Modern day life tends to drain everyone out as we are preoccupied with so many tasks at the same time—study, work, as well as giving time to family.

“They thought I was dead,” Abdul tells Star Weekend. “I was stuck in a jail in Libya for over four months and I never had the chance to contact my family. They thought I had fallen from the boat [on the way to Italy from Libya] into the dangerous sea and disappeared forever,” he says.

Bangladesh's young cricketers came under immense criticism in the recently concluded Asia Cup. It did not take too long for people to dismiss the likes of Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das and Mosaddek Hossain.

Hardly a day goes by now without fatal street accidents taking place in some part of the country where innocent people are the victims. The lives of people have become so cheap in our country, that if a dozen people die in a road accident there is no one to ensure future road safety and compensation.

Renu Begum* can remember little of the life she had before she moved to Dhaka and joined a garments factory at the age of 12. Her father, a fisherman, had moved to Dhaka with his family in the early 90s. But there was not much an unskilled fisherman from the village could do in a city teeming with unemployed labourers who, like him, had migrated to the capital, dreaming of untold opportunities.

Joint Art Exhibition 'Chirkut'

It's a tale as old as time—Paris as a city of stories. Not just because of the published literature flowing through it ceaselessly, but also the rues, boulevards, bridges, gardens, and buildings royal and ramshackle which contain stories of all those who have passed through them.

The influence of social media does not stop just there with the “you need this useless product”, it is far reaching, so much so, that I have had friends and relatives come up to me and tell me if only I ate “clean” or smiled more often, I would find that I do not need to see a therapist anymore, but would find that my 'depression' has been magically cured by cumulative good deeds or a nutritious diet.

Dr Marek Bartelik is a Polish-born, New York-based art critic, art historian, and poet, highly regarded across the world for his nuanced understanding of art.

The last trimester of the calendar year is possibly the most exciting time for film lovers—prestige release season! The season opens with Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which has premiered and showcased contenders such as La La Land, The Imitation Game, and Room.

The outcome of four months of protests for reforms on the quota system in government jobs—with protestors having to endure arbitrary arrests, subsequent imprisonment, suspension from universities and torture at the hands of law enforcers ruling party cadres—finally took shape on September 17, 2018.

Short stories are in. Or is the short story dead? Is it seeing a resurgence? The genre seems to be in need of constant justification despite established and novice writers alike constantly churning out short stories.

When you think of starting a business in Bangladesh, you almost immediately think of exploring your options in the garments sector. You might even take the risk of venturing into the food business or any other 'tested and tried' sector that is bound to give an instant reward.

The use of internet became available in Bangladesh in the early 1990s with dial-up as the only mode to connect. This allowed users access to a rather limited spread of resources that included email and bulletin boards.

What does the ICT Division spend most of its money on?

According to a Global Innovation Index report published in July 2018, Bangladesh is ranked 116th out of 126 nations, the lowest score in Asia—below India ranked 57th and Pakistan ranked 109th.

Private university student Sumon (not his real name) had already gone to bed when the police came to his bachelor pad, last month. The cops were on a “block raid”—a security exercise that Dhaka Metropolitan Police executed over several areas in the city in the aftermath of the Safe Roads movement waged by student protestors.

The local e-commerce industry in Bangladesh started booming as a proper ecosystem around 2012, with the advent of faster internet connections in the country and legalisation and approval of online payment by Bangladesh Bank in several stages.

Md Nasir Uddin, an employee of a private company, has been using shared motorbike rides through ride sharing apps regularly since September 2017. His rating with Uber and Pathao, two popular ride-sharing apps operating in Bangladesh, is 4.9 out of 5 and 93 percent respectively.

The momentous growth in the digitalisation of the finance industry over the last decade(s) has transformed the sector to a point where an increasingly wide variety of financial services are now becoming available to more and more people, faster than ever before.