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Social and economic inequalities remain stark. Welfare delivery is uneven and often inefficient, and a policy encouraging bigger households could exacerbate these issues On December 1, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat reignited the debate on India’s population policy with his recent call for parents to consider having three children instead of the current norm of two. Although he did not explicitly state it, Bhagwat was likely alluding to the relatively lower total fertility rates (TFRs) among Hindus compared to Muslims. Bhagwat’s comments have undoubtedly prompted a national conversation about India’s demographic future, highlighting the complex interplay between population growth, economic stability, and societal well-being. As the country grapples with its evolving demographic landscape, the question remains: should India shift its population policies to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all? India can take pride in its significant demographic achievement: the reduction in the TFR from over five births per woman in 1965 to 2.01 in 2022. This drop is notable because it has been achieved without resorting to the harsh civil rights abuses seen in China, where the government imposed a one-child policy for 36 years. India’s family planning success is remarkable, given that it has managed to reduce its fertility rate while maintaining a relatively democratic approach—bar the 21 months of Emergency rule in the 1970s. However, this decline in the TFR brings with it both positive and negative consequences. While a TFR below the replacement rate of 2.1 may seem like a sign of progress in controlling population growth, it also signals potential challenges. According to a study by The Lancet, India’s TFR is projected to fall to 1.29 by 2050, which could have serious long-term implications. If this trend holds, India could face the possibility of an ageing population—growing old before it grows rich. This demographic shift presents a set of complex challenges, including the potential for labour shortages, rising healthcare costs, and a shrinking working-age population. Today, as India faces the prospect of demographic stagnation and a falling growth rate, Bhagwat seems to view population expansion as a solution to the problem. While encouraging population growth might seem like an easy fix to accelerate economic growth, this approach overlooks several crucial issues. For one, the economic and social conditions in India are vastly different from those in Scandinavia and other European nations, where policies to encourage childbearing have been successful. In countries such as Sweden and Norway, the welfare state is highly developed, with robust systems of support for families, including equal parental leave, subsidised childcare, and generous social benefits. These policies have been able to balance the demographic goals with social progress, without regressing on gender equality. In contrast, India’s social and economic inequalities remain stark. The country’s welfare delivery is uneven and often inefficient, and a policy encouraging larger families could exacerbate these issues. A three-child norm could undermine the hard-won gains in women’s rights and gender equality in India. Women, particularly those from poorer and more conservative communities, would disproportionately bear the burden of such a policy. In many parts of the country, women are already responsible for the majority of childcare and domestic duties, and increasing family sizes would likely deepen this imbalance. This could have long-lasting consequences for women’s participation in the workforce, which remains low at just 37% – a figure that has been a persistent cause for concern. The trend towards smaller families, which has been led by women, particularly in urban and educated sectors, has been a key driver of their increasing educational and economic empowerment. Any policy that burdens women with additional children is unlikely to improve their labour market participation or their ability to advance in the workforce. The proposal for a three-child norm also raises concerns in specific states that have made significant progress in population control. States like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, which have already seen the scrapping of two-child restrictions for local elections, may now consider incentivising larger families. This could potentially undermine the progressive policies that have been implemented in southern states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which have been more successful in reducing fertility rates compared to the more populous states of northern India. These southern states, having seen demographic stabilisation, are now concerned that such a national policy would dilute their gains. In the context of Finance Commission awards, population-based resource distribution, and the upcoming delimitation of constituencies, these states may see their relative political power diminished. These concerns are valid and should be addressed at the policy level. Encouraging larger families could thus result in a major step backwards in India’s development trajectory. Rather than focusing on boosting population numbers, the emphasis should shift to strengthening the nation’s education and healthcare systems across the board. This would not only help improve quality of life and life expectancy but would also ensure that India’s workforce is better prepared for the challenges of a rapidly changing global economy. In conclusion, while demographic challenges such as a falling fertility rate need to be addressed, the solution does not lie in draconian policies like a three-child norm. Instead, India’s focus should be on improving public services, empowering women, and ensuring that the benefits of development are equitably distributed across the country. It is through these measures—rather than pushing for higher birth rates—that India can truly ensure a prosperous and sustainable future for its people. (Shivanand Pandit is a tax specialist, financial adviser, author, and guest lecturer based in Goa.)Under the auspices of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar University (QU) organized the 7th International Conference on Entrepreneurship for Sustainability and Impact (ESI) under the theme "Redefining Business in the Era of the AI Revolution." The conference, which concluded Tuesday, brought together researchers, experts, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, who discussed over four days, innovation and entrepreneurship amid the profound changes driven by artificial intelligence. AI has revolutionised the business landscape, reshaping problem-solving and decision-making across industries. In this context, the conference gathers leading academics, experts, and entrepreneurs to explore the significant impacts of AI on various sectors. Topics include climate change solutions, the circular economy, AIs role in logistics and entrepreneurship, digital finance, retail, accounting, higher education, and more. Organised by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Excellence (CEOE) at the College of Business and Economics, the conference aimed to present actionable recommendations for policymakers and foster collaboration between academia and the private sector to address societal challenges, focusing on sustainability in alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030. The opening session that was attended by HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani al-Thani, a number of officials, and representatives of economic sectors. President of QU Dr Omar al-Ansari delivered a speech in which he pointed out the importance of adopting advanced technologies in business development. "QU reaffirms its commitment to fostering innovation and international entrepreneurship through knowledge generation that supports a sustainable, knowledge-based economy. We strive to prepare an innovative generation to address institutional and societal challenges while contributing to Qatar's sustainable development," Dr al-Ansari added. For her part, Dean of the College of Business and Economics at QU and the conference chair Dr Rana Sobh underscored the conference's role as a global platform for academics, experts, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to discuss cutting-edge innovations and strengthen ties between academia and various industries. "At the College of Business and Economics, we remain dedicated to advancing research and providing innovative solutions to societal challenges in line with Qatar National Vision 2030's emphasis on sustainability and innovation," she added. In turn, Director of the CEOE at QU and co-chair of the conference Dr Said al-Banna said: "This conference opens doors to exploring the evolving business landscape in the age of AI, attracting over 450 research papers from more than 50 countries. This global interest underscores the importance of integrating technology with sustainable business practices while preserving core human values amidst rapid technological advancements." Related Story 6th Qatar International Art Festival opens at Katara Over 600 healthcare professionals attend family medicine conference in Doha
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Keeping pace with Hollywood’s perpetual awards horserace. Sign up for the newsletter here . When Tolstoy claimed that all happy families were alike, he may have been talking about the Oscars. Call it the holiday-card theory of awards season: For three years running, the Best Picture prize has gone to the film whose cast has done the best job presenting as a heartwarming family unit. I first noticed this trend during the season of CODA , when eventual Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur reliably brought the house down in every precursor ceremony. When I mentioned this to someone who worked on the film’s campaign, they noted it wasn’t just Kotsur — it was the whole family. Whenever Kotsur and his co-stars Marlee Matlin, Emilia Jones, and Daniel Durant entered a room together, voters glommed onto them. Whatever warm feelings viewers had toward their onscreen family were activated when they saw the actors together cosplaying as an actual family in real life. The same held true the following season, when Everything Everywhere All at Once cruised to victory on the back of its own lovable family. Its ensemble may have spent much of the movie punching one another, but on the campaign trail they were a united front. With Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and James Hong slotted into familiar familial roles while Jamie Lee Curtis filling in as the kooky aunt. Of course, it helped that these movies were literally about families. Both CODA and EEAAO told Oscar-friendly stories of parents and children overcoming their differences to achieve an external goal (getting into music school or sorting out tax issues), cementing their bond in the process. But other films have employed the same dynamic to equal success, even without ending on a big group hug. Parasite was in many ways the forerunner of the strategy, but it featured a much more caustic family story. That didn’t stop Hollywood from embracing the actors who played the Kim and Park families when they toured America as a group; for many pundits, the sight of the actors striding onstage at the 2020 SAG Awards to accept their Best Cast trophy was the moment they realized Parasite would be a formidable contender. Last year’s Oppenheimer wasn’t about a family at all, but the onscreen camaraderie among the scientists at Los Alamos definitely translated when the “Oppenhomies” hit the awards trail, bringing a sense of fraternal affection to an otherwise austere contender. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, then, let’s turn our judgemental gaze on others. Which films might benefit most from the holiday-card dynamic this year? On paper, The Piano Lesson looks like the obvious pick. Not only is it a film about family — a pair of siblings weighing questions of legacy and inherited trauma — but it was made by one, too. The movie was produced by Denzel Washington, part of his project adapting each play in August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh” cycle, and it features three of his children: Malcolm directs, John David stars, and Katia is an executive producer. Buzz has been quieter than Netflix might have expected, though, even after the movie hit streaming last week. The Piano Lesson is not Netflix’s No. 1 priority this season, so perhaps the Washingtons will have to take the campaign into their own hands. Is this something a family road trip can fix? Netflix’s favored child is Emilia Pérez , which features a family dynamic even messier than Parasite ’s. It’s about a trans gangster who fakes her own death, then gets into a custody battle with her former wife, who believes this new woman is her dead husband’s cousin. However, internal factors may prevent the cast from buddying up the way others do. Besides the vastly different levels of fame among the main actors, there’s also a language barrier: Half of them are native Spanish speakers, one of them was raised bilingual , and the other had to relearn Spanish for the film . At least Selena Gomez and Édgar Ramirez appear to be close ! One film that nails the holiday-card energy is the Brazilian entry I’m Still Here , which follows a family in 1970s Rio de Janeiro soldiering on after the father is disappeared by the military regime. Like The Piano Lesson, it has a real-life family connection: In the epilogue, Fernanda Torres’s matriarch is played by Torres’s mother, Oscar nominee Fernanda Montenegro. But Sony Pictures Classics is focusing on Torres’s Best Actress campaign; the film might be too far from the Best Picture conversation to make a full-family charm offensive worthwhile. We might be better off looking at films that, like Oppenheimer , feature makeshift families. Two come to mind. There’s Sing Sing , about inmates in a state penitentiary who form their own theater troupe, many of whom are played by graduates of the actual program. Then there’s Anora , in which four squabbling strangers transform into an unofficial family unit over one wild night (and turn out to be more functional than the actual family we meet later). They both feel like campaigns that should get a boost from voters seeing everyone in the cast bounce off one another in person. Who else? Whatever Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are doing on the Wicked press tour, family is not the word that comes to mind. While Steve McQueen’s Blitz appears to have faded a bit, any hopes it does have rest of Saoirse Ronan’s skills on the campaign trail, where the Irish actress has perfected a winning double act with her onscreen son, Elliott Heffernan. Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play cousins in A Real Pain , but their vibe is less cuddly. I got to meet both actors at a dinner last week and was struck by how different they come off in public: Eisenberg is constitutionally incapable of being “on,” while Culkin can’t not be on. Anyway, there’s only two of them, which is not quite enough to sell the family-reunion vibe. Maybe the cast everyone most wants to see together is the one that’s not playing a family at all. Wouldn’t you love to see all the cardinals from Conclave hanging out in their street clothes? (We’d finally get to see if the vaping Italian vapes in real life!) Unfortunately, per Little Gold Men , the cast are away from the trail working, leaving director Edward Berger as the face of the campaign. But with any luck, Conclave can go the distance, and all these middle-aged character actors will come together in their full glory. I’ll give thanks to that. We’ve all been there: You’re sitting down at Thanksgiving, wanting to have a nice, peaceful meal, but your uncle won’t stop unpacking the gender politics of The Substance . He’s trying to draw you into a confrontation over whether the film is making a point about internalized misogyny or punching down at women trying to survive in a sexist power structure — and all you’re trying to do is eat your mashed potatoes! You stumble through an argument about how director Coralie Fargeat weaponizes the male gaze, but halfway through you realize, I have no idea how to pronounce her last name. Fear not — I’m here to help. As the festive season kicks into high gear, here’s a guide to talking about some of the Oscar race’s biggest (and most easily mispronounced) names: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist : cor-BAY Paul Mescal, Gladiator II : MESK-ul Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez : gas-CON Coralie Fargeat, The Substance : far-ZHAH Mark Eydelshteyn, Anora : EYE-del-shtine Halina Reijn, Babygirl : ha-LEEN-a RAIN Fred Hechinger, Gladiator II and Nickel Boys : HECK-in-jer Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown : BAR-ber-o September 5 : September Five Every week between now and January 17, when the nominations for the Academy Awards are announced, Vulture will consult its crystal ball to determine the changing fortunes in this year’s Oscar race. In our “Oscar Futures” column, we’ll let you in on insider gossip, parse brand-new developments, and track industry buzz to figure out who’s up, who’s down, and who’s currently leading the race for a coveted Oscar nomination. Who’s next in line behind Emilia Pérez for the now-customary international spot in Best Picture? The best bet is this Iranian domestic drama, which opened on Wednesday to outstanding reviews and a making-of narrative just as gripping as what’s onscreen: Director Mohammad Rasoulof shot the film in secret and was forced to flee the country before its Cannes premiere. (He currently lives in Germany, which has selected Sacred Fig as its Oscar entry.) Last year, there was room for both Anatomy of a Fall and Zone of Interest in the Best Picture ten, and Sacred Fig may be bolstered by its 11-hour shift into thriller mode, a tonal swerve you don’t often see in Iranian arthouse films. Can the animated sequel, which looks poised to usurp Inside Out 2 as the year’s highest-grossing film , break into the awards picture? Moana 2 was originally planned as a Disney+ series before being retrofitted as a theatrical release, the better to separate America’s families from their wallets. Unfortunately, critics agree the seams, as well as the absence of Lin-Manuel Miranda, are all too noticeable. “It doesn’t feel like a true sequel so much as it feels like a souped-up version of one of the direct-to-video affairs that Disney used to pump out for all of its big releases,” says Vulture’s Alison Willmore . Anora , The Brutalist , Conclave , Dune: Part Two , Emilia Pérez , Nickel Boys , A Real Pain , September 5 , Sing Sing , Wicked Few directors on the awards trail will have as many stories to tell as Rasoulof, who directed his film remotely and fled across the border on foot to escape an eight-year prison sentence. Despite this, he remains a warm and engaging presence on the circuit, a quality critics have also spotlighted in his film. “Beneath Rasoulof’s blistering rage erupts a wellspring of empathy,” says Justin Chang . Don’t be surprised if critics’ groups start making noise in his direction. The trouble with releasing two films in the same year is that there’s no guarantee everyone will agree on which is better. Consensus among reviewers is that this week’s William S. Burroughs adaptation is full of interesting elements that never quite cohere , and many are not shy in preferring last spring’s Challengers . But Guadagnino seems to feel the opposite, at least judging by the way he’s campaigning. It’s hard to blame him: While Challengers is lingering near the margins of the awards conversation, Queer seems likely to earn at least one major nomination, even if it’s not for the director himself. Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez ; Sean Baker, Anora ; Edward Berger, Conclave ; Brady Corbet, The Brutalist ; Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two Since hanging up his tuxedo, Craig has been searching for the role that will kill off 007 for good. Queer provides the coup de grâce. As Burroughs’s alter ego, a blundering heroin addict pining after a younger man, the actor manages to be uncool onscreen for the first time ever. “Craig cracks this smitten, doomed romantic wide open,” says David Fear . “This is a milestone in his career.” Still, Queer is what awards pundits euphemistically call a “difficult” film, which led many to discount his chances post-Venice. What’s changed in the past few months? A sterling campaign blending thoughtful quotes about masculinity with viral stunts has helped. But Craig’s also been aided by rivals like Paul Mescal and Sebastian Stan dropping out of contention. There’s always a chance Queer will simply prove too much for some voters, but Craig’s stature and narrative give me confidence he’ll score his first career nomination. Adrien Brody, The Brutalist ; Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown ; Daniel Craig, Queer ; Colman Domingo, Sing Sing ; Ralph Fiennes, Conclave Wicked scored the best-ever opening for a film based on a Broadway musical last weekend, and with each dollar it makes, we’ll have to hold more space for Erivo in the Best Actress race. Compared to those of fellow bubble contenders like Saoirse Ronan and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, her film is guaranteed to be the most widely seen. While Barbie ’s billions couldn’t push Margot Robbie to an acting nod last season, voters seemed to consider that a purely comic turn. For better or for worse, Erivo delivers a more earnest performance, which in turn makes her more ripe for recognition. Maria opens in select theaters this week before arriving on Netflix in early December, heralding the return of something we thought we’d never see again: a full-scale Angelina Jolie promo campaign. She’s hitting the media circuit hard, a necessary step after Pablo Larraín’s film failed to ignite with critics at its Venice premiere. Cynthia Erivo, Wicked ; Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez ; Angelina Jolie, Maria ; Nicole Kidman, Babygirl ; Mikey Madison, Anora As the young man who so bedevils Craig’s character, the Outer Banks hunk has the difficult assignment of a character whose inner motivations must remain a mystery. He’s “reticent and undemonstrative, aware of his own handsomeness and not afraid to use it but not bold enough to totally own it,” says Matt Zoller Seitz . “He’s grappling with inner turmoil even when he’s relaxed.” It’s probably too recessive a role to impact the awards race, but at least Starkey is reaping the benefits of an A24 press tour, including an Esquire photo spread . September 5 is Schrödinger’s contender: Is the Munich Olympics docudrama a potent player awaiting its moment or an also-ran whose own studio barely wanted it? The film was originally set to open in limited release on Friday but saw its date pushed back a month at the last minute — a sign simultaneously of confidence and of panic. Whatever else happens, Sarsgaard’s ABC Sports producer did land a nomination from the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards last week. Points on the board! Yura Borisov, Anora ; Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain ; Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing ; Guy Pearce, The Brutalist ; Denzel Washington, Gladiator II In a matter of weeks, we’ve gone from “Can Ariana Grande get nominated?” to “Is Ariana Grande the Oscar frontrunner?” At the moment, this is all a matter of vibes, and we won’t have anything concrete to go on until SAG nominations in early January. Still, as Gregory Ellwood reminds us, if you’re looking for comparisons, “Jennifer Hudson and Anne Hathaway are right there.” Like Madame Web , Queer climaxes with a trip to South America, where Craig’s character seeks a plant he believes will give him telepathic powers. There, he encounters Manville, whom I can describe only as “Yosemite Sam if he was played by an Oscar-nominated British thespian.” She’s a hoot and a half, and though I doubt it’s the kind of performance that will resonate with the Academy, expect to see her pop up on the social-media feeds of all your most culturally literate friends. Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson ; Ariana Grande, Wicked ; Felicity Jones, The Brutalist ; Saoirse Ronan, Blitz ; Zoe Saldaña, Emilia PérezNone
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'I loved our match. I won’t talk about the referees': St-Louis repeats the same thing 6 timesBy ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.SANTA CLARA — Neither Nick Bosa nor Trent Williams practiced for a third straight week, and that’s not great news for a 49ers team trying to shake a three-game losing streak in Sunday’s homecoming against the Chicago Bears. Bosa was able to show enough progress to not be ruled out Friday, but he is doubtful. Williams officially is out, as are running back Jordan Mason, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety George Odum. While Bosa has been sidelined since a third-quarter oblique strain Nov. 17 against Seattle, Williams’ hiatus is traced. mainly to an ankle injury but he’s also been coping with personal issues after his son was stillborn Nov. 24. Cornerback Charvarius Ward did not practice Friday because of a personal matter; he played last Sunday in Buffalo in his first game since the Oct. 28 death of his 23-month-old daughter. Ward is still expected to play Sunday, although the 49ers understandably could excuse him amid his grieving. Left guard Aaron Banks is questionable, having missed the 38-10 loss at Buffalo because of a concussion from the loss to Seattle. Safety Talanoa Hufanga is also questionable after returning to practice this week as the 49ers evaluate whether to activate him off Injured Reserve. RUNNING BACK OPTIONS Isaac Guerendo looks in line to start at running back, with Patrick Taylor Jr. as the next-best option, while the 49ers move past last Sunday’s season-ending injuries to Christian McCaffrey (knee) and Mason (ankle). The 49ers put McCaffrey back on Injured Reserve on Tuesday, having spent eight weeks on IR with Achilles tendinitis before his Nov. 9 activation. Mason is expected to move onto IR on Saturday. For further depth, Israel Abanikanda was claimed off waivers from the New York Jets, and Ke’Shawn Vaughn as re-signed to the practice squad. PURDY ALL CLEAR Two weeks since missing the 49ers’ 38-10 loss at Green Bay because of a shoulder injury, quarterback Brock Purdy had no setbacks in his return last Sunday at Buffalo and is full-go for this game. “He’s good. He had to wait a while give him rest and make sure it healed,” Shanahan said. “Glad to get him back to full speed and get him back to practice.” BEARS INJURIES Bears running back D’Andre Swift and wide receiver D.J. Moore are both questionable after quadriceps injuries forced them to miss back-to-back practices before Friday’s limited return. Center Ryan Bates (concussion) and safety Elijah Hicks (ankle) are out. Swift’s backup, Roschon Johnson, will not play because of a concussion. Wide receiver Keenan Allen (ankle) is fully expected to play despite missing Wednesday’s practice. Related Articles San Francisco 49ers | Six things that helped make the 49ers the NFL’s most disappointing team San Francisco 49ers | Kristin Juszczyk named one of New York Times’ most stylish people San Francisco 49ers | What reasons do 49ers give for allowing 19 rushing touchdowns? ‘All of the above’ San Francisco 49ers | Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker found guilty of leaking 49ers report, perjury San Francisco 49ers | 49ers' Ricky Pearsall still a 'competitor' amid 3-game drought DEEBO ‘IS THE KEY’ Deebo Samuel may be enduring one of his most sideways seasons but that hasn’t diminished opponents’ respect. Said Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington: “Deebo Samuel, he’s a very versatile player, can play multiple positions: Tailback, slot, wide receiver. He’s the key to everything they desire to do.” Samuel has not unlocked the 49ers offense, either as a wide receiver (38 catches, 531 yards, one touchdown) or a running back (27 carries, 79 yards, one touchdown). HALL OF FAME COMPLIMENT In the wake of McCaffrey’s season-ending knee injury, he wrote an extensive message on Instagram this week depicting his love for the game, and it won the admiration of general manager John Lynch. “That deal he wrote was beautiful,” Lynch said on KNBR 680-AM. “I told him, ‘Hey you wrote your Hall of Fame speech, or an excerpt for it.’ He encompassed what football is all about and why we all love it, as much as anybody I’ve ever heard.” McCaffrey’s words on Wednesday: “Football is the greatest game on the planet to me. I love that you can find out exactly who you are without ever saying a word. It lifts you up and breaks you down and it can happen fast. It’s humbling in the best ways. You can do everything right and still fail. Thats life and that’s football. It’s a constant test of wills and those who just keep going tend to reap the benefits of their perseverance. This wasn’t my year, and sometimes when it rains, it pours. You can feel sorry for yourself and listen to the birds, or you can hold the line. I’m grateful for the support of everyone in my corner and promise I’ll work smarter and harder than ever to come back better from this. I love my teammates, I love the 9ers, and I love football. God doesn’t miss. Onward ➡️🙏🏼”