Environment news

• Heathrow expansion will boost air quality | Letters

  21-10-2016 23:12 via theguardian.com
  
  The suggestion that the previous government failed to address questions surrounding air quality (Report, 20 October) does not reflect the progress that has been made on the issue since December 2015. Since then, the government’s air quality plan, updated modelling undertaken by Heathrow and an independent study by Cambridge University have all shown that baseline air-quality levels around the airport will have significantly improved by the time a new runway is built, as the nation’s
  
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• Oil up on Russia-OPEC hopes; U.S. rig count jump limits gains

  21-10-2016 22:59
  
  By Ethan Lou NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil settled up on Friday on hopes Russia and OPEC will reach agreement at the weekend on market support initiatives to keep crude above $50 a barrel, although traders cautioned about pressure from a double-digit rise in the U.S. oil rig count. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he would make proposals to his counterpart from OPEC leader Saudi Arabia this weekend on price-supportive measures that could include an oil production freeze. Some traders were
  
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• GE cuts year revenue target on oil, gas weakness, has third quarter profit beat

  21-10-2016 20:54
  By Alwyn Scott NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co scaled back expectations for its full-year revenue and profit on Friday, overshadowing third-quarter profit that beat analyst forecasts and sending its shares lower. Weak global economies and low oil prices hit the industrial giant's sales of oil and gas infrastructure equipment especially hard. This limited GE's organic revenue growth, which excludes acquisitions, to just 1 percent in the quarter.
  
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• Oil prices off session highs, U.S. rig count up by 11

  21-10-2016 20:08
  
  By Ethan Lou NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices drifted around unchanged on Friday, retreating from early highs after data showed the first double-digit growth in U.S. oil rigs since crude prices hit $50 a barrel. A closely watched report from oil services firm Baker Hughes showed the number of active U.S. oil rigs rose by 11 this week, the 17th week without a decline in the rig count. U.S. crude prices then ranged between $44 and $48.
  
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• Schiaparelli: Mars probe 'crash site identified'

  21-10-2016 19:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The gouge in the ground likely made by Europe's Schiaparelli probe as it hit the surface of Mars on Wednesday has been imaged by an American satellite.
  
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• U.S. warship challenges China's claims in South China Sea

  21-10-2016 18:42
  By Idrees Ali and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, drawing a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area. The U.S. action was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said. The Chinese Defense Ministry called the move "illegal" and "provocative," saying that two Chinese warships had warned the
  
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• Construction industry unaware of modern slavery risks, survey finds

  21-10-2016 18:28
  
  In the same week the UK marked Anti-Slavery Day (18 October), a survey has found that more than half of construction businesses would not know what action to take if modern slavery was encountered in their supply chain.
  
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• From Ancient Fossils to Future Cars

  21-10-2016 18:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have developed an inexpensive, energy-efficient way to create silicon-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries from the fossilized remains of single-celled algae called diatoms. The research could lead to the development of ultra-high capacity lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and portable electronics.
  
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• Non-metal catalyst splits hydrogen molecule

  21-10-2016 18:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Hydrogen (H2) is an extremely simple molecule and yet a valuable raw material which as a result of the development of sophisticated catalysts is becoming more and more important. In industry and commerce, applications range from food and fertilizer manufacture to crude oil cracking to utilization as an energy source in fuel cells. A challenge lies in splitting the strong H-H bond under mild conditions. Chemists at Goethe University have now developed a new catalyst for the activation of hydrogen
  
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• Heathrow expansion, nuclear fusion and Tasmanian devils – green news roundup

  21-10-2016 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Oil steadies after early loss on dollar; U.S. rig count awaited

  21-10-2016 17:51
  
  By Ethan Lou NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Friday as the dollar eased off eight-month highs ahead of U.S. oil rig count data that would show whether drilling was on the upswing with crude trading above $50 a barrel. Russia's reiteration of its commitment to join OPEC in curbing output helped support crude, although some viewed signs of a post-Soviet high in crude production as bearish. Brent crude was up 20 cents at $51.58 a barrel by 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT).
  
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• New perovskite solar cell design could outperform existing commercial technologies, Stanford and Oxford scientists report

  21-10-2016 17:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new design for solar cells that uses inexpensive, commonly available materials could rival and even outperform conventional cells made of silicon.Writing in the Oct. 21 edition of Science, researchers from Stanford and Oxford describe using tin and other abundant elements to create novel forms of perovskite – a photovoltaic crystalline material that’s thinner, more flexible and easier to manufacture than silicon crystals.
  
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• Rare fin whale stranding in Norfolk puzzles scientists

  21-10-2016 17:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Experts say fin whales are normally found on south or west coasts of UK, not on east coast Mystery surrounds how a rare 12-metre (40ft) fin whale came to be washed up on a beach in Norfolk.
  The enormous creature was already dead when it was washed up on Holkham beach, on the north Norfolk coast, on Thursday afternoon.Continue reading...
  
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• U.S. warship challenges China's claims in South China Sea - officials

  21-10-2016 17:08
  By Idrees Ali and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. navy warship sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said. The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur challenged "excessive maritime claims" near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its nei
  
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• Oil on track for first weekly loss in five weeks on strong dollar

  21-10-2016 15:56
  
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday as a strong dollar made it more expensive to hold the dollar-denominated commodity, setting contracts up for the first weekly loss in five weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $50.33 a barrel, down 30 cents from its last settlement. As the dollar surged to a seven-month high against a basket of currencies, its third straight week of gains, oil prices slipped to set up the first weekly loss since mid-Septembe
  
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• On the road with Malaysia's honey hunters – in pictures

  21-10-2016 15:43 via theguardian.com
  
  During the spring harvest season, a group of traditional Malaysian honey hunters travel to the rainforest near the Thai border to collect honeycombs from giant bees – and risk their lives climbing 200ft trees Continue reading...
  
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• Hemel Hempstead set to welcome 'world's most sustainable residential tower'

  21-10-2016 15:38
  
  The town of Hemel Hempstead is poised to welcome the world's "most sustainable residential tower" to its ranks in 2018, after Lumiere Developments unveiled the range of technologies it has turned to in order to create The Beacon.
  
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• Islamic State attacks Iraqi oil city Kirkuk, curfew declared - sources

  21-10-2016 15:24
  By Saif Hameed and Mustafa Mahmoud KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamic State militants attacked a power station and other buildings in the northeastern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk early on Friday, killing at least 18 people, security sources said. Fighting raged on through the afternoon as authorities called a curfew, saying some of the attackers were still holed up in a hotel and a mosque in the middle of the city that is currently held by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. The assaults came four days after
  
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• Waste managers urge business to address re-use - the 'neglected child' of waste hierarchy

  21-10-2016 15:10
  
  The business case for product re-use is being restricted by poor engagement, financial constraints and a general lack of good practice guidance, a new report from a UK resource and waste management industry body has claimed.
  
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• Quarter of global emissions could be covered by a carbon price in 2017, says World Bank

  21-10-2016 14:22
  
  If policymakers can embed a carbon price within "complimentary" green legislation, then climate change mitigation costs could fall by almost a third by 2030, a new report from the World Bank has found.
  
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• 500 'Champagne' Methane Seeps Discovered Off Pacific Coast

  21-10-2016 13:44
  
  About 500 new streams of shimmering methane bubbles have been discovered off the Pacific Northwest coast. The discovery, which took place in June, will be a major topic for discussion at the 2016 National Ocean Exploration Forum, a congressionally mandated meeting about ocean exploration priorities that is taking place in New York and New Jersey on Oct. 20 and 21. The meeting, organized by Rockefeller University and Monmouth University, is half celebration of a year's worth of ocean discoveries
  
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• UN Habitat III summit aims to shape future urban living

  21-10-2016 13:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tells the world's mayors they face making 'tough decisions' to ensure future generations live in a safe and sustainable urban world.
  
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• Islamic State attacks Kirkuk as Iraqi forces push on Mosul

  21-10-2016 13:30
  
  By Maher Chmaytelli and Michael Georgy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State launched a major counter-attack on the city of Kirkuk on Friday as Iraqi and Kurdish forces pursued operations to seize territory around Mosul in preparation for an offensive on the jihadists' last major stronghold in Iraq. Islamic State's assault on Kirkuk, which lies in an oil- producing region, killed 18 members of the security forces and workers at a power station outside the city, including two Iranians, a hospital sou
  
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• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 13 - Britain's great green policy progressives

  21-10-2016 13:23
  
  London Mayor Sadiq Khan and ClientEarth chief executive James Thornton are the special guests on this week's podcast episode which investigates London's ongoing air quality crisis, the Government's green policy priorities, and the role of business in delivering a low-carbon economy.
  
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• US energy shakeup continues as solar capacity set to triple

  21-10-2016 13:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Solar expected to almost triple in less than three years by 2017 as coal continues to fall, solidifying gas as country’s chief electricity source, reports Climate CentralSolar power capacity in the US will have nearly tripled in size in less than three years by 2017 amid an energy shakeup that has seen natural gas solidify its position as the country’s chief source of electricity and coal power continue to fade, according to monthly data published by the US Department of Energy.Cutti
  
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• Macquarie closes its London oil and gas investment desk

  21-10-2016 13:09
  By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Australia's top investment bank Macquarie Group has closed its London-based upstream oil and gas advisory after a sharp drop in global deal making in recent years, banking sources said on Friday. The business, which oversaw the oil and gas production sector in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and which consisted of eight employees, was closed this week. Three members of the upstream team will move to the Macquarie Capital's midstream oil and gas investment service
  
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• SolarCity and Airbnb offer cash incentives on solar installations

  21-10-2016 13:05
  
  As Tesla begins to make waves in the autonomous driving sphere, its sister company SolarCity has also branched-out into a new domain - partnering with hospitality company Airbnb to offer cash rebates on solar array installations.
  
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• Rare birds thriving on Scilly Isles after scheme rids islands of rats

  21-10-2016 12:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Number of nesting Manx shearwaters almost triples in three years after a project, backed by Prince Charles, sucessfully kills off the rats that eat the birds’ chicks and eggsA scheme to kill rats on two of the Isles of Scilly, backed by Prince Charles, has led to a resurgence in rare sea birds.The number of Manx shearwaters has risen to 73 nesting pairs this year, the highest in living memory and almost triple the number of nesting birds just three years ago. The birds appear to be breedin
  
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• Shailene Woodley explains her North Dakota oil pipeline protest

  21-10-2016 12:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Actor arrested after protesting against construction of $3.7bn oil pipeline says the work risks contaminating Native American sacred sitesShailene Woodley has given her side of the story following her recent arrest for protesting against an oil pipeline being built in North Dakota, and urged fans to join her in fighting its construction. Related: 'For as long as it takes': Native American protesters defy North Dakota pipeline constructionContinue reading...
  
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• Oil rises on Russia's output freeze commitment

  21-10-2016 12:12
  Global benchmark Brent crude futures were 12 cents higher at $51.50 a barrel at 0847 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $50.65 a barrel up 2 cents from its last settlement. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday an oil output freeze agreement was necessary to prop up prices and that he would make proposals to his Saudi Arabian counterpart this weekend.
  
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• Global warming continues; 2016 will be the hottest year ever recorded | John Abraham

  21-10-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We will soon see a three-peat of record hot annual global temperatures
  We know the world is warming – no factor can explain it aside from human emissions of greenhouse gases. Despite this, people who deny the basic facts of climate change have tried to argue that the Earth is either not warming or is only slowly heating. Well that just isn’t true anymore. The last three years are the nail in the coffin of the deniers of climate change. We have enough data this year to call 2016 as th
  
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• Islamic State retaliates as Iraqi forces push on Mosul

  21-10-2016 11:03
  By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State launched a major counter-attack on the city of Kirkuk on Friday as Iraqi and Kurdish forces pursued operations to seize territory around Mosul in preparation for an offensive on the jihadists' last major stronghold in Iraq. Islamic State's assault on Kirkuk, which lies in an oil- producing region, killed six members of the security forces and two Iranians who were part of a team carrying out maintenance at a power station outside the city, a
  
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• Oil prices stable as strong dollar weighs, but market tightens

  21-10-2016 09:05
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Friday, weighed by a stronger dollar, but supported by signs that physical fuel markets were tightening after two years of ballooning oversupply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $50.59 a barrel at 0652 GMT, down 4 cents from its last settlement. Crude prices fell over 2 percent in the previous session on the back of the soaring dollar.
  
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• Iraq declares curfew in oil city under IS attack

  21-10-2016 08:48
  Suspected Islamic State militants attacked several buildings and a power station in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk in the early hours of Friday, killing eight people, and some of the attackers remained holed up in a mosque and a hotel, security sources said. Six members of the security forces were killed along with two Iranians who were part of a team carrying out maintenance in a power station outside the city, according to a hospital source. At least eight militants were also killed, ei
  
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• Islabikes' radical new plan means you may never need to buy your child a bike again

  21-10-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Imagine Project sets out to cut waste in the industry by renting rather than selling bikes, which can then be returned and refurbished when the child outgrows them The idea had been nagging at her for years, but Isla Rowntree went to the ends of the earth before she was finally ready to go ahead with something she hopes will revolutionise the way the bicycle industry is run.
  This is the Imagine Project, currently being developed by Rowntree’s eponymous firm making children’s bicycles
  
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• Islamic State attacks Kirkuk, oil production not affected

  21-10-2016 07:39
  KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamic State militants attacked several buildings in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Friday before dawn, security sources said. Crude production facilities were not targeted and power supply continued uninterrupted in the city, the sources said. The hardline militant group claimed the attacks in online statements. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Tom Hogue)
  
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• After coking plant's last gasp, a feast for nature

  21-10-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Rother valley, Derbyshire The malign dragon’s breath ceased, the air cleared, then a corner of the vast works became a nature reserveAs a boy, rushing south from Chesterfield on the train, I remember how the farmland was interrupted by the Avenue coking works breathing fire and acrid smoke like a malign dragon. Eight hundred people worked there, producing fuel for steel works, along with sulphuric acid and tar, in one of the most contaminated industrial sites in Europe.Related: How industr
  
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• Snow leopards: Numbers decline due to 'retaliation'

  21-10-2016 06:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hundreds of snow leopards are being poached in retaliation for livestock losses every year across the high mountain ranges of Asia, says a new report.
  
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• We are approaching the Trumpocene, a new epoch where climate change is a big scary conspiracy | Graham Readfearn

  21-10-2016 06:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Websites pushing climate science denial are growing their audience in an era where populist rhetoric and the rejection of expertise is gaining tractionFor years now geologists have been politely but forcefully arguing over the existence or otherwise of a new epoch – one that might have started decades ago.Some of the world’s most respected geologists and scientists reckon humans have had such a profound impact on the Earth that we’ve now moved out of the Holocene and into the A
  
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• Hundreds of snow leopards being killed every year, report warns

  21-10-2016 06:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Figure of 220-450 annual deaths could be even higher, as killings by poachers or farmers often go undetected in the remote mountains of central Asia Hundreds of snow leopards are being killed every year across the mountains of central Asia, threatening the already endangered big cat, according to a new report.There are as few as 4,000 of the solitary and elusive cat remaining and numbers have fallen by a fifth in the last 16 years.Continue reading...
  
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• Australia joins bid to outlaw large-scale commercial and 'scientific' whaling

  21-10-2016 04:52 via theguardian.com
  
  International Whaling Commission meeting in Slovenia follows Japan’s recent slaughter of more than 300 minke whalesAustralia has thrown its weight behind a bid to outlaw large-scale commercial and so-called “scientific” whaling at a summit next week. The International Whaling Commission meeting in Slovenia follows Japan’s recent slaughter of more than 300 minke whales, many of them pregnant, when they resumed so-called scientific whaling after a hiatus because the Interna
  
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• Venezuela electoral body suspends referendum drive, opposition fumes

  21-10-2016 04:32
  By Corina Pons and Alexandra Ulmer CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's electoral authority on Thursday suspended the next phase of a recall referendum against unpopular President Nicolas Maduro, sparking outcry from the opposition who accused the Socialist government of dictatorial tactics. The oil-rich country is mired in a brutal economic crisis that has families skipping meals amid food shortages and triple-digit inflation. Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader elected three years ago to r
  
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• Strong dollar pulls down oil despite tightening fundamentals

  21-10-2016 04:21
  U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $50.40 a barrel at 0208 GMT, down 23 cents, or 0.5 percent, from its last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures were down 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $51.19 per barrel. Crude prices fell over 2 percent in the previous session on the back of the soaring dollar.
  
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• Spiders can 'tune' their webs to sound out plucky potential mates

  21-10-2016 02:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Spiders can control their web’s tension and stiffness to help them identify potential partners as well as prey, study showsSpiders can control the tension and stiffness of their webs to optimise their sensory powers, helping them locate and identify prey as well as partners, according to researchers at Oxford University.Much in same way that notes travel along a plucked guitar string, spider silk transmits vibrations in different frequencies, sending information back to the spider. Continu
  
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• Nations agree on global road map to steer breakneck urbanization

  21-10-2016 01:46
  By Paola Totaro QUITO, Ecuador (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United Nations formally adopted a global road map to grapple with rapid urbanization on Thursday, capping nearly two years of behind-the-scenes international negotiations aimed at designing development priorities for cities and towns over the long term. The New Urban Agenda (NUA) sets out a host of general goals such as development of sustainable and compact cities that do not harm the environment and redevelopment of informal set
  
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• Shell sells non-core Canadian oil and gas assets for $1 billion

  21-10-2016 01:42
  By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Thursday it is selling $1.03 billion worth of non-core oil and gas properties in western Canada to Tourmaline Oil Corp , the latest example of the global oil major trimming its operations in the region. Shell said it will sell 206,000 acres (83,365 hectares) of developed and undeveloped lands, amounting to production of about 24,850 barrels of oil equivalent per day, to Calgary-based Tourmaline.
  
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