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Greece Goes on Strike with Bailout Deal in Limbo

Thousands take to the streets of Athens as Greek unions launch a two-day general strike against planned austerity measures , a day after the country's crucial international bailout was put in limbo by its partners in the 17-nation eurozone.

(AP) Athens — Greek Police said some 17,000 people were gathering for two separate protests leading to Syntagma Square, outside Parliament. They chanted slogans against the painful cutbacks, which include reducing the minimum wage by 22 percent and cutting one in five government jobs in a country which is in its fifth year of recession.

The Greek coalition government had hoped some of the heat had been taken out of the crisis after leaders agreed Thursday to a raft of austerity measures they hoped would pave the way for the euro130 billion ($173 billion) bailout package. But finance ministers from the other 16 eurozone states put up a roadblock later in the day by insisting that Greece had to save an extra 325 million euros.

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LGBTQ Plus

'MTF' Alarm, Why Life Is Crueler Than Ever For Trans Women In China

Cast out by family, discriminated against by the state, shut off from the medication, China's "male-to-female" trans community is under immense pressure, as suicide rates rise and incomprehension continues to spread.

People walk towards a temple in the rain, wearing pride flags

Pride under the rain

Liang Yutong

BEIJING — Another MTF has committed suicide in China: born in June 2009, she was not yet 14. MTF is an acronym for "male-to-female," a term used by transgender women in China to identify themselves on online platforms.

Although the World Health Organisation announced in 2019 that "transgender" would be removed from the International Classification of Diseases, the transgender community in mainland China has had to continue to endure pressure and abuse from the state, society and families. Transgender women have a disproportionately high rate of suicide in China.

One of the dangers that MTFs face is their medication being cut off. The drugs, including those containing oestrogen and anti-androgens, are the only way for the MTF community to maintain their femininity before undergoing gender affirming surgery. A number of trans women have openly shared their experiences of being deprived their medication, and being in constant fear of returning to a gender they do not belong to. This can lead to serious depression and other mental problems, that sometimes winds up with suicide.

Under the harsh restrictions on purchasing drugs in mainland China, MTFs often have to contact underground drug dealers, and that too often means being sold fake drugs. There was even a case reported of a transphobic man who deliberately sold high-priced fake drugs to MTFs, which caused dangerous side effects.

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