Summit LNG Terminal began supplying gas on Friday, August 14, starting at about 110 million cubic feet at 6:10 pm, the company said in an evening press release. The terminal expects to gradually raise deliveries and reach about 550 million cubic feet of gas, near full capacity, around 2 am on August 15.

Summit said the additional gas would help increase availability for industry, power generation and other customers. The company said the supply could also support economic activity and help reduce pressure on the country’s energy system.

The company said it is committed to delivering the maximum volume of gas while maintaining safe and reliable operations within the technical capabilities of the terminal and the national gas transmission system. Summit LNG described adequate and uninterrupted energy supply as important for industrial growth, employment and economic development in Bangladesh. It also said it would continue working closely with Petrobangla and the Bangladesh government to strengthen energy security and reduce gas shortages.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afrozah Khanam Rita said skilled professionals have an important role in Bangladesh’s economic development and in establishing good governance. She made the remarks on Friday afternoon, August 14, at a reception for chartered accountants and cost and management accountants in Manikganj Sadar’s Gilond Munno Cafeteria.

Rita said chartered accountants and cost and management accountants could further strengthen the country’s economy through professional competence and integrity. She said her father, Harunar Rashid Khan Munno, worked for the country and its people with honesty and dedication. The minister said she was working while carrying those ideals and sought cooperation from the professionals.

FCA Md. Golam Nabi chaired the event, where FCA Abdul Matin, FCMA Jasimuddin, FCMA Yunus Ali and FCA Ekhlas Uddin spoke. Speakers emphasized improving professionals’ skills, ensuring transparency and accountability, and strengthening their contribution to the country’s economic progress. The minister was welcomed with flowers and presented with a commemorative crest at the beginning of the event. Chartered accountants and cost and management accountants from different levels of the district attended.

A severe LNG-related gas shortage has shut all five filling stations in Brahmanbaria for the past three days, disrupting CNG-powered transport and affecting commercial and residential consumers. Gas supply to the stations was fully halted after 11 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the report. The closures have reduced the number of CNG autorickshaws operating on roads and highways, leaving passengers facing long waits and higher fares.

Before the shutdown, Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited supplied the five stations with 50,000 cubic metres of gas daily, although demand was nearly twice that amount. For more than two weeks, gas pressure had remained at 3 to 4 PSI rather than the usual 15 PSI. Supplies were first restricted and then stopped completely as the shortage intensified.

Some autorickshaw drivers have switched to LPG cylinders, increasing operating costs and passenger fares. One passenger paid Tk70 for a trip normally priced at Tk40, while a driver said his fare rose from Tk50 to Tk90 after using LPG. A filling-station manager said supply might resume Sunday or Monday, but Bakhrabad Gas official Md Shafiqul Haque said no definite timeline was available.

Unit 1 of the coal-fired Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Parbatipur, Dinajpur, has again shut down because of a mechanical fault. The problem emerged around 11 a.m. on Friday, halting generation from the unit at the plant, which has a total generation capacity of 525 megawatts.

Chief Engineer Abu Bakar Siddiq confirmed the shutdown and said work was under way to repair the mechanical fault and restart the unit quickly. Before it stopped, Unit 1 was supplying 50 megawatts of electricity to the national grid each day.

The same unit had previously stopped generating on July 31 because of a mechanical fault and was restarted on August 2 after repairs. At present, the plant’s Unit 3 is supplying 170 megawatts to the national grid. Unit 2 has remained shut since 2020.

Gas supply from the cargo at Summit LNG’s terminal has stopped because of rough seas, and the cargo at the terminal has also been moved away. Energy Division sources confirmed that the terminal supplied gas from Thursday afternoon before the supply was later halted. The August 14, 2026 report said the shutdown has further reduced overall gas deliveries to Bangladesh’s national grid.

Accelerate Energy’s LNG terminal is currently supplying about 190 million cubic feet of gas to the national grid. According to people concerned, the reduced supply is already affecting multiple sectors. Lower gas pressure in Dhaka and other parts of the country is increasing cooking difficulties for households, with stoves remaining off for much of the day in many areas and pressure too low for normal cooking elsewhere.

The lower pressure could also disrupt industrial production, as factories may lose production capacity without adequate gas. Power generation could be affected as well, with average load-shedding of about 3,000 megawatts during peak hours. Pressure on the national gas grid is expected to persist until Summit’s LNG supply returns to normal.

Saudi Arabia’s oil exports through the Red Sea are facing fresh uncertainty amid fears of possible attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Oil tankers linked to the kingdom are switching off their Automatic Identification System, or AIS, signals to avoid exposing their locations, leaving shipping data related to oil exports unavailable. The report was published on August 14, 2026.

The Houthis declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20 and subsequently claimed attacks on Saudi-linked oil tankers, the Yanbu oil facilities and the Jazan refinery. Analysts said nearly all tankers leaving Yanbu recently travelled with tracking signals disabled. Since July 23, continuous AIS data has been unavailable for about 70 percent of ships departing Saudi Arabia’s west coast.

The missing tracking data has complicated efforts to determine Saudi Arabia’s actual oil export volumes, producing major differences among ship-monitoring firms. Shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait has also declined. Saudi Arabia is exporting more oil through the Suez Canal and Egypt’s SUMED pipeline, while exports from Egypt’s Sidi Kerir port have reached record levels, much of them Saudi crude.

Britain’s economy contracted by 0.1% in April as the Iran war, the wider Middle East crisis and domestic political instability increased pressure on business activity, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figures, published on Thursday, marked the first monthly decline since August last year. Some companies cited the conflict as a factor raising costs and affecting turnover.

The ONS said economic performance was normal over the three months from February to April, with growth up 0.7% from the previous three-month period. March had recorded stronger-than-expected growth. However, growth in administrative and support services, arts, entertainment and recreation fell by 0.2% in April. An ONS official said British firms linked to cancelled Middle East sporting events were also affected, including Formula One Grands Prix planned in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as well as tennis and football events.

BBC reporting said the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed Brent crude as high as $120 a barrel before prices began to fall on hopes the war could end. Higher fuel prices have raised petrol, diesel and household bills in Britain. KPMG UK economist Yael Selfin warned of continued pressure on consumers and businesses, while RSM economist Thomas Pugh said conditions were likely to worsen.

Opposition leader and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Dr Shafiqur Rahman has urged the government to take urgent steps to resolve an ongoing crisis at CNG pumps across Bangladesh. He made the call in a post on his verified Facebook account on Friday morning.

In the post, Rahman said CNG pumps nationwide were facing an unbearable shortage. He said he wanted to see a clear statement and initiative from the government on the matter.

Rahman said urgent measures were needed for a prompt solution and that the crisis could not be resolved through concealment or falsehood. Referring to previous shortages, he said fuel prices had been raised after crises emerged in the past. He added that a similar increase would not be acceptable this time.

The AFL-CIO, the largest labor union federation in the United States, said in a report that Tesla chief executive Elon Musk received compensation in 2025 that was about 2.5 million times that of the company’s average worker. The report, cited in an article published on August 14, 2026, put Musk’s total compensation at about $1.583 trillion.

Excluding Musk, the average pay gap between chief executives and workers at leading S&P 500 companies was 312-to-1, up from 285-to-1 in 2024, according to the report. Including Musk, the ratio rose to 5,387-to-1. His compensation pushed average compensation for top executives in 2025 to $341 million, while the figure was $22.8 million without him.

The report said workers’ share of US national income was at its lowest point since World War II, while many Americans faced financial strain over retirement savings, emergency expenses and medical costs. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond accused CEOs and the Trump administration of manipulating the economy to enrich themselves at the expense of working people. The report also cited President Donald Trump’s 2025 income of about $2.2 billion from multiple sources, including crypto assets.

A severe nationwide gas shortage is worsening load-shedding and disrupting daily life and industrial production in Bangladesh, according to a report published on August 14. Power plants, factories and fertilizer facilities are not receiving gas in line with demand. The Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said gas supplied to power plants, despite an increase, remains 60 percent below demand. On Thursday, electricity supply was 3,500 megawatts short of demand.

Gas-fired power plants have capacity of slightly more than 12,000 megawatts, but even with additional gas they supplied at most 5,000 megawatts to the national grid on Thursday. Gas is being diverted from industries to power plants, yet load-shedding has not been eliminated. BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem said 70 percent of member factories reported gas and electricity problems. Ashuganj Fertilizer and Chemical Company has remained fully shut for a long time, with officials reporting losses exceeding Tk100 crore a month.

Households in Brahmanbaria and Cumilla have turned to clay stoves, cylinders and other fuels as cooking gas supplies failed. Residents in rural Sunamganj alleged power is unavailable for 17 hours a day. Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said load-shedding management and waiting were the only options until floating LNG terminals are repaired, while the government has initiated plans for three more LNG terminals.

Global crude oil prices rose on Friday as growing military tensions involving Iran renewed concerns over supply disruptions. At 1:30 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, Brent crude was up 9 cents, or 0.1%, at $87.16 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 4 cents to $81.29. Supply worries intensified after the United States threatened to maintain a naval blockade on Iran indefinitely.

The Strait of Hormuz remains central to market concerns. Hossein Taieb, head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force, said the strategic waterway was under the Islamic Republic’s management and control, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. The UAE’s state news agency WAM said two Abu Dhabi National Oil Company vessels were attacked while passing through the strait on Thursday evening, and the UAE government blamed Iran.

Demand concerns are limiting the price increase. OPEC and the International Energy Agency lowered their forecasts for global oil-demand growth this week, while US crude inventories posted their largest weekly increase in more than three and a half years. KCM chief market analyst Tim Waterer said supply concerns supported prices, but weaker demand expectations prevented sharper gains.

Shipping, Road Transport and Bridges, and Railways Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam said the foundation stone for Chattogram Port’s Laldia Container Terminal will be laid on August 30 with Danish cooperation. He made the announcement at a Thursday morning meeting at the Ministry of Shipping with a delegation from Denmark-based APM Terminals. The minister described the project as a modern, environmentally friendly green terminal.

Alam said advanced technology would be used at the terminal, with cranes operated remotely from an office to improve efficiency and safety. He also said women’s active participation would be ensured in the project, opening a new avenue for inclusive employment in the port sector.

The minister said an international-standard terminal would increase Chattogram Port’s capacity and contribute to jobs, trade expansion and the national economy. APM Terminals delegates thanked the government for cooperation on port and terminal infrastructure development and discussed using modern technology, management expertise and international experience in Bangladesh’s port sector, including at Laldia. Ministry Secretary Zakaria, the Chattogram Port Authority chairman, senior ministry officials and APM Terminals’ CEO attended the meeting.

Power Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said Bangladesh has no immediate option beyond counting the days and managing load-shedding until repairs to a floating LNG terminal, or FSRU, are completed. He made the remarks while joining an event organised online by the Centre for Policy Dialogue on Thursday.

The minister said engineers are working to fix the FSRU fault. He said that, apart from waiting for the work at the terminal, authorities are trying to manage the situation so that load-shedding can be reduced as much as possible.

Tuku also said the management effort includes supplying gas to industries. He told the event that Bangladesh will install three new floating LNG terminals by 2029.

Power Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said Bangladesh has no immediate option beyond counting the days and managing load-shedding until repairs to a floating LNG terminal, or FSRU, are completed. He made the remarks while joining an event organised online by the Centre for Policy Dialogue on Thursday.

The minister said engineers are working to fix the FSRU fault. He said that, apart from waiting for the work at the terminal, authorities are trying to manage the situation so that load-shedding can be reduced as much as possible.

Tuku also said the management effort includes supplying gas to industries. He told the event that Bangladesh will install three new floating LNG terminals by 2029.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have signed a new memorandum of understanding on air services, increasing authorized weekly passenger flights between the countries from 49 to 84. The Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority chairman, Air Vice Marshal Md Mostafa Mahmud Siddiq, announced the agreement at a Thursday press conference at the authority’s headquarters. The arrangement also allows 21 weekly cargo flights and includes fifth-freedom traffic rights, code-sharing, co-terminalization and aircraft leasing opportunities.

The additional 35 weekly passenger flights are intended to help meet growing travel demand, according to the chairman. He said about 4 million Bangladeshis living and working in Saudi Arabia would benefit from increased flights and seat capacity. Hajj and Umrah travellers are also expected to benefit, particularly during the Hajj season when passenger pressure and seat shortages can arise. Greater airline competition could give passengers access to more competitive and affordable fares, he said.

The agreement creates scope to expand services from Chattogram and Sylhet to Riyadh, Dammam, Madinah and Jeddah. Cargo provisions could speed exports including garments, fresh vegetables and fruit to Saudi markets. Designated Bangladeshi airlines may also operate cargo services via Saudi Arabia to specified destinations including Spain and Germany.