Newsweek International March 29 - April 05, 2024

A Kashmiri Muslim elder recites the Quran at Dastgeer Sahib, a Sufi shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir, on March 12, the first day of Ramadan in the region. The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Ramadan is a time of deep spiritual reflection and observance commemorating the Quran’s revelation to the Prophet Muhammad. Throughout this holy month, many practicing Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, beginning with a pre-dawn meal known as “suhoor” and breaking their fast after sunset with “iftar,” typically a substantial meal shared with family and community members. Nearly two billion Muslims celebrate Ramadan worldwide. The month concludes with the celebratory Eid al-Fitr.…

Periscope NEWS, OPINION + ANALYSIS POLITICS JUST OVER A MONTH AFTER A SPECIAL COUNSEL report brought questions over Joe Biden’s age to the forefront of the 2024 presidential campaign, Democrats are torn about the best way of addressing what is becoming one of the election’s defining issues. The president, 81, and his advisers struck back after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on February 8 depicted him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden staged a rare evening press conference within hours. In the days that followed, Vice President Kamala Harris called the report “politically motivated,” and First Lady Jill Biden joined a chorus of surrogates vouching for Biden’s fitness and energy. But as the president and his team have tried to move on from the damage caused by…

GENERATION Z IS EMBRACING cash, despite digital money being the primary way of spending, saving and investing in 21st century life. Some 69 percent of Gen Zers (born between 1997 and 2012) in the U.S. and U.K. were using cash more than they did in 2022, found a 2023 study by HarrisPoll on behalf of Credit-Karma—and nearly a quarter (23 percent) are using it for the majority of their purchases. The research checks out with the trend of keeping large amounts of cash at home rather than putting it in a bank account, checking or savings, which can be seen on social media. Using cash instead of card or online transactions has become increasingly popular on TikTok, with myriad accounts explaining how to do “cash stuffing.” The budgeting hack involves…

IN JUDAISM, THERE IS AN IDEA of passing down knowledge and traditions “l’dor v’dor”—from generation to generation. As if called to fulfill my part, I learned that I was accepted to Harvard Divinity School while visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. I have always been passionate about my Jewish identity and wanted to explore that identity from an academic and pluralistic perspective. As the only Orthodox Jew in the program, I wanted to be an ambassador for my people. I wanted to share my culture with other community leaders and learn about theirs. I came to Harvard to build bridges. Never would I have imagined that I’d need to fight for my right to exist on campus. Never would I have thought that I’d have to sue Harvard to…

SINGLE WOMEN AND LGBTQ+ COUPLES are increasingly pursuing pregnancy via known donors—people they find on the internet, in Facebook groups and through dating-like apps. In her own quest to become a solo mother by choice, investigative journalist Valerie Bauman has spent the past four years embedded in the world of freelance sperm donation, attempting to get pregnant. Along the way, she interviewed dozens of donors, recipients, donor-conceived people and relevant experts. She learned that freelance sperm donation thrives in a corner of the online world where women’s dreams come true: Many find decent men who will get them pregnant for little-to-no-cost. It’s also a place where men go for easy sex. Either way, more Americans are turning to this world to build their own unconventional families, whether driven by cost,…

Q _ Were you ultimately successful in your quest to conceive? A _ I am currently pregnant, due in mid-May. I can’t wait to meet my son! Is there anything you would have done differently along the way? There is a donor I mention in the book who I worked with that I call “The Conquistador.” We attempted to have a romantic relationship while also trying to get me pregnant. I regret that situation. You lay out many pitfalls in trying to conceive in the unregulated market. How can would-be parents avoid getting burned? The key is taking your time to vet potential donors properly and establishing some trust. Unlike a sperm bank, you have the opportunity to truly get to know the person who is donating half the DNA…