The government is set to purchase a second cargo of liquefied natural gas this year from the spot market, taking advantage of the downturn in prices. JERA Co Inc of Japan will supply 33.60 lakh MMBtu of LNG at $16.5 per unit, after winning a competitive bidding process organised by state-owned Petrobangla among its 20 suppliers. This is an even lower price than the earlier consignment bought in 2023.A virtual cabinet committee meeting on government purchases presided over by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamala, approved the Petrobangla proposal for procuring LNG.

Additional secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan of the cabinet division revealed the outcomes of the meeting in an online briefing. This will be the second import of LNG this year. On February 1, French company Total Energies won this year's first supply bid, quoting $19.74 MMBtu. The deal marked the resumption of LNG imports from the spot market after more than six months of suspension against the backdrop of a price hike for the item on the global market. The government is likely to import 10 more LNG cargoes in the current year.

Bangladeshis are paying almost seven times more for internet than the rest of the world. Global VPN provider Surf Shark recently released a report titled the Global Internet Value Index (IVi), which is a list that ranks countries based on how much they are overpaying for internet access. Globally, Bangladesh ranks 83rd (out of 117 countries), and regionally within South Asia, ranks 3rd. The index examines whether people are getting what they're paying for. Bangladesh has an index of 0.0105, which is almost 86% lower than the global average. According to the index, Bangladeshis are way-overpaying for the internet they are getting, and only 24% of the world are overpaying more than Bangladesh.

India, the biggest neighbour of Bangladesh, ranks 44th in the list and regionally ranks 1st. Another neighbour that finished ahead of Bangladesh in the rankings was Nepal, ranks 77th. Israel had the best overall internet value index (0.6630), followed by Singapore (0.6186) and Denmark (0.4816). Yemen had the lowest internet value index in the world.

The High Court ordered the government to ensure the security of a student, who was allegedly tortured in horrific fashion by female Chhatra League cadres at Islamic University in Kushtia over a hall seat. In response to a writ petition, the HC also directed Kushtia's deputy commissioner to form a three member committee to probe the incident and submit a report to the court in three days. Meanwhile, the IU authorities have been ordered to bar the BCL leaders Sanjida Chowdhury and Tabassum Islam, who supervised the night of unspeakable torture, from entering the campus during the probe.

At the same time the HC directed the vice chancellor to submit all the probe reports prepared by the committee formed by the university authorities through Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy. The bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil expressed grave concern over torture on students in dormitories of different educational institutions, all being dominated by the ruling party student front.

Comilla Victorians aced a tricky 176-run chase to claim their fourth BPL title, and second in a row. Victorians were turbo-powered by Johnson Charles, who smashed 79* from 52 balls, and Litton Das, who hit 55 off 39, as they beat Sylhet Strikers by seven wickets with four balls to spare. It was the icing on the cake after an 11-match winning streak for Victorians, who had lost three matches to start the tournament.

It was the fourth BPL title for Victorians coach Mohammad Salahuddin, who is rapidly acquiring legendary status in Bangladesh. Victorians were woeful in the field, but their superstar batting line-up took them over the line. Strikers under Mashrafe Bin Mortaza'a leadership were worthwhile finalists after they came through the second qualifier by beating Rangpur Riders. They made 175, with Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto hitting attractive fifties.