Thousands of Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators March in London and Other European Cities

LONDON — Children joined thousands of other demonstrators making their way through central London for a pro-Palestinian march on Saturday, part of a global day of action against the longest and deadliest war between Israel and Palestinians in 75 years.

The plight of children in the Gaza Strip after nearly 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war was the focus of the latest London march, symbolized by the appearance of Little Amal, a 3.5-meter (11.5-foot) puppet originally meant to highlight the suffering of Syrian refugees.

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The puppet had become a human rights emblem during an 8,000-kilometer (4,970-mile) journey from the Turkish-Syrian border to Manchester in July 2001.

Nearly two-thirds of the 23,843 people killed during Israel’s campaign in Gaza have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Israel declared war in response to Hamas’ unprecedented cross-border attack on Oct. 7 in which the Islamic militant group killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. It was the deadliest attack in Israel’s history and the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust.

March organizers had said the Palestinian children would accompany Little Amal through the streets of central London.

“On Saturday Amal walks for those most vulnerable and for their bravery and resilience,“ said Amir Nizar Zuabi, artistic director of The Walk Productions. “Amal is a child and a refugee and today in Gaza childhood is under attack, with an unfathomable number of children killed. Childhood itself is being targeted. That’s why we walk.”

London’s Metropolitan Police force said some 1,700 officers would be on duty for the march, including many from outside the capital.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said he had been briefed by police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley on plans to “ensure order and safety” during the protest.

“I back them to use their powers to manage the protest and crack down on any criminality,” Cleverly said.

A number of conditions were placed for the march, including a directive that no participant in the protest shall venture near the Israeli Embassy.

A pro-Israel rally was set to take place in London on Sunday.

The London march was one of several others being held in European cities including Paris, Rome, Milan and Dublin, where thousands also marched along the Irish capital’s main thoroughfare to protest Israel’s military operations in the Palestinian enclave.

Protesters waved Palestinian flags, held placards critical of the Irish, U.S. and Israeli governments and chanted, “Free, free Palestine.″

In Rome, hundreds of demonstrators descended on a boulevard near the famous Colosseum, with some carrying signs reading, “Stop Genocide.” One demonstrator waved the flag of South Africa, the nation whose accusations of genocide against Israel prompted the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, to take up the case.

At one point during the protest, amid the din of sound effects mimicking exploding bombs, a number of demonstrators lied down in the street and pulled white sheets over themselves as if they were corpses, while others knelt beside them, their palms daubed in red paint.

Many hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Paris’ Republic square to set off on a march calling for an immediate cease-fire, an end to the war, a lifting of the blockade on Gaza and to impose sanctions on Israel. Marching protesters waved the Palestinian flag and held aloft placards and banners reading, “From Gaza to Paris. Resistance.”

source https://time.com/6555242/pro-palestinian-marches-london-paris-europe-demonstrations/

What to Know About Taiwan’s New President-Elect Lai Ching-te

Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te won the island democracy’s presidential election on Saturday after his rivals conceded, keeping the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in control for a third term, despite warnings from China over his pro-sovereignty views. 

Lai, 64, secured over 40% of the vote in the three-way race, outpacing his closest rival, Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang, by approximately 7 percentage points, according to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission. Ko Wen-je of the emerging Taiwan People’s Party garnered 26% of the votes. 

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In his victory speech, Lai said that the outcome signified a “victory for the community of democracies” and commended voters for thwarting attempts by “external forces” to influence the election. “Taiwanese people have the right to choose their own president,” he said. “We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we still stand on the side of democracy.”

His election marks the first time in Taiwan’s history that a single political party has secured three consecutive terms in office.

The geopolitical implications of Lai’s victory could prompt Beijing to step up pressure on Taiwan, as China has denounced the island’s ruling party as a separatist force and warned voters that they would be choosing between peace and war in the election. Taiwan’s sovereignty has long been a sensitive issue with its heavily armed, one-state neighbor. The Chinese Communist government has consistently claimed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the island’s self-governance and the absence of any historical rule.

Xi Jinping, the strongman leader of China, has dramatically increased military activity around Taiwan in recent years and emphasized that the issue “should not be passed down generation after generation,” linking it to his mid-century goal of achieving “national rejuvenation.”

But the DPP has asserted that Taiwan is not subservient to the Chinese Communist Party, emphasizing that the future of Taiwan should solely be determined by its inhabitants. The majority of the island’s 23 million people advocate for maintaining the status quo, avoiding formal declaration of independence or becoming part of China.

Lai said in a press conference after he won that he would continue foreign affairs and national defense in line with his predecessor, President Tsai Ing-wen, who cannot run again because of term limits. China cut off most communications with Taiwan after Tsai took office in 2016, turning the Taiwan Strait into one of the most contentious political issues.

“Lai’s appeal to voters was that he would be Tsai 2.0,” Lev Nachman, a political scientist and assistant professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei, said via social media after Lai’s rivals conceded. He added that while tensions are unlikely to de-escalate, keeping the status quo plays a crucial role in maintaining stability, as illustrated by the absence of war over the past eight years. “Lai’s victory won’t lead to conflict, contrary to what many will say. It will lead to more of the same status-quo that we know.”

Lai, in response to the election results on Saturday, urged China to understand that “only peace will benefit” both sides. “Global peace and stability depends on peace in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “We hope that China understands the situation, because China also has a responsibility.”

As China signals potential pressure on Taiwan post-election, the Biden Administration has urged Beijing to exercise restraint, fearing an escalation that could strain recent efforts to stabilize U.S.-China relations. The Chinese Defense Ministry has already vowed to “resolutely crush any form of secessionist designs for ‘Taiwan independence.’”

U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a blunt message after Lai’s election Saturday: “We do not support independence” for Taiwan, Biden told reporters.

Read more: Taiwan’s Lai Ching-te Discusses China, Trade, and More with TIME

Who is Lai Ching-te?

A Harvard-educated former physician, who also goes by William, Lai is scheduled to assume office in May. His father died in an accident in the pits when he was just two years old. His mother raised him and his five siblings alone. “One of the biggest assets my father left me was being impoverished,” Lai told TIME in Oct. 2023. “Because in this environment, I worked harder, more vigorously on everything I did. It gave me a sense of determination.”

Once a fervent advocate for Taiwanese independence, he has emerged as a pivotal defender of peace in the face of Beijing’s assertiveness.

His entry into politics began in Tainan, the coastal city in southern Taiwan long associated with strong support for the DPP. Rising from a young legislator to the mayor of Tainan from 2010 to 2017, Lai became a key figure in the party’s “new tide” faction, advocating at one point for the inclusion of a clause on Taiwan independence in the party charter. He even described himself as a “pragmatic advocate for Taiwan independence” in 2017, after being appointed premier.

But during his campaign, Lai emphasized that he does not intend to announce Taiwan’s independence. “Taiwan hopes to be friends with China—we don’t wish to be enemies,” Lai told TIME. “We would welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to Taiwan and prepare Taiwanese delicacies for him to try.”

His success as President will likely hinge on his ability to handle Beijing and prevent a significant crisis in the region. Lai has pledged to continue the policies of President Tsai Ing-wen, emphasizing the significant influence of his predecessor in shaping Taiwan’s defense and foreign policy discourse.

During the campaign, Lai emphasized his commitment to bolstering Taiwan’s global standing through strengthened ties with the U.S. and other democratic allies, rather than pleasing China. His agenda includes continued military reforms, protecting politics from interference, and safeguarding the economy from coercion. But he could face complications. The DPP lost its majority in the legislature, likely limiting Lai’s ability to implement his proposed agenda.

Moreover, Beijing has been unequivocal in expressing its displeasure with Lai, branding him a “separatist” and “troublemaker” due to his stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty and warning of “severe danger” to cross-strait relations if he assumes a prominent role.

source https://time.com/6555224/taiwan-new-president-lai-ching-te-bio-history/

Multiple Earthquakes Hit Central Oklahoma. What to Know

Central Oklahoma experienced a 4.1-magnitude earthquake early Saturday morning, marking the latest in a string of seismic activities that have unsettled the region. This event closely followed a slightly stronger earthquake of 4.4 magnitude the previous night, and was accompanied by a series of smaller quakes, creating a heightened state of alert among residents.

The earthquake, which occurred just after 5:30 a.m. local time, was centered approximately 19 miles north of Oklahoma City, near the Northeast Edmond Gas and Oil Field. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the quake, with a depth of about 4.1 miles, was part of a cluster of seismic events spanning both Friday and Saturday.

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Oklahomans took to social media to share their experiences, with reports of shaking being particularly prevalent in the immediate area and across Oklahoma City. 

Turn up the volume! This is what it sounded like when the 4.2 M earthquake hit. Unreal!

📸 from David Noellsch in Edmond pic.twitter.com/ujPbGb6oZ2

— Lacey Swope (@LaceySwope) January 13, 2024

The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) issued a statement on Saturday morning, acknowledging reports of strong shaking and urging residents to take precautions. No injuries have been reported.

State officials emphasized the need for residents to secure valuables that might be affected by potential strong aftershocks. The OGS warned that “the seismic hazard remains high in the area” and advised the practice of “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” during such events.

Friday night saw a 4.4-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter approximately a mile away from the location of the subsequent Saturday morning quake. The USGS also recorded four smaller earthquakes in the area, ranging from 2.5 to 2.7 magnitude, bringing the total seismic events to at least six since Friday.

The recent earthquakes fell short of the most powerful seismic event documented in state history, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake took place on Sept. 3, 2016 near Pawnee in the northern part of Oklahoma.

source https://time.com/6555199/multiple-earthquakes-oklahoma-what-to-know/

Lai Ching-te Won Taiwan’s Presidency, But His Biggest Challenge Lies Ahead

Taiwan’s presidential election campaign evolved early on into a classic three-way race. This supplied the dynamics for the most notable events, including the attempt to create a coalition last November to unit two of the contenders—the KMT Nationalists and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP)—to try and create an unassailable united front against the third, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). But the short-lived union fell apart after bickering between both sides.

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The ground they were trying to capture, of those disaffected by the ruling DPP vote and wanting a less confrontational approach to cross-strait relations, certainly exists. The final result proved this, with over half the electorate voting for the alternatives to the DPP. But a majority for an approach or idea that doesn’t translate into majority support for a party cuts no ice. 

This is not to denigrate the achievement of Lai Ching-te (also known as William Lai) of the DPP managing to get over 40% of the vote, not least because this is the first time that the same party has won the presidency three times. But despite this historic achievement, he can’t ignore the 60% who turned out to vote and did not choose him.

Many of these people who supported other parties were first-time voters. Wandering around Taipei in the days before the election, it was striking to see the number of young people wearing the distinctive white clothes of Ko Wen-je’s TPP, which was established in 2019. Their disillusionment with the failure of the two main traditional parties means that the quarter of the votes for Ko this time around bodes ominously for the DPP and KMT in the future. This is a strong result for a new party making a play for the highest official position in Taiwan. It gives Ko a decent platform to build on for the future, should he choose to run again.

For the KMT, however, the outcome is far less cheerful. They were constantly criticized through the campaign for their China policy, and their previous leader, Ma Ying-jeou, figured particularly prominently in the attacks. His words to “trust Xi Jinping,” while well intended, were often thrown back at him.

Read more: Taiwan Wants Peace and Economic Stability

The KMT candidate Hou Yuyi struggled to explain how his party policy was to support unification with China at some stage, while resolutely setting its face against it happening during his watch. The square circle got squarer and more circular as the weeks went on, because it is hard to argue clearly for a policy you say on the one hand you want, and then in the same breath say you just don’t want it now.

Beijing will likely not be pleased with this outcome. For them, it is the worst they could have expected. Practically, it means that the current approach from China of largely trying to isolate the island internationally, and place economic and diplomatic pressure on it, looks set to continue. 

The sad fact is that the cold freeze in relations since Tsai Ing-wen, the current president, was elected in 2016 will mean there is a chance that the period in which there has been no senior official links between the two parties will now stretch beyond eight years. It is understandable that Taiwan is loath to engage with the more assertive, muscular approach taken by the Xi administration. But it is better that at least some contact is maintained, rather than having the two exist in separate silos where misunderstandings and frustrations can intensify. Lai’s administration might try to achieve this, though the odds at the moment look unlikely.

This situation might be manageable were the U.S. in a better shape to continue its role as, at the very least, a calming presence in the situation, if not a full-on mediator. But distracted by domestic issues, the wars in the Middle East, and between Russia and Ukraine, and a new flare-up with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, its diplomacy is stretched, and its capacity increasingly limited.

In his remarks soon after victory was announced in Taipei, Lai said that the elections themselves, with their largely orderly conduct and relatively high turnout, were proof of Taiwan’s maturity and commitment to democratic values. It showed, he said, that the island stood against autocrats and instead championed human rights and freedom.

Although these are noble sentiments, it’s worth noting that he has had four years working alongside Tsai Ing-wen to learn the power of pragmatism and compromise. Once dismissed by the U.S. as a hardline independence supporter, Tsai proved a formidable operator, winning two terms with sizable majorities. She managed to maintain the balancing act of defending Taiwan’s interests and preserving its integrity, without antagonizing Beijing to the point it contemplated acting intemperately.

Lai will have to learn quickly how to achieve similar feats of balancing prowess, as he is coming into power when the global context has seldom been more vexed and uncertain. Xi Jinping remains a formidable opponent, and one whose behavior recently has proved hard to second guess. We have to wish Lai good luck in his new job. He will certainly need it in the months and years ahead.

source https://time.com/6555192/william-lai-ching-te-taiwan-president-future-challenges/

Let’s Talk About Those Mean Girls Cameos

Warning: This post contains spoilers for cameo appearances in Mean Girls.

It’s been 20 years since Tina Fey’s Mean Girls strutted into theaters and our hearts in a pair of pink stilettos. The movie centers around normal girl Cady Heron attempting to infiltrate the popular clique at her new high school—including their queen bee, Regina George—and accidentally becoming one of them in the process. The film was previously adapted for a stage musical that opened on Broadway in 2018, and now that show has been reworked into a movie musical with a brand new set of stars. Angourie Rice is the film’s protagonist, Cady, originally played by Lindsay Lohan; pop star Reneé Rapp revives her Broadway role as Regina, introduced to us on film by Rachel McAdams; Avantika plays the bimbo best friend Karen, played in the 2004 version by Amanda Seyfried; and Bebe Wood steps into Gretchen Wieners’ shoes, once worn by Lacey Chabert.

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After Paramount announced that the movie was getting a reboot, one of fans’ first questions was who would be coming back for a cameo. Some actors reprise their roles entirely, including Fey as math teacher Ms. Norbury and Tim Meadows as the principal, Mr. Duvall. McAdams told Variety back in December that she was open to making a cameo in the new movie, but things didn’t ultimately work out. “[Fey] and I sort of dabbled with a few ideas, but it was tough to make it all work in the end,” she said. “I was really down for whatever she wanted to do. I think the direction it went in will be fantastic, and I cannot wait to see it.”

As for the other Plastics, audiences saw Lohan, Seyfried, and Chabert reunite in a Walmart ad in early November, with McAdams conspicuously absent. She told Variety that she turned down the ad because she wasn’t excited about doing a commercial. “A movie sounded awesome, but I’ve never done commercials, and it just didn’t feel like my bag,” McAdams said. She said she didn’t know everyone was doing it. “I would, of course, always love to be part of a ‘Mean Girls’ reunion and hang with my plastics, but yeah, I found that out later.”

Read more: Reneé Rapp Took Over the Internet. Now She’s Coming for Pop Stardom

The directors tell TIME that “everyone [from the main cast] was invited” to cameo, though it didn’t work out in every case. TIME reached out to Seyfried and Chabert for comment but did not hear back.

Although none of the original Plastics returned for the new movie, there are still a few cameos that may surprise (and delight) audiences. Here are all the cameos in the new Mean Girls movie, out Jan. 12.

Chris Olsen

It’s hard to miss Chris Olsen’s content on TikTok. He gained millions of followers in the early days of the pandemic, but has steadily climbed to become one of the most popular creators on the app, with over 12.5 million followers. He’s a professional fangirl and makes content with popular creators including Meghan Trainor, his close friend. Olsen is also a close pal of Rapp’s. He appeared in her music video for “Too Well” (which, coincidentally, makes mention of Lindsay Lohan). Olsen makes two quick appearances in Mean Girls. He briefly appears in two separate video montages, one of people bullying Regina and another in which classmates try to decide whether or not they like Cady.

@chris

the last one is so @reneé i think this actually went exactly as planned xoxo @Mean Girls @Paramount Pictures #meangirls #paramount #reneerapp #paramountpartner

♬ original sound – Chris Olsen

Megan Thee Stallion

As promotion for the movie, Rapp collaborated with rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion on a very catchy original song called “Not My Fault.” The two made a music video together for the song, which could have been the last we saw of Megan here.

But at the movie’s New York premiere, audible gasps could be heard from the audience when the Real Hot Girl, an avid TikTok user herself, also appeared in the bullying montage. The cameo was one of the most welcome surprises of the film, as Meg brought her effervescent personality to the big screen, just a few months after doing the same in A24’s Dicks: The Musical.

Read more: Put Megan Thee Stallion in More Movies Now

Lindsay Lohan

The biggest crowd reaction undoubtedly arrived in the moment when Lindsay Lohan appeared on screen. The original Cady Heron returned to North Shore—well, kind of. Lohan plays the host of the climactic Mathletes competition, playing opposite the new Cady Heron. She quizzes the two teams, and as Cady racks her brain trying to remember all of the calculus lessons she ignored because she was too fascinated by Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she asks herself why she can’t remember anything. Lohan replies, “I don’t know, girl. I don’t know your life.” Then, Rice’s Cady delivers one of the most iconic lines in the movie, “The limit does not exist!” and North Shore High’s team claims their title as Mathlete champions. In 2022, Lohan told Extra! that she would be open to a Mean Girls remake but was concerned about messing with the movie’s legacy. Her appearance in the film was the perfect addition to round out a few fun cameos.

Bonus: Ashley Park returns to the musical in a preannounced role

The Emily in Paris and Joy Ride star originated the role of Gretchen Wieners in the Mean Girls musical on Broadway, which earned her a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. Theater fans were excited to see Park back at North Shore High, but she was not one of Regina’s minions this time. Here, the seasoned Broadway performer plays Cady, Janis (Auli’i Cravalho), and Damian’s (Jaquel Spivey) strict French teacher, whom IMDb credits as Madame Park. Her cameo was not a surprise in the movie because she appeared at the tail end of the trailer, which was released back in November, but it’s a pleasing callback for fans nonetheless.

source https://time.com/6554626/mean-girls-cameos/

Mean Girls Turns a Smart Classic Comedy into an Overbearing Movie Musical

It’s become a given that nearly any movie comedy, drama, or 1960s oddity—Little Shop of Horrors, The Color Purple, Legally Blonde—can be turned into a hit musical. From there, it’s logical to turn those musicals into movies of their own; at the very least, it’s a way to revive older material for new audiences. But there’s something to be said for knowing when to leave well enough alone. The movie musical version of Mean Girls—written, like the 2004 movie that spawned it, by Tina Fey, and directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.—is so overworked and garish that it exists on a plane of its own. Everything that made the original picture so sly, funny, and affecting is gone. Musical numbers spell out the obvious, and loudly. Characters behave reprehensibly and then use faux feminism as a shield—a strange flip from the original story, which made the case that bitchiness and honest self-expression aren’t the same thing. Even lines drawn straight from the original feel more cumbersome than breezy. Musicals—certainly this type of musical—are supposed to be pure pleasure, but Mean Girls comes off as enforced fun, a kind of bullying disguised as entertainment.

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Angourie Rice stars as Cady Heron, a guileless teenager who’s transplanted from Africa, where she’s been living with her zoologist mother (Jenna Fischer), to another kind of jungle: an American high school. She’s unsure how she’s going to fit in, but two friendly, artsy misfits take her under their wing. Janis (Auli’I Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) provide a friendly place for her to sit in the lunchroom, helping her to distinguish among the school’s various cliques, and urging her to avoid one in particular. The girls known as the Plastics, they tell her, are the snobbiest, nastiest girls in school and not to be messed with. There’s Karen (Avantika), who’s pretty but not God’s brightest bulb, and Gretchen (Bebe Wood), who’s catty but also secretly vulnerable. The ringleader of all three, and the most feared, is Regina George (Renée Rapp, who played the role on Broadway and who also starred in HBO’s The Sex Lives of College Girls), a blonde Amazon in lacquery lip gloss, who doesn’t bother to hide her disdain for everything and everybody, not even her alleged friends. She makes her entrance with a self-satisfied purr in the number “Meet the Plastics”: “My name is Regina George/ And I am a massive deal/ I don’t care who you are/ I don’t care how you feel.”

This is how musicals work: characters don’t just express feelings, they belt them out in an expository blast. Even if it seems jarring or absurd at first, you can usually slip into the groove if the performers and the material are engaging enough. But Mean Girls, rather than taking flight, just keeps grinding away. When the Plastics take an interest in Cady, deciding she’s pretty enough, and malleable enough, to be one of them, she’s reluctant to join their group. But Janis and Damian talk her into it, the three of them eventually concocting a plot to take revenge on Regina, who humiliated Janis in sixth grade, publicly accusing her of being a lesbian. Meanwhile, Cady—a math whiz—falls hard for a cutie in her calculus class, Christopher Briney’s Aaron. Regina pretends to put in a good word for Cady with Aaron, who she used to date, though all she’s really doing is restaking her claim on him. That spurs Cady to try out being a mean girl for herself, as a way of getting back at her backstabbing frenemy.

All of these characters and plot points are elements of the original movie, but somehow, none of that picture’s charm and little of its intelligence have survived the transition. Maybe the architecture of the modern musical is to blame: actors can’t just be subtly appealing; they have to fill the room, or the screen, with aggressively enthusiastic singing. A gorgeous tone and a knack for phrasing are no longer enough; you’ve now got to have those dreadful things known as pipes. Once in a while in Mean Girls, almost miraculously, a number almost works. (The music is by Jeff Richmond, Fey’s husband, with lyrics by Nell Benjamin.) The disco-inflected “Sexy,” led by Avantika’s Karen and staged via a tiled arrangement of stylized TikTok screens, pokes fun at the sexy-Halloween-costume phenomenon, even as it’s sympathetic to the way women long for excuses to dress like bad girls, especially when they’re locked into a pattern of being very, very good. But mostly, these young performers work way too hard for very little real payoff. Rice, while good enough at playing a naïve newbie, is less believable as a vengeful vixen. Rapp has a dazzling, naughty smile, but she doesn’t so much sing her numbers as strong-arm them into submission, as if she were wrestling an alligator. None of the performers are served by the movie’s aggressively colorful costume design: the Plastics’ clothes are flashy and cheap-looking rather than enviably trendy; they’re like discards from yesterday’s haul video.

The 2004 Mean Girls had stealth wit on its side, not to mention a number of gifted young performers (particularly Lindsay Lohan, as the just-innocent-enough Cady, and Rachel McAdams, who took her character seriously even as she filled her performance with devilish light, the perfect combination). And even though it never, ever moralized, it had a serious moral underpinning. Its central point—that everyone deserves kindness, no matter what social stratus they belong to—was never belabored; it merely shimmered. In the new Mean Girls, the understandably wronged Janis takes a more active role in getting revenge on her nemesis Regina. Yet near the movie’s end, in the fiery number “I’d Rather Be Me,” she lashes out at expectations of “how girls should behave,” asserting that “sometimes what’s meant to break you/ makes you brave.” That’s fair enough. But the number pushes against the core idea of the original Mean Girls. Instead of recognizing that mistreating others is the quickest way to demean yourself, it celebrates excuse-making: A bad-ass is the best thing a woman can be; it’s OK to treat other women badly if they’ve wronged you. If that’s feminism, then the mean girls really have won.

source https://time.com/6554719/mean-girls-review/

Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy Show No Link to Suicide, FDA Says

A preliminary review of side effects from popular drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity shows no link with suicidal thoughts or actions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.

But the agency also said officials cannot definitively rule out that “a small risk may exist” and that they’ll continue to look into reports regarding more than a dozen drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. Patients taking the drugs should report any concerns to health care providers, the FDA said.

The review follows a recent federally funded study that showed that people taking semaglutide, the medication in Ozempic and Wegovy, had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts than those taking other drugs to treat obesity and diabetes. The review came after European regulators said they were investigating anecdotal reports that people taking semaglutide had thoughts of self-harm.

“Our preliminary evaluation has not found evidence that use of these medicines causes suicidal thoughts or actions,” the FDA report said.

The agency is analyzing reports related to more than a dozen drugs approved since 2005 that are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. The medications help control blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes. Some of the drugs are also used to help people with obesity or who are overweight shed pounds.

source https://time.com/6554898/ozempic-wegovy-suicide/