isaac Mwaura Mwaura, the government spokesman, and a flying gas cylinder had hit a garments and textiles warehouse, burning it down. "The inferno further damaged several vehicles and commercial properties, including many small and medium sized businesses," he said in a statement. "Sadly, residential houses in the neighbourhood also caught fire, with a good number of residents still inside, as it was late at night." Witnesses told local media they had felt tremors immediately after the blast. Many of the injured are said to have inhalation injuries and they include at least 25 children, the Standard newspaper reports. One of those hurt, Boniface Sifuna, described what had happened to Reuters news agency: "I got burnt by an exploding gas canister as I was trying to escape," he said. "It exploded right in front of me and the impact knocked me down and the flames engulfed me. I am lucky that I was strong enough to get away." James Ngoge, who lives across the street from where the blast happened, told the AFP news agency that he was in his house at the time and "heard a huge explosion". "It felt like it was going to collapse. At first, we didn't even know what was happening, it was like an earthquake. "I have a business on the road that was completely destroyed."   A journalist for the Nation newspaper living in the area said everyone had left their houses after the blast. The Kenya Red Cross said on social media that crews had been "tirelessly battling the flames". Government spokesman Mr Mwaura said the blast scene had been secured and a command centre had been set up to help co-ordinate rescue operations. "Kenyans are hereby advised to keep off the cordoned area in order to allow the rescue mission to be carried out [with] minimal disruptions," he added. Source: BBC

Alabama has executed convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas, the first time the method of capital punishment has been used in the US. Smith, 58, lost two final appeals to the Supreme Court and one to a federal appeals court, arguing the execution was a cruel and unusual punishment. In 2022, Alabama tried and failed to execute Smith by lethal injection. He was convicted in 1989 of murdering a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett, in a killing-for-hire. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Smith is the first person to be put to death using pure nitrogen gas anywhere in the world. Alabama and two other US states have approved the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative method of execution because the drugs used in lethal injections have become more difficult to find, contributing to a fall in the use of the death penalty nationally. Five members of the media were transported by van to Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore to witness the execution. "Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards," Smith said, according to witnesses. "Thank you for supporting me. Love all of you." After the gas began to flow into his mask, the inmate is said to have smiled, nodded toward his family and signed "I love you". Witnesses observed two to four minutes of writhing and about five minutes of heavy breathing before he was pronounced dead at 20:25 local time (02:35 GMT). Breathing nitrogen without oxygen causes cells in the body to break down and leads to death. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, who did not respond to a request to attend the execution, confirmed Smith's death in a statement. "After more than 30 years and attempt after attempt to game the system, Mr Smith has answered for his horrendous crimes," she said. "I pray that Elizabeth Sennett's family can receive closure after all these years dealing with that great loss." Attorney General Steve Marshall said it had proved to be "an effective and humane method of execution", refuting the "dire predictions" of activists and the media. "Justice has been served," his statement added. Alabama corrections Commissioner John Hamm said Smith's shaking on the gurney appeared to be involuntary movements. "That was all expected and was in the side effects that we've seen or researched on nitrogen hypoxia," Mr Hamm said. "Nothing was out of the ordinary from what we were expecting." Alabama said in an earlier court filing that it expected Smith to lose consciousness within seconds and die in a matter of minutes. Smith was one of two men convicted of murdering Mrs Sennett in a $1,000 (£790) killing-for-hire in March 1988. The 45-year-old was beaten with a fireplace implement and stabbed in the chest and neck, and her death was staged to look like a home invasion and burglary. Her husband Charles Sennett, a debt-ridden preacher, had orchestrated the scheme to collect insurance money. He killed himself as investigators closed in. Smith's fellow hitman, John Forrest Parker, was executed in 2010. At his trial Smith admitted to being present when the victim was killed, but said he did not take part in the attack. The victim's son, Charles Sennett Jr, said in a media interview that he had little sympathy for Smith. He told WAAY-TV: "And some of these people out there say, 'Well, he doesn't need to suffer like that.' "Well, he didn't ask Mama how to suffer? They just did it. They stabbed her - multiple times." In a statement, Smith's legal team said it was "deeply saddened" by his execution, noting that the jury in his case had voted to spare his life but a judge overrode that decision. "Nothing can undo the tragic consequences of the actions for which he was convicted, including the pain of the Sennett family and friends," the attorneys said. "Kenny's life, however, should be considered in its full context." Earlier on Thursday, the Alabama Department of Corrections shared details from the inmate's final 48 hours. Smith was visited by members of his family, two friends, his spiritual adviser and his attorney. He had a breakfast of two biscuits, eggs, grape jelly, applesauce and orange juice. His final meal was steak and eggs with hash browns. Alabama tried to execute Smith by lethal injection two years ago, but they were unable to raise a vein before the state's death warrant expired. On Thursday night, the Supreme Court denied him a last-minute reprieve. Three liberal justices dissented from the conservative-led majority's ruling.  "Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its 'guinea pig' to test a method of execution never tested before," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote. "The world is watching." That decision came a day after the Supreme Court declined to take up another challenge by Smith. The nitrogen execution had been denounced by some medical professionals, who warned it could cause a range of catastrophic mishaps, ranging from violent convulsions to survival in a vegetative state. Last week, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights urged a halt to the execution, saying that gassing Smith could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under international human rights law.   Source: BBC

Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources  has said gas supply will improve in the next two days. "Besides, uninterrupted gas supply will be ensured by 2026,” Nasrul said while talking to journalists at the Secretariat on Sunday (Jan 21). He said 20% of the gas supply is coming from imports.  “Priority is to increase extraction of country’s own gas resources. Work is underway with a target of drilling 46 wells by 2025. Imports are supplying a total of 20% of gas in the system. We aim to maintain this ratio,” he added. Nasrul Hamid said the gas shortage in some areas including the Chittagong region is temporary.  Maheshkhali has two FSRUs (Floating Storage Re-Gasification Units) supplying LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). In one of these, the gas supply was temporarily stopped due to a technical fault. Another was then under regular maintenance. Because of this crisis, both are currently in operation.   In response to a question, he said: “Currently the demand for gas is 3,800 million cubic feet. We can supply around 3,200 million cubic feet. Due to this, there is some shortage. Hopeful news is coming from domestic gas fields, as gas production is increasing.”   The state minister said the government will ensure uninterrupted gas supply by 2026, just as it achieved 100% electrification in 2021. By 2026, the daily demand will be 6,000 million cubic feet, he added.

Gas supply has been shut in Chattogram since morning due to technical glitches in the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) of liquefied natural gas at Maheshkhali, said Petrobangla in a press release. Petrobangla did not mention the reason or manner of glitches in the FSRU. Google News LinkFor all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Residents of Dhaka and Narayanganj are also facing acute crisis since this morning in many areas. The Petrobangla press release said, due to the cold, many areas of the country are experiencing low gas pressure. "Maintenance is underway and officials are monitoring it round the clock," it said, adding that production and supply of domestic gas continues. "We sincerely apologise for the temporary inconvenience to our valued customers," it wrote. The country is facing acute gas crisis since October last year, as a result of low import and maintenance work of one of the two FSRUs. After completion of maintenance work, the FSRU was scheduled to resume gas supply last week, but that has been delayed.

The new pipeline connecting Serbia with EU member Bulgaria aims to reduce Serbia's dependence on Russian gas. Serbia and other countries in central and southeastern Europe will now have access to Azerbaijani exports. Serbia on Sunday completed the interconnector to a pipeline in Bulgaria, allowing the Balkan country to diversify its gas supplies and reduce its dependence on Russia. An opening ceremony for the pipeline was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his Bulgarian and Azeri counterparts, Rumen Radev and Ilham Aliyev. "With this interconnector we are securing alternative gas supplies, apart from the Russian gas," Serbia's energy minister, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, said. Access to gas from Azerbaijan The pipeline, which runs from the Bulgarian town of Novi Iskar to the Serbian city of Nis, will give Belgrade access to gas from Azerbaijan and to the LNG terminal in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis. On November 15, Serbia signed a deal with Azerbaijan to purchase 400 million cubic metres of natural gas per year from 2024. The capacity of the 170-kilometer (105-mile) pipeline on the Serbian side is 1.8 billion cubic meters per year, which is 60% of the country's annual gas demand of about 3 billion cubic meters. The European Union supported the project with grants totaling €49.6 million ($53.4 million) and loans of €25 million. Serbia itself is not a member of the EU, but has been negotiating to join the bloc since 2014. Serbia's reliance on Russia In recent decades, Serbia has relied almost exclusively on Russia for its gas supplies, building pipelines solely for Russian gas and selling a majority stake in its state oil and gas company, NIS, to Russian energy giant Gazprom. Last year, Belgrade signed a long-term contract to continue importing Russian gas, drawing a rebuke from Brussels as the EU seeks to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. While Serbia, which aspires to join the bloc, has condemned Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has not joined Western countries in imposing sanctions on Moscow.