🌋 Fiery beauty

Footage of the eruption of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. It is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth.

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What does Trump’s promised ‘only male and female genders’ policy mean?

US President-elect Donald Trump has - in his usual bombastic manner -announced his intent to “stop the transgender lunacy” in the United States as he delivered a speech at the AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona on December 22.

While he promised to “end child sexual mutilation” and to “get transgender out of the military,” he also made this curious remark:

“Under the Trump administration, it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”

While a number of countries in the world do afford legal recognition to transgender people, the number of countries who recognize the third gender (i.e. people who are not categorized as either a man or a woman) is much smaller.

India, for instance, formally recognized non-binary and transgender as a third gender via a Supreme Court ruling in 2014.

Germany, Nepal and Pakistan officially recognize the third gender as well.

Meanwhile, countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Argentina and Sweden recognize the new gender identity of transgender people.

And then there are countries like Russia, Hungary and Poland who simply do not recognize the third gender at all and frown upon transgender people recognition.

Essentially, most countries in the world already legally recognize the existence of only two genders – male and female – and instances where the third gender or non-binary people are recognized in some states and/or cultures are more of an exception globally.

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🍇 Harvest of despair: Migrants exploited in France’s champagne vineyards

Migrant workers harvesting grapes for champagne production in France are reportedly underpaid and "forced to sleep on the streets," according to The Guardian.

The workers, primarily migrants from West Africa and Eastern Europe, say they are unpaid for their labor and provided no accommodation, forcing them to steal food from locals and seek out tents for shelter, the newspaper reported.

Unions blame the vineyards for subjecting workers to harsh conditions, while plantation owners claim they are “helping African migrants” by giving them jobs, "even if they are underpaid."

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📹 Drone footage shows mass destruction in the northern Gaza town of Jabalya.

Footage from social media.

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✍️ Signed: US defense budget for 2025 affirmed

On Wednesday, the Senate gave final approval to the defense policy bill, allocating $895 billion for the Pentagon and other military activities.

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🛩Turkish President Erdogan to visit Syria with a large delegation, including investment ministers, according to the Hürriyet newspaper.

The exact dates of Erdogan's visit to Syria are still being finalized, the Turkish leader's office told Sputnik.

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🪖Turkiye and Syria may launch a joint military operation against the Kurds if they refuse to lay down their arms, Hürriyet reports.

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🔹 Erdogan to visit Syria with major delegation, including investment ministers

🔹 US defense budget for 2025 finalized

🔹 Chance to end Ukrainian conflict? Zelensky reportedly willing to negotiate

🔹 Harvest of despair: Migrants exploited in France’s champagne vineyards

🔹 VIDEO: Mass destruction in the northern Gaza town of Jabalya

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🔥WATCH: Lancets in action

Troops from Russia's Zapad Battlegroup deployed Lancet drones to destroy Ukrainian military equipment and disrupt unit rotations.

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Demand for Arabic 📈

The Arabic language is being considered for inclusion in the list of foreign languages for the All-Russian Olympiad of schoolchildren. This issue is currently being discussed, according to Russian Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov.

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