Ding’s comeback win over Gukesh ties World Chess Championship final

Chinese titleholder forces India’s teenaged challenger to resign in game 12 and tie the scores at six points each.

China's chess grandmaster Ding Liren (right) and India's chess grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju compete during the start of the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore on November 25, 2024 [File: Roslan Rahman/AFP]

Published On 9 Dec 2024

Defending champion Ding Liren has bounced back strongly to beat his teenaged challenger in the 12th game and level the score in the home stretch of their FIDE World Chess Championship match.

India’s Gukesh Dommaraju was forced to resign in game 12 on Monday after finding his king cornered by the Chinese titleholder’s white pieces, which had advanced deeply into enemy territory.

Ding’s victory put both players at six points apiece, with only two more games to go in the classical format chess at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa.

“It’s a very important 12th game. It’s maybe the best game I played in recent times,” Ding told reporters after the match.

After Sunday’s loss, the champion said he regained his energy with more sleep and some caffeine.

“Today, I took a cup of coffee before the game, which helped me feel much more energetic … a small cup of espresso,” said Ding, a native of Wenzhou city.

With the champion building a strong centre, Gukesh’s pieces were powerless to make any breakthrough.

The 18-year-old challenger seemed to gain the momentum for the title when he forced Ding to resign in the 11th game Sunday to take a 6-5 lead.

But it was not to be, and he has to wait, with two more games to be played on Wednesday and Thursday after a rest day on Tuesday.

“Obviously, it’s not pleasant to lose this game,” said a dejected Gukesh.

“At least the score is still tied and there are two more games remaining. So let’s see.”

Ding’s comeback on Monday was reminiscent of the 2023 World Championship, in which he overcame a 5-6 deficit by winning game 12 against Ian Nepomniachtchi in Kazakhstan.

He eventually forced a tie-breaker against the Russian and won, becoming the first Chinese player to be crowned world champion.

If both Ding and Gukesh are tied in 14 games, the match will move to a rapid-fire tie-breaker, which will be played on December 13.

At his age, Gukesh is the youngest player in history to compete in the World Championship, and he is looking to surpass Garry Kasparov as the youngest undisputed world chess champion.

WATCH: 

Biden announces creation of Native American boarding school national monument at Tribal Nations Summit

By — Matt Brown, Associated Press
By —Marc Levy, Associated Press

 Dec 9, 2024 

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden designated a national monument at a former Native American boarding school in Pennsylvania on Monday to honor the resilience of Indigenous tribes whose children were forced to attend the school and hundreds of similar abusive institutions.

Watch in our player above.

Biden announced creation of the Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument as he hosted tribal leaders at a White House summit.

Thousands of children passed through the notorious Carlisle Indian Industrial School by the time it closed in 1918, including Olympian Jim Thorpe. They came from dozens of tribes under forced assimilation policies that were meant to erase Native American traditions and “civilize” the children so they would better fit into white society.

READ MORE: Boarding school history ‘a sin on our soul,’ Biden says in historic apology to Native communities

It was the first school of its type and became a template for a network of government-backed Native American boarding schools that ultimately expanded to at least 37 states.

“About 7,800 children from more than 140 tribes were sent to Carlyle — stolen from their families, their tribes and their homelands. It was wrong making the Carlisle Indian school a national model,” Biden told the White House summit. “We don’t erase history. We acknowledge it, we learn from it and we remember so we never repeat it again.”

“We don’t erase history. We acknowledge it, we learn from it and we remember so we never repeat it again.”

Thorpe’s great-grandson, James Thorpe Kossakowski, called Biden’s designation “historic” and an important step to expand Americans’ understanding of the federal government’s forced assimilation policy.

“It’s very emotional for me to walk around, to look at the area where my great-grandfather had gone through school, where he had met my great-grandmother, where they were married, where he stayed in his dorm room, where he worked out and trained,” Kossakowski, 54, of Elburn, Illinois, said in an interview.

The children were often taken against the will of their parents, and an estimated 187 Native American and Alaska Native children died at the institution in Carlisle, including from tuberculosis and other diseases.

WATCH: Sexual abuse of Native American children at boarding schools exposed in new report

“Designating the former campus of the Carlisle School, with boundaries consistent with the National Historic Landmark, as a national monument will help ensure this shameful chapter of American history is never forgotten or repeated,” Biden said in his proclamation for the monument.

There are ongoing efforts to return the children’s remains, which were buried on the school’s grounds, to their homelands.

“They represent 50 tribal nations from Alaska to New Mexico to New York and I think that symbolizes how horrific Carlisle was,” said Beth Margaret Wright, a Native American Rights Fund lawyer who has represented tribes trying to get the Army to return their children’s remains and who herself is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, which has children still buried there.

Carlisle was a model for many other schools that came after it and a huge majority of tribal nations that exist today have stories of their children being sent to Carlisle, Wright said.

In September, the remains of three children who died at Carlisle were disinterred and returned to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana.

At least 973 Native American children died at government-funded boarding schools that operated for more than 150 years, according to an Interior Department investigation.

During a series of public listening sessions on reservations over the past several years hosted by the Interior Department, survivors of the schools recalled being beaten, forced to cut their hair and punished for using their native languages.

The forced assimilation policy officially ended with the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978. But the government never fully investigated the boarding school system until the Biden administration.

Biden in October apologized on behalf of the U.S. government for the schools and the policies that supported them.

President Joe Biden meets attendees during the Tribal Nations Summit at the Department of the Interior on Dec. 9, 2024. Photo by Elizabeth Frantz/ Reuters

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose grandparents were taken to boarding schools against their families’ will, said no single action would adequately address the harms caused by the schools. But she said the administration’s efforts have made a difference and the new monument would allow the American people to learn more about the government’s harmful policies.

“This trauma is not new to Indigenous people, but it is new for many people in our nation,” Haaland said in a statement.

The schools, similar institutions and related assimilation programs were funded by a total of $23.3 billion in inflation-adjusted federal spending, officials determined. Religious and private institutions that ran many of the schools received federal money as partners in the assimilation campaign.

Monday’s announcement marks the seventh national monument created by Biden. The 25-acre site (10 hectares) will be managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Army. The site is part of the campus of the U.S. Army War College.

For Wright, one of the most powerful places at the Carlisle school is where imprints of the since-removed train tracks were that delivered children there.

“There’s no longer train tracks there, but you can see where they might have been and where their children would have arrived for the first time and seen a place so far away and seen a place so horrific,” Wright said.

Native American tribes and conservation groups are pressing for more monument designations before Biden leaves office.

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

PELTIER ILLEGALY ARRESTED IN VANCOUVER BC BY RCMP
AND HANDED OVER TO THE FBI

Netanyahu to take witness stand for the first time in his corruption trial in Israel

By — Tia Goldenberg, Associated Press

Dec 9, 2024 

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to take to the witness stand Tuesday for the first time in his trial on corruption allegations, a pivotal point in the drawn-out proceedings that comes as the leader wages war in Gaza and faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes charges.

READ MORE: ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas officials alleging war crimes

At home, Netanyahu is on trial for accusations of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, but his appearance on the witness stand will be a low point in his decades-long political career, standing in contrast to the image of a sophisticated, respected leader he has tried to cultivate.

The trial will take up a chunk of Netanyahu’s time at a crucial point for Israel. While he makes his case for weeks from the stand, he will still be tasked with managing the war in Gaza, maintaining a fragile ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and keeping tabs on threats from the wider Middle East, including Iran.

It will be the first time an Israeli prime minister has taken the stand as a criminal defendant, and Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to delay the proceedings, citing the ongoing Gaza war and security concerns. The judges ordered the trial to resume Tuesday, moving the proceedings to an underground chamber in a Tel Aviv court as a security precaution.

WATCH: War crimes court issues warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister

Netanyahu’s appearance in the courtroom will also draw attention to other legal issues in the Israeli leader’s orbit. Close advisers in his office are embroiled in a separate series of scandals surrounding leaked classified information and doctored documents. While Netanyahu is not suspected of direct involvement in those, they could weaken his public image.

Here is a look at the ongoing trial.

Where does Netanyahu’s trial stand?

The trial, which began in 2020, involves three separate cases in which prosecutors say Netanyahu exchanged regulatory favors with media titans for favorable press coverage and advanced the personal interests of a billionaire Hollywood producer in exchange for lavish gifts.

Prosecutors have called roughly 140 witnesses to the stand — fewer than the 300 initially expected to testify.

Those witnesses have included some of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants who turned against him, as well as a former prime minister, former security chiefs and media personalities. Lawyers have submitted thousands of items of evidence — recordings, police documents, text messages.

A new documentary, “The Bibi Files,” has shined new light on the cases by obtaining footage of Netanyahu being questioned by police, as well as interrogations of his wife and some key witnesses. In a glimpse of what can be expected in the courtroom, Netanyahu appears both combative and anxious at times, accusing police of unfairly picking on him and denigrating other witnesses as liars.

The prosecution called to the stand its final witness over the summer, bringing to an end three years of testimony and setting the stage for the defense to lay out its case, with Netanyahu its first witness. Netanyahu’s appearance will give Israelis a chance to see the long-serving Israeli leader answer to the charges before the three-judge panel.

What are some notable moments from Netanyahu’s trial?

The prosecution has sought to portray Netanyahu as media-obsessed, to push its narrative that he would break the law for favorable coverage.

Witness accounts have shed light not only on the three cases but also on sensational details about Netanyahu’s character and his family’s reputation for living lavishly on the backs of taxpayers and wealthy supporters.

One former aide and a key prosecution witness called him a “control freak” over his image. Another witness described expensive gifts for Netanyahu and his wife.

Arnon Milchan, an Israeli producer of Hollywood blockbuster films such as “Pretty Woman,” took the stand last year by videoconference, describing how he routinely delivered tens of thousands of dollars of champagne, cigars and other gifts requested by the Israeli leader.

One key witness, a former top aide to Netanyahu, stunned prosecutors by backtracking from his earlier claims against the prime minister, opening the door for the defense to erode his credibility as a witness. The trial was jolted by Israeli media reports that police used sophisticated phone-hacking software to spy on this witness.

What happens next in Netanyahu’s trial?

The prosecution formally rested its case in July, and the court recessed for the summer and fall. The defense has repeatedly asked for delays in Netanyahu’s testimony, which have mostly been denied.

Like other witnesses, Netanyahu will testify three days a week, for hours at a time, and his testimony is expected to last weeks. The defense will seek to depict Netanyahu as a law-abiding leader who was a victim of careless and biased police investigations.

Netanyahu’s critics have sought to draw a clear line between the cases and the war in Gaza. They say the allegations led Netanyahu to promote a contentious judicial overhaul plan last year that bitterly divided the country and created an image of weakness that encouraged the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war.

Netanyahu’s critics, including families of hostages held by Hamas, now accuse him of dragging out the conflict — and risking the lives of their loved ones — to avoid an embarrassing investigation and new elections that could force him from power.

If he is eventually voted out of power, being away from the prime minister’s seat would make it harder for Netanyahu to rail against the justice system and delegitimize the verdict in the eyes of the public.

A verdict isn’t expected until 2026 — at least — and then Netanyahu can choose to appeal to the Supreme Court. Israel’s courts are notoriously sluggish, and the case was further delayed last year when courts went on hiatus for two months after war broke out following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

Once the defense rests, each side will summarize their cases before judges convene to deliberate over Netanyahu’s fate.

UH OH

Mysterious illness, dubbed "disease X," has killed dozens of people in Congo, WHO says


By Sarah Carter
December 9, 2024

CBS News


A mysterious illness, which the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling "disease X," has killed at least 31 people — mostly children — in the remote Panzi region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization says.

The WHO said Sunday that 406 cases of the disease have been recorded in the Kwango Province, approximately 435 miles southeast of the capital Kinshasa. More than half of those who died were children younger than 5 years old who were severely malnourished, the health agency said.

The actual number of deaths in the region is difficult to determine, and some reports say as many as 143 people have died. A team of scientists from the World Health Organization is on the ground investigating the illness, which researchers believe started circulating in October.

The DRC's Ministry of Public health sent an alert to WHO on Oct. 29 saying it was concerned about a mysterious illness that had caused "increased" deaths in the Panzi health region, according to the WHO. The ministry said in a press briefing on Dec. 5 that the mortality rate was about 8% and that several deaths were reported outside of health facilities.

The community deaths are of concern, local health officials told CBS News, and the WHO said they need to be investigated.

Doctors say the disease presents much like a respiratory infection, with people suffering from fevers, headaches, coughing, runny noses and body aches. The WHO said rapid response teams have been sent to identify the cause of the outbreak and help coordinate a suitable response.

"The teams are collecting samples for laboratory testing, providing a more detailed clinical characterization of the detected cases, investigating the transmission dynamics and actively searching for additional cases, both within health facilities and at the community level," the WHO said in a statement Sunday.

"Given the clinical presentation and symptoms reported, and a number of associated deaths, acute pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19, measles and malaria are being considered as potential causal factors with malnutrition as a contributing factor," the WHO said. "Malaria is a common disease in this area, and it may be causing or contributing to the cases."

The area where the outbreak is taking place is remote, located roughly 48 hours by road from the capital Kinshasa. The rainy season, which brings an influx of malaria cases, is complicating the situation, the WHO said. There is also no functional laboratory in the region, and communication infrastructure is limited. The area is also at risk of attacks by armed groups, the WHO said.

Experts have warned about the risks of further spread of the disease and said they have not ruled out that it is airborne. The WHO said the risk at a global level remains low, but that due to the proximity of the boarder with Angola, there is concern of cross-border transmission.

Volkswagen: 'Furious' union threatens strike 'escalation'

Thousands of Volkswagen workers walked out on strike for the second time this month as the car manufacturer threatens job cuts and factory closures. A fourth round of negotiations is underway with no agreement in sight.

"House of burning money" - striking Volkswagen workers dressed as characters from the popular Netflix show "Money Heist"

Image: Martin Meissner/AP/dpa/picture alliance

A fourth round of negotiations between German car manufacturer Volkswagen and workers' unions began on Monday against a backdrop of renewed rolling strikes and with little sign of an agreement in sight.

Following a sharp drop in profits caused by increasing costs at home and competition from abroad, particularly from China, Volkswagen is looking to make wide-ranging cuts, including redundancies, wage reductions and even factory closures.

"We need cost reductions that can be implemented in the short term and are sustainable," said the company's lead negotiator, Arne Meiswinkel.

"This is the only way we can remain competitive in a challenging environment."
Unions 'furious and stunned'

But trade unions are angry at what they see as workers paying the price for executive mismanagement and took their members out on strike at nine plants across Germany for the second time this month.

"Instead of intelligent solutions, they offer only mass layoffs and job cuts," said Christiane Benner, chairwoman of the IG Metall union, adding that she was "furious and stunned" at Volkswagen's actions so far.

Volkswagen in crisis: Why is the German carmaker struggling?  02:02

"The problems are huge," she said, addressing tens of thousands of workers outside the flagship VW plant in Wolfsburg, 90 kilometers (56 miles) east of Hannover in northern Germany.

"But they can't be solved with closures, redundancies and wage cuts. The blame for the crisis does not lie with the employees, but with the many bad decisions made by the management."

Volkswagen threatening 10% wage cuts

The union is demanding that all 10 Volkswagen plants in Germany remain open and that approximately 130,000 employees receive guarantees of employment.

Whereas the previous round of strikes on December 2 lasted for two hours, Monday's walkouts lasted twice as long.

In November, IG Metall had offered to forgo salary increases in a move that it said would save Volkswagen around €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion).

But Meiswinkel said the offer was "not yet sufficient for a sustainable solution" and the company is continuing to demand 10% across-the-board pay cuts.

IG Metall regional secretary Thorsten Gröger called on management to show a greater willingness to compromise, otherwise promising "an escalation the likes of which this company has never seen before."

mf/rc (dpa, AFP)

China launches probe into Nvidia's acquisition of Israeli tech firm



| Shares of Nvidia fell Monday after Chinese regulators announced a probe into the American tech giant over claims it may be violating one of China’s antitrust laws. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Shares of Nvidia fell Monday after Chinese regulators announced a probe into the American tech giant over claims it may be violating one of China's antitrust laws.

The investigation by China's State Administration for Market Regulation relates to Nvidia's multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Israeli tech firm Mellanox, according to state-run China Central Television.

The report published Monday does not specify what exactly Chinese regulators are exploring about the $6.5 billion deal, which was first announced in 2019 and completed the following year.

"In recent days, due to Nvidia's suspected violation of China's anti-monopoly law and the State Administration for Market Regulation's restrictive conditions around Nvidia's acquisition of Mellanox shares...the State Administration for Market Regulation is opening a probe into Nvidia in accordance with law," reads the statement issued by Chinese authorities, according to translation by CNBC.

Shares of Nvidia were down $4.34 or 3.04% and trading at $138.10 as of 10:50 a.m. EST Monday.

The Chinese investigation is the latest salvo in a back-and-forth exchange between China and the United States over the vital semiconductor chips, which are seen as essential to establishing dominance in the growing field of artificial intelligence.
Advertisement

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden again tightened the regulations for American companies, which were already forbidden to export semiconductor technology to China.

Washington hopes the strict rules will slow Beijing's advances in AI-related weaponry and other defense systems.

Biden has on multiple occasions enacted legislation limiting Chinese access to U.S. microchip technology, deeming it an issue of national security.

Founded in 1993, NVIDIA last month replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

In October, NVIDIA briefly took over the top spot from Apple as the world's most valuable company.

 UK

Lady Chief Justice highlights ‘huge’ 82% increase in First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) cases in last quarter

Summary

More judges are being recruited but won't be in post until at least autumn 2025

By EIN

Date of Publication:

09 December 2024

• 
  

In an evidence session before the House of Commons Justice Select Committee at the end of last month, the Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, highlighted that the caseload of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) (FtTIAC) continues to increase significantly.

Image credit: UK GovernmentEarlier last month in the latest annual report by the Senior President of Tribunals, the President of the FtTIAC, Judge Melanie Plimmer, noted that the FtTIAC had seen a 53% increase in its caseload in 2023/24 over the previous year. Judge Plimmer explained that the increase in asylum appeals mirrored the increase in Home Office decision-making of asylum claims.

On 26 November, Baroness Carr told the Justice Committee that there had been a 'huge' 82% increase in cases in the FtTIAC in the last quarter. The Committee was questioning the Lady Chief Justice about her work and discussing some of the key issues facing the judiciary and the courts.

The Lady Chief Justice highlighted mounting pressures on the judiciary, citing increasing backlogs, chronic underfunding, staffing shortages and a lack of capacity affecting both courts and tribunals.

She told the Committee: "I often think of the judiciary and the courts as a pinch point in an hourglass. We are not like a business. We cannot close for business. We are not like a restaurant that can say, 'Our tables are full, so we won't take any more reservations.' We are completely susceptible to the work that comes in. If the pinch point is like that, you can have however many immigration cases you want or however many criminal cases you want. We only have so many judges, so many courts and so many magistrates to deal with the work. Just because there is more work does not mean that the work can be done."

When asked about increases in the workloads of the tribunals, Baroness Carr drew attention to the huge increase in FtTIAC cases. While more judges are being recruited, it will be many months before they are in position.

The Lady Chief Justice said: "In the last quarter we have seen an 82% increase in cases in First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum). That is huge. What we are doing, as much as we are allowed to, is recruiting new judges, but the numbers are small. We have 150 fee-paid judges who will not be in post, at the earliest, until autumn 2025. We have a competition for some salaried judges as well. Again, I don't see any of those new judges coming online, after training, until well into the autumn of next year. Going back to the hourglass, you can increase the ask, but you are not going to make the width of the hourglass at its pinch point any bigger unless you increase capacity, and that does not happen overnight. I think that is understood by Government. You cannot make these big policy decisions without being acutely aware of the downstream impact."

Puberty blockers: Can a drug trial solve one of medicine's most controversial debates?

Deborah Cohen
BBC
G

It is among the most delicate and controversial challenges in modern medicine - how to determine whether the benefits of puberty blockers (or drugs that delay puberty) outweigh the potential harms.

This question came to the fore in June 2023 when NHS England proposed that in the future, these drugs would only be prescribed to children questioning their gender as part of clinical research.

Since then, a new government has arrived in Westminster and Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he is committed to "setting up a clinical trial" to establish the evidence on puberty blockers. The National Institute for Health and Care Research is expected to confirm soon that funding is in place for a trial.

The dilemma that remains is, how will such a trial work?

Eighteen months since the announcement there is still a lack of consensus around how the trial should be conducted. It will also need to be approved by a committee of experts who have to decide, among other things, whether what's being tested might cause undue physical or psychological harm.

But there is a second unanswered question that some, but by no means all, scientists have that is more pressing than the first: is it right to perform this particular trial on children and young people at all?


A rapid rise in referrals


When the Gender and Identity Development Service (GIDS) was established at London's Tavistock Clinic in 1989, it was the only NHS specialist gender clinic for children in England, and those referred there were typically offered psychological and social support.

Over the last 10 years, however, there has been a rapid increase in referrals - with the greatest increase being people registered female at birth. In a separate development, around the same time the approach of typically offering psychological and social support moved to one of onward referrals to services that prescribed hormone drugs, such as puberty blockers.

Known scientifically as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, puberty blockers work on the brain to stop the rise in sex hormones - oestrogen and testosterone - that accompany puberty. For years, they were prescribed to young patients with gender dysphoria (those who feel their gender identity is different from their biological sex). But in March 2024, NHS England stopped the routine prescribing of puberty blockers to under 18s, as part of an overhaul of children's gender identity services.

NHS England said in a policy statement: "There is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of PSH [puberty suppressing hormones] to make the treatment routinely available at this time."

The ban was later tightened to apply to private clinics as well.

PA
Dr Hilary Cass published her final report in April 2024

In April 2024, a review of gender identity services for children and young people, led by Dr Hilary Cass, a past president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, published its final report, which called out the "field of gender care" for not taking a cautious and careful approach.

She also reported that the change in practice at GIDS away from one primarily relying on psychological and social support was largely based on a single study that looked at the effect of medical interventions such as puberty blockers on a very narrowly defined group of children and there was a lack of follow up in the longer term.

Elsewhere, some other countries were re-examining puberty blockers too. Scotland paused the use of them while Finland, Sweden, France, Norway, and Denmark have all re-evaluated their positions on medical intervention for under 18s - including puberty blockers - to differing degrees. In other places there is still support for the use of puberty blockers.

In medicine, when there is genuine uncertainty as to whether the benefits of a treatment outweigh the harms - called equipoise - some ethicists argue there's a moral obligation to scientifically study such treatments. But there are some from across the debate who don't think there is equipoise in this case.

The ethical dilemma at the heart of the trial


The BBC has learned details about the arguments going on around the concept of a trial and how it could look. Some argue that there is already evidence that puberty blockers can help with mental health, and that in light of this it would be unethical to perform a trial at all because this would mean some young people experiencing gender distress would not be given them.

The World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) has expressed their concern about the trial for this reason. They support the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery. WPATH, who have faced increasing criticism of their guidelines from some clinicians, say that it is ethically problematic to make participation in a trial the only way to access a type of care that is "evidence based, widely recognised as medically necessary, and often reported as lifesaving."

Meanwhile other clinicians believe there is no good evidence that puberty blockers can help with mental health at all. They also point to research that questions the negative impact that the drugs might have on brain development among teenagers, as well as evidence around the negative impact on bone density.

Dr Louise Irvine is a GP and co-chair of the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender which says it is cautious about using medical pathways in gender dysphoric children. She says: "Given that puberty blockers by definition disrupt a crucial natural phase of human development, the anticipated benefits must be tangible and significant to justify the risk to children.

"In pushing ahead with a puberty blockers trial, we are concerned that political interests are being prioritised over clinical, ethical and scientific concerns, and over the health and wellbeing of children."

The NHS adult gender services holds data that tracks 9,000 young people from the youth service. Some argue that this should be scrutinised before any trial goes ahead as it could provide evidence on, among other things, the potential risks of taking puberty blockers.

But there is a third view held by some others, including Gordon Guyatt, a professor at McMaster University in Canada, who points out that randomised trials are done in "life-threatening stuff all the time" where no-one can be sure of the long-term effects of a treatment. In his view it would be "unethical not to do it".

"With only low quality evidence, people's philosophies, their attitudes or their politics, will continue to dominate the discussion," he argues. "If we do not generate better evidence, the destructive, polarised debate will continue."

- Dr Cass found the existing research in the field was poor quality and that there was not a reliable enough evidence base to base clinical decisions on. Young people involved in many of the existing studies may have also had interventions including psychological support and other medical treatments and so it was not always possible to disentangle the effect of each different treatment.

- When it comes to suppressing puberty by using drugs, the rationale for doing so "remains unclear", Dr Cass said. One of the original reasons given was to allow time to think by delaying the onset of puberty. But the evidence suggests the vast majority who start on puberty blockers go on to take cross-sex hormones - oestrogen or testosterone. It is not clear why but one theory, the Cass report suggests, is that puberty blockers may, in their own right, change the "trajectory" of gender identity development.

• - Clinicians "are unable to determine with any certainty" which young people "will go on to have an enduring trans identity", Dr Cass wrote. In other words, there's a lack of clarity about which young people might benefit in the long term and which may be harmed overall by the process.

How the trial could look


Recruitment for the trial is due to start in 2025, months later than originally anticipated. Young people will likely be referred after a full assessment by specialist clinicians. A lot is still to be determined, including how many participants there will be.

Ultimately the scientists running the trials will need to establish whether people who get an intervention are better off than those who do not. In this case, do the puberty blocking drugs and their effect make the young people better off?

"Better off" in this instance includes the extent to which a young person's mental health may be improved if they are happy with their body. Quality of life is determined by various factors including self-confidence and self-esteem. As well as getting the personal views from the young people and parents, the trial could measure actual real life changes, such as time spent in education and time spent with family and friends.

But there are potential harms to study too, such as the possibility of reduced bone density. Some scientists suggest examining the impact on learning using a form of IQ test.

Normal brain development is influenced by both puberty and chronological age, which usually act in tandem during adolescence. It's not clear how this is affected when puberty is suppressed. Brain scans are one way of understanding any effect.

Some scientists believe it may be possible to simply randomly assign trial participants into two groups where one gets puberty blockers, the other gets a placebo and nobody is aware which group they're in.

But others believe a placebo group is impossible. They say the placebo group would go through puberty, realise they weren't on puberty blockers and potentially drop out of the trial or even find other ways to obtain puberty blockers. Either scenario would reduce the validity of the results.

Professor Gordon Guyatt and others have outlined a potential trial where the group of patients not receiving drugs would be made up entirely of children who are keen to socially transition, such as by changing how they dress and altering their name and pronouns. Researchers could then monitor the difference between the groups.

A second possibility is that both trial groups are given puberty blockers but one group gets them after a delay, during which time they receive psychological and emotional support. This would help researchers determine, among other things, whether their gender-related distress subsides during that delay while receiving the support.

Alongside this there would be a "matched" control group that doesn't take a placebo or puberty blockers, whether for health reasons or because they don't want to, that get similar tests and scans.


The Gender and Identity Development Service (GIDS) was established at London’s Tavistock Clinic in 1989


Puberty occurs in stages when different bodily changes occur. A third proposal could involve a second group being given drugs at a later stage in puberty than the first.

This would allow researchers to explore when the right time to give puberty blockers might be. For example, it would enable the researchers to see if starting the drugs early improves wellbeing by reducing gender-specific body changes. They would also be able to see whether starting the drugs earlier has a greater negative impact on bone density and brain development.

Children referred to GIDS also experienced higher rates of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and autism compared to the general child population. Trial participants would continue to receive treatment related to these conditions but - so we know any differences in the results from the groups are down to the drug - they will need to be balanced for the above conditions.

All these considerations demonstrate the complexity of trying to obtain evidence in this area that is reliable and definitive.

What parents say


Many parents are watching closely to see how it will play out. Annabel (not her real name) is one of them. She is part of the Bayswater Group, a collection of parents with children who are questioning their gender who say they are "wary of medical solutions to gender dysphoria". She began looking into puberty blockers when her own daughter began questioning her gender in her early teens, an option put on the table by GIDS.

Ultimately her daughter decided not to take them. Annabel was not convinced there was enough evidence to show they were beneficial and she was unsure what it would mean for her daughter's long-term physical and psychological health.

Today, she still has unanswered questions - including some further ones around the trial. "A big concern for me is will this new trial, if it gets approval, give us the evidence that we want? Or will we end up with more weak data that Dr Cass said undermined decision making in this area?"

Natacha Kennedy, a lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London who researches transgender issues, has examined the results of a survey of 97 parents of young people with gender-related distress that took place following the puberty blockers ban. She believes that puberty blockers should be an option available for young people questioning their gender and that many will not accept being part of a placebo group in a trial.

"These parents are desperate and if [they] get to a trial and it turns out their child is not being given the actual puberty blockers, then there is no point in them being there," she says.

"There may be some parents who would… find another way [to obtain the drugs]."

Whatever trial format is settled on, more scrutiny will follow. And there will no doubt be fierce debate about the merits of the trial and what it can tell us, as many scientists around the world are watching to see what happens in the UK.

But inevitably, there will be a long wait to fully understand the longer term effects on physical and mental health of those who take puberty blockers - and the long-term effects on those with gender-related distress who don't. Nor do we know how many people detransition, though the Cass report says, "there is suggestion that numbers are increasing".

"We really need to have long-term follow up," argues Annabel. "Can a child possibly understand what that means to their fertility and a loss of sexual function and what that will mean for their future life?"

For now, she and the scores of parents, carers and young people, can only watch and wait for the trial to begin and for its verdict - and what that means for whether puberty blockers will be prescribed to children once again in the future.


Deborah Cohen is a former BBC Newsnight health correspondent and is a Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE Health.

Top image: Getty

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for Tavistock

Khalistan: The Impact of the Sikh Diaspora on India’s Relations with Western Nations

Posted On : December 8, 2024 

Published By : Charles Viau

McGill Journal of Political Science

The Indian state has historically opposed the Sikh community’s aspiration to form an independent nation called Khalistan. In support of such sentiments, long-lasting protest movements have emerged, particularly within the larger Sikh diasporas. These movements have often intensified the friction between Sikh nationalists and the Indian government, creating tensions that transcend India’s borders. This was recently exemplified by the sustained diplomatic disputes between India and the U.S. and the UK, showing a growing intersection of domestic grievances and international relations, raising questions about the future trajectory of India’s partnerships with its Western counterparts.

The Khalistan Movement

India’s staunch opposition to the creation of Khalistan serves as a crucial factor in assessing its recent diplomatic dynamic with the U.S. and the UK. The fundamental tensions between Sikhs and the Indian government primarily derive from Sikh demands for political autonomy and independence, a contentious issue that continues to challenge India’s domestic politics and its international relations.

The Khalistan movement emerged after the 1947 partition of India, which established Pakistan as an independent state for the Muslim minority. Denied a separate state, discontent significantly grew within the Indian Sikh minority, due to their unfulfilled aspirations for independence in the Punjab region. This discontent culminated in a series of insurgencies against the national government throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The Indian government responded accordingly and launched counterinsurgencies, leading to a cycle of violence and bloodshed on both sides.

The Indian government perceives the Khalistan movement as a direct threat to its territorial sovereignty. This growth of bilateral tensions, frequently marked by episodes of violence and confrontations, has strengthened this dynamic.

As a significant part of the Indian Sikh population migrates to Western countries, the conflict becomes increasingly complicated. Today, the Khalistan movement maintains a presence in countries such as the U.S. and the UK, each state home to a sizable Sikh community of approximately 500,000 individuals. This new reality has made it harder for the Indian government to intervene in the movement’s action without overstepping diplomatic boundaries. Recent accusations of Indian interference in Western Sikh movements by the U.S. and the UK point towards this fact.

Diplomatic Consequences: Strains in UK and U.S. Relations

The United States, an important Indian ally, has presented allegations pointing toward Indian-led interference on U.S. soil. In a significant development, Washington formally filed charges against New Delhi, accusing Indian officials of plotting to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a separatist Sikh American citizen. This unprecedented accusation has significantly strained U.S.-India relations.

The UK, despite its historically close diplomatic ties with India, has joined the U.S.-led pressure on Indian officials to cooperate with investigations into alleged interference with Sikh activists. As the UK has a large and well-established Sikh community – among which are vocal supporters of the Khalistan movement – the country sees great interest in following developments in the Canadian investigation on Indian interference. Moreover, the suspicious death of Avtar Singh Khanda, a pro-Khalistan British-Sikh, three days prior to the assassination of Ardeep Singh Nijjar—the focal point of Canada-Indian tensions—has heightened questions. The UK may see fit to probe deeper into these incidents to ensure national security interests, potentially further severing its diplomatic ties with India. The escalation of diplomatic tensions has culminated in symbolic acts of discord, such as the U.S. President Joe Biden turning down Indian Prime Minister Modi’s invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations.

While both situations point to heightened tensions between India and Western states, the diplomatic approaches and the immediate political developments in the U.S. and the UK indicate a high likelihood of bilateral reconciliation with India.

Nevertheless, while these allegations have undoubtedly strained ties, the future of U.S. and UK-Indian diplomatic relations appear more promising than that of Canada. At face value, the U.S. is a highly valuable ally for India, mainly due to its sizable economy. Additionally, India, because of its role in the Indo-Pacific region, acts as an indispensable counterweight to China, a role the U.S. likely want to capitalize on. This strategic alignment likely explains why Washington and New Delhi have managed to limit the diplomatic fallout following the Pannun controversy. Similarly, the UK, because of its desire to form a free trade agreement with India, has strong economic incentives to maintain amicable relations. Its ambition to strengthen its post-Brexit trade network aligns with India’s value as a major economic partner.

Therefore, while recent U.S. and UK accusations of Indian interference depict weakening diplomatic relations, their strategic, political, and economic interests suggest otherwise as likely to drive efforts toward restoring ties. Unlike its Western counterparts, Canada remains at the centre of more intense diplomatic confrontations.

A Leader’s Influence

The international Khalistan movement therefore poses a persistent challenge for India, as it continually strains its diplomatic relations with Western nations. With India’s status as a rising power, it is unlikely to seek isolation and has thus been receptive to Washington’s cooperation. Furthermore, regardless of the upcoming political leadership changes in Washington, the strategic imperatives of U.S.-India relations, particularly regarding technology and defence, suggest that a continued bilateral engagement will remain a priority. This enduring partnership reflects mutual recognition of shared interests that transcend partisan politics. The UK, which is pushing for closer economic ties with India, also presents valuable incentives to cooperate diplomatically and, in turn, to prioritize reconciliation. In essence, though India may not rekindle with Canada any time soon, it still seems to shine positively in Western diplomacy, especially in the U.S. and the UK.

Edited by Samrawit Terrefe

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and they do not reflect the position of the McGill Journal of Political Science or the Political Science Students’ Association.

Featured Image by MEA

UK chancellor heads to Brussels, distracting EU from Trump’s ‘crazy world’

Five years after Brexit, Rachel Reeves will find Europe ready to talk ― as it looks for respite from some of its own troubles.


Rachel Reeves’ appearance in Brussels is part of the Labour government’s push for a “reset” in relations with the EU. | Pool photo by Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

December 8, 2024 
By Hannah Brenton, Giovanna Faggionato and Gregorio Sorgi

POTICO EU

LONDON / BRUSSELS ― Rarely has a Brit been so welcome in Brussels.

Sure, they won’t be popping the champagne corks as she steps off the Eurostar train on Monday, but U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be greeted warmly by European Union finance ministers ready to talk to a British government trying hard to get back on friendly terms.

The timing certainly helps. Five years after the acrimonious divorce of Brexit and five months after Labour returned to power, the EU is genuinely matching the new government’s rhetoric of wanting a “reset” in relations. And with the bloc’s biggest countries in political crisis and the rest of the world, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump put it in Paris on Saturday, “going a little crazy right now,” her visit is opportune.

“The big message is that the EU and the U.K. are finding each other amidst global turmoil,” an EU diplomat said.

That turmoil doesn’t only include the escalating bloodshed and uncertainty in the Middle East and, in Ukraine, a war so close to home it would have been unthinkable the last time a British finance minister attended a meeting of their European counterparts shortly before the U.K. left the EU in January 2020. The EU itself has scarcely felt so fragile, with the French government last week toppled by far-right and left lawmakers and an enfeebled German chancellor forced into a snap election he’ll likely lose.

For now, none of that has translated into fright in financial markets and the Eurogroup ― the powerful gathering of eurozone finance ministers that would be on the front line of any effort to stamp out potential contagion ― are happy for the opportunity to avert their gaze when Reeves arrives for the 3 p.m. discussion.

Governments are determined not to discuss France at the meeting, officials said ― for one thing, that might tempt the markets to panic. Who’d have thought, amid the pre-Covid tumult of the U.K.’s acrimonious divorce from the EU, that by 2024 talking to the Brits would provide welcome respite?

More in common?

Reeves’ appearance in Brussels is part of the Labour government’s push for a “reset” in relations with the EU. Prime Minister Keir Starmer already made a trip across the Channel in October, and will be back for a summit in February.

It comes after EU-U.K. relations soured dramatically once Britain left the bloc, particularly under the governments of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

The mood only started improving in February 2023 when former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reached a deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland border.

Since then, the focus has been on rebuilding trust on both sides.

Reeves will continue with that message on Monday. But the new Labour government is also pushing to ease Brexit bottlenecks in tangible areas like a veterinary deal, a defense pact, and recognition of professional qualifications.

Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has also pointed to the U.K. budget as a model for the policies the EU needs to regain competitiveness. 

| Ferenc Isza/Getty Images

“We will not be reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or customs union but we must reset our relationship,” Reeves said in a major speech in the City of London last month on her message to the EU.

“We must recognize that our markets are highly inter-connected and ensure that on the economy and in financial services our approach supports growth and delivers investment.”

Sharing is caring

And the EU and U.K. do have shared problems — both economically and politically.

Reeves will share her views on the economic headwinds facing the U.K. economy — which will be familiar to many EU ministers — of slow growth, stagnant investment and stretched public finances.

The dialogue is “great news,” said an official from Spain’s economy ministry, who considers the British chancellor an ally sharing a common economic agenda of pursuing sustainable growth, combining an increase in investment and fiscal responsibility.

While Spain has one of the few remaining left-of-center governments among EU countries, it’s not the only one that has welcomed the new U.K. executive.

Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has also pointed to the U.K. budget as a model for the policies the EU needs to regain competitiveness.

“Certainly, economy wise, the British economy is much more comparable to the European economy than the American economy,” said Karel Lannoo, chief executive of the Centre for European Policy Studies think tank.

“Look at the GDP growth, look at the budget deficit. And on top of that you have an overall trade deficit.”

Over the last decade, U.K. and EU growth has been tepid compared to the strength of the U.S. economy — and both want to catch up.

And with Trump’s return to the White House and the uncertainty around U.S. support for Ukraine, there are common interests linking the two sides of the Channel.

Reeves will likely discuss financial support for Ukraine during the meeting, and how to fill any financial shortfall should the U.S. pull back under Trump.

It’s been almost five years since a British finance minister — Sajid Javid — attended the U.K.’s final meeting involving wider European finance ministers in January 2020.

 | Carl Court/Getty Images

EU ministers are also expected to share plans to revamp the European market for resold debt, known as securitization, according to a second European diplomat, in an effort to stoke the economy.

A few taboos

But while EU ministers will want to build bridges, neither side will want to touch on more controversial topics — including harder-to-solve Brexit issues.

It’s been almost five years since a British finance minister — Sajid Javid — attended the U.K.’s final meeting involving wider European finance ministers in January 2020.

And just as eurozone ministers won’t want to talk about France, the U.K. won’t want to talk too much about Brexit for fear of reigniting tensions.

“It’s good in these uncertain times to invest in good relations,” said a senior EU official, mentioning the role London plays in the G7.

The finance ministers’ gathering will not be the occasion “to negotiate on any outstanding open issues between between the two [sides],” they added. It’s about “sharing a common picture of the world.”

But there are still sore spots in financial markets.

The U.K. will soon need clarity from Brussels on the future of euro clearing, a crucial part of financial markets affected by Brexit. And the EU is increasingly infuriated with Britain’s stance on payments.

Economically, with France and Germany in political trouble, the U.K., after its own ups and downs since Brexit, will be hoping it’s increasingly attractive as an investment opportunity for private cash.

“You’ve got political instability in Germany. You’ve got political instability in France,” said Conor Lawlor, managing director of capital markets and wholesale policy at UK Finance.

“Now, when you compare the U.K. to those jurisdictions, it probably stands out as a more attractive option.”

But don’t expect Reeves to relay that message.