Star Weekend
‘Like a morning after a nuclear attack’
A World Bank team that visited different areas of war-torn Bangladesh in June 1971 likened Kushtia to a bombed-out “WWII German town”.
Fear of sexual harassment triggering child marriage: survey
A recent survey by Plan International Bangladesh found that fear of sexual harassment and social exclusion are the major reasons behind parents marrying off their daughter at an early age.
For the Love of Tea
My baby boy snatches my empty tea mug from me and starts licking it. He was given the last few drops of tea from the mug and now he wants more. He puts his hand inside the mug, gets the boiled tea dust into his fist, inserts them in his mouth and starts chewing furiously.
Court Corner / SC forms committee against sexual harassment
The Supreme Court administration has formed a five-member committee to receive complaints of sexual harassment on court premises, conduct inquiry into them and make necessary recommendations to this effect.
UK-listed cybersecurity firm Avast in merger talks with NortonLifeLock
London-listed cybersecurity firm Avast is in advanced talks with US rival NortonLifeLock Inc about a merger that would create a clear leader in consumer security software.
THE FUTURE IS CENSORED
Ignoring the concerns of journalists and rights defenders, the Digital Security Act was passed in the parliament on September 19, 2019. It is known both at home and abroad to be draconian, antithetical to freedom of speech and democracy.
Why we need weekend magazines
So it has finally happened. Hard as it is to accept it, the Star Weekend magazine is about to close the curtain after an impressive run of 23 years.
THE LAST HUSTLE
The soft light of the setting sun illuminates the entire section every time I walk in, mostly because I AM ALWAYS LATE. On one side white balloons hang, on another side a dart board.
The Dead Can’t Dance
The death’s head is panther-stalking her through the party. Bodies washed in neon pink ebb and flow, sinking and rising from the shadows as light thrums.
Where it all ended and where it all began
This is the fifth and final (for now) instalment in a fiction series about a family navigating the woes of immigrant life.
The shepherd of floating dreams
I sometimes think of Dhaka as an ancient twisted folk tale—one with a mystical, rusty lamp with a faux genie.
Four stories
At Star Weekend, we try to find and frame the stories around us. Stories of strife and injustice and joy and history. This week, in what feels like a penultimate time, we decided to explore some of the stories that exist within.
Even cats have litter boxes
I hate my apartment. I hate the mismatched floor in every room, the red kitchen counter, the broken tiles in the bathroom. I hate that every time it snows or rains I have to pray it doesn’t start leaking in my closet again.
Jahangirnagar University crisis - mired in a stalemate
Amidst all the commotion at Jahangirnagar University, this issue of the Star Weekend attempts to discern the trajectory of the disaster by sieving it through a chronological timeline, collated from reports published in The Daily Star and other major national newspapers. We start from the reappointment of the VC and take the reader through all that has happened till date, all that has brought this renowned academic institution to a standstill.This timeline is certainly not exhaustive. What it demands of the reader is discernment, analysis and conscious awareness of the ever-persistent, wider issues that these events represent. Where does it all begin, and where does it end? Why should a public university be in such a place to begin with?
“I never start writing until I can hear the voices of the main characters in my head”
I always had a desire to write fiction from school days onwards, but ‘to be a writer’ seemed like an unattainable goal.
Children’s activities at Dhaka Litfest 2019
Every November, Dhaka Lit Fest creates a hub of stimulating activities and conversations for the culturally inclined.
Book publishing in tatters
Shahbagh, the intellectual heart of Dhaka, becomes a meeting place for renowned and promising authors, scholars, poets, journalists, readers, and intellectuals from far and wide, at least twice a year.
