General news

• Lent 2018: Why do we give things up for Lent? What should you give up?

  12-02-2018 23:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  LENT is the period in the Christian calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends 46 days later before Easter Sunday. It is a time for Christians to grow closer to God and focus on prayer and penance. Many people choose to give something up during Lent, but what is the reason for this and what should Christians give up?
  
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• How does the Oxfam scandal affect donations?

  12-02-2018 23:55
  Sky's Mike McCarthy looks at how the Oxfam sandal will affect the relationship between charities and their benefactors.
  
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• REVEALED: How EU is scrambling to plug £11.5bn Brexit shortfall

  12-02-2018 23:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE European Union is scrambling to find ways to plug an estimated £11.5bn budget black hole after Brexit, with ideas currently on the table ranging from cuts to its flagship policies to a bloc-wide plastic tax.
  
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• Unexploded WWII bomb to be detonated as London City Airport plans to reopen

  12-02-2018 23:36
  Experts are working through the night to dispose of an unexploded Second World War bomb which forced the closure of London City Airport.Bomb disposal teams are using a flotation device to guide the 500kg weapon along the River Thames, before attaching explosives for a controlled explosion on Tuesday morning.The German bomb was found grounded in the seabed at King George V Dock in east London on Sunday but it has now been moved to another location within the dock.
  
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• Scotland's deadly hills claim fifth victim

  12-02-2018 23:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  THE death toll on Scotland’s mountains this year was feared to have risen to five last night as hopes faded for yet another hillwalker.
  
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• Sally Magnusson turned down Crimewatch job over Jill Dando murder

  12-02-2018 23:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  BROADCASTER Sally Magnusson has revealed she turned down an offer to present Crimewatch because her mother feared she would be murdered like Jill Dando.
  
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• Heroes dig for three day to save trapped terrier

  12-02-2018 23:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  A DETERMINED group of rescuers spent three days battling in freezing conditions to save a trapped working dog. Charlie the Patterdale terrier vanished while on a fox control operation on the Invermark Estate near Loch Lee in Angus. The excited pooch had followed the scent of a fox to its underground lair.
  
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• 'Trade not aid!' Farage slams ‘awful’ EU spreading poverty with EXCESSIVE trade tariffs

  12-02-2018 23:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  NIGEL FARAGE has called for a "clean Brexit campaign" to ensure the United Kingdom regains the ability to end poverty in Africa with the end of "awful" EU-imposed trade tariffs on goods produced in African countries.
  
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• French rugby players quizzed by police over sex assault allegation

  12-02-2018 22:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  French rugby union stars were in the clear last night after Police Scotland dropped a sex attack probe.
  
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• Sky Data poll: Public split on future Oxfam funding

  12-02-2018 22:57
  Britons are fairly evenly divided over whether the Government should stop funding Oxfam, a Sky Data poll has revealed.Beyond the scandal-hit charity, there is a similar split as to whether foreign aid charities in general can be trusted.Just over half - 54% - think the Government should continue to provide funding to Oxfam, while 46% think that funding should be stopped.
  
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• World shares rebound after worst week in two years

  12-02-2018 22:47
  World shares rallied on Monday in a broad advance that brushed aside fresh rises in global bond yields driven up by the fear of faster inflation as investors shifted asset allocations and tried to put last week's worst rout in two years past them.The yield on U.S. five-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, bonds known as TIPS that are designed to protect against inflation, rose to its highest level since 2009.
  
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• 2018 Westminster Kennel Club dog show – in pictures

  12-02-2018 22:21 via theguardian.com
  The 142nd Westminster Kennel Club dog show takes place at The Piers in New York City and is scheduled to see 2,882 dogs from all 50 states Continue reading...
  
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• Ukip chair Paul Oakden says he will quit after leadership vote

  12-02-2018 21:22
  Paul Oakden outlined a series of frustration over his role as party chair, saying it makes him the person whose fate it is to disappoint almost everybody.The chair of Ukip has announced his intention to step down in a major blow to the party just days before leader, Henry Bolton, faces a confidence vote.In a letter to members, Paul Oakden insisted that his decision was unconnected to the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to be held on Saturday, but did outline a series of frustrations in his r
  
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• May fails to reach deal to restore Northern Ireland power-sharing

  12-02-2018 21:03
  Theresa May has left Northern Ireland without a deal that would have seen the restoration of power-sharing government in the region.The prime minister and the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, had travelled to Belfast on Monday hoping that the main parties represented in the Stormont assembly would reach a compromise ending 13 months of political deadlock.The party held out for a deal over several weeks last summer with the prime minister and the Tories that kept May in Downing Street after the gen
  
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• 'People shouldn't have to move': getting care for an eating disorder

  12-02-2018 20:44
  Averil Hart, whose death from anorexia was an “avoidable tragedy” that would have been prevented had the NHS provided appropriate care and treatment, a damning report has concluded.“My inpatient unit said I had to start treatment within two weeks but when I approached services in Norfolk, where I am from, I was told I’d be put on their waiting list ... I didn’t know how long that could take,” she said.
  
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• Nigel Farage: 'Brexit Betrayal' Will Plunge UK Into Chaos Says Man Who Helped Plunge UK Into Chaos

  12-02-2018 20:43
  The man who helped spark one of the most politically chaotic and disruptive periods in modern British history has said a “betrayal” of what he set in motion could “see this country plunged into a constitutional crisis”.
  
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• Brexit: Varadkar and May to work on plan for frictionless Irish border

  12-02-2018 20:31
  Theresa May and Leo Varadkar, who said achieving such an arrangement was the ‘tricky bit’ in Brexit talks.Theresa May and Leo Varadkar are to work together to come up with a new plan on how to achieve a frictionless Irish border after Brexit that does not involve the EU demanding Northern Ireland stays in the customs union and single market.
  
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• Eating disorders: NHS reports surge in hospital admissions

  12-02-2018 20:25
  The number of admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of an eating disorder reached a peak of 13,885 in the year to April 2017.The number of admissions to hospital of patients with potentially life-threatening eating disorders has almost doubled over the past six years, amid warnings from experts that NHS services to tackle anorexia and bulimia are failing to help those in need.The number of admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of an eating disorder reached a peak of 13,885
  
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• Lloyds and RBS set ethnic targets for top roles

  12-02-2018 20:21
  Britain's two biggest banks have set targets for ethnic minority representation in top roles after criticism of some of the country's largest companies for being opaque about diversity.Lloyds Banking Group said its targets marked the first time a FTSE 100 company had publicly laid out goals for ethnic diversity.The Royal Bank of Scotland followed up with the release of targets it gave internally in December.
  
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• Theresa May calls for 'final push' on Northern Ireland power-sharing deal

  12-02-2018 20:08
  Theresa May has called for "one final push" to get a deal on restoring devolved government in Northern Ireland.Speaking after a series of meetings in Belfast aimed at agreeing a power-sharing deal after more than a year of deadlock at Stormont, the Prime Minister said: "While differences remain, I think there is the basis of an agreement here".The positive tone was echoed by the DUP's Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, while Irish PM Leo Varadkar said he was "very hopeful" of
  
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• Deputy head of Oxfam quits as Haiti sex scandal escalates

  12-02-2018 20:02
  The deputy head of Oxfam resigned on Monday over what she said was the British charity's failure to adequately respond to past allegations of sexual misconduct by some of its staff in Haiti and Chad.One of the best-known international NGOs, with aid programmes running across the globe, Oxfam was under threat of losing its British government funding over sexual misconduct allegations first reported by the Times newspaper last week.The scandal was fast escalating into a broader crisis for Britain'
  
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• British, Irish PMs hopeful of Northern Ireland breakthrough after visit

  12-02-2018 19:53
  The British and Irish prime ministers held talks with Northern Ireland's feuding political parties on Monday and said later they were hopeful the province's year-old political stalemate would soon end.The British province has been without a devolved executive for over a year since Irish nationalists Sinn Fein withdrew from a power-sharing government with their arch-rivals, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).Failure to reach a deal would be likely to lead to the introduction of direct rule of th
  
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• Donald Trump Jr's Wife Hospitalised After Opening Envelope Containing White Powder

  12-02-2018 19:48
  Donald Trump Jr’s wife Vanessa has been taken to a New York hospital after opening an envelope containing white powder, police said.
  
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• May sees possibility of restored government in Northern Ireland very soon

  12-02-2018 19:43
  Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May said she asked political parties in Northern Ireland on Monday to make one last effort to restore devolved government and saw the possibility of a resolution to the stalemate very soon."I have urged (the parties) to make one final push for the sake of the people of Northern Ireland," May told reporters.May travelled to Belfast on Monday in an attempt to persuade political parties to restore devolved government after 13 months of wrangling and avoid the introd
  
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• Unilever threat 'is #MeToo moment for digital advertising'

  12-02-2018 19:38
  Unilever, the owner of PG Tips, has threatened to boycott Google and Facebook.The former UK boss of one of the world’s biggest advertising groups has said that Unilever’s threat to boycott Google and Facebook could be a pivotal moment for digital advertising, likening it to the momentum of the #MeToo movement that has put a spotlight on sexual harassment and assault.
  
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• Parents pay tribute to Durham student who died in nightclub crush

  12-02-2018 19:37
  Olivia Burt’s parents said they were ‘totally devastated and heartbroken by the loss of our beautiful daughter’.The parents of a student who died in a crush outside a Durham nightclub have said they are “totally devastated and heartbroken” by the loss of their “beautiful daughter”.Olivia Burt, 20, suffered fatal head injuries during a crowd surge as people queued to get into the packed Missoula nightclub last Wednesday.
  
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• Oxfam must show 'moral leadership' after Haiti scandal - UK minister

  12-02-2018 19:31
  British charity Oxfam needs to rebuild the public's trust after apologising for the "appalling" behaviour of its staff in Haiti in 2011, foreign aid minister Penny Mordaunt said on Monday."Oxfam made a full and unqualified apology – to me, and to the people of Britain and Haiti - for the appalling behaviour of some of their staff in Haiti in 2011, and for the wider failings of their organisation's response to it," Mordaunt said after meeting Oxfam's chief executive, Mark Goldring."I told O
  
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• British man to face trial over 'pornographic dancing' in Cambodia as four others deported

  12-02-2018 19:17
  Four British tourists accused of "pornographic dancing" in Cambodia have been deported, while another Briton faces trial over the incident.The five men were among 10 Western tourists detained for allegedly posting photos online of themselves taking part in sexually suggestive dancing during a pub crawl.Defence lawyer Ouch Sopheaktra said three of those arrested - from Britain, the Netherlands and Norway - allegedly helped organise the event and would soon be put on trial.
  
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• Handbag snatch killer Mark Woolley arrested after going on the run

  12-02-2018 19:11
  A murderer and former heroin addict has been recaptured after he disappeared from a probation meeting and went on the run.Mark Woolley, 52, was jailed in 2001 for killing costume designer Elizabeth Sherlock as she tried to get back her stolen handbag.In November, he was released on licence from HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire and vanished after a probation meeting in Hackney on 31 January.
  
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• Madeleine McCann: police seek more funds to continue inquiry

  12-02-2018 19:08
  The Metropolitan police have asked the Home Office for more funding to continue the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.Funding for Operation Grange, which was formed at the request of David Cameron’s government in 2011 after a plea from Madeleine’s parents, is regularly reviewed, last receiving a £154,000 extension in September 2017.A team of four Met police detectives continue to investigate Madeleine’s disappearance, receiving special funding from
  
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• Irish PM 'very hopeful' for North Ireland power-sharing deal this week

  12-02-2018 19:08
  Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he was very hopeful that the two leading parties in Northern Ireland could agree this week to revive a power-sharing government."The differences that exist between the DUP and Sinn Fein are not insurmountable, and we are very hopeful that those two parties will be able to come to an agreement this week, and then include the other parties," Varadkar told reporters after meeting British Prime Minister Theresa May."It is our strong view that an inclusive execu
  
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• The road from Stonehenge to TrumpHenge

  12-02-2018 19:07
  Traffic passes along the busy A303 that runs besides the ancient neolithic monument of Stonehenge.You highlight (Stonehenge tunnel: plans for £1.6bn scheme published, 8 February) Highways England’s misguided belief that the scheme will restore a sense of beauty and tranquillity to the ancient landscape around Stonehenge.Despite the small changes made to the scheme, it will still cause irrevocable damage to a unique piece of our national heritage, and gouge a widened road ac
  
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• It’s very rare to wake up during a general anaesthetic

  12-02-2018 19:07
  Accidental awareness (when a patient becomes conscious during a general anaesthetic) is an incredibly important issue to both patients and anaesthetists (The long read, 9 February).Patients undergoing surgery can be assured that it is highly uncommon to wake up during a general anaesthetic.The largest ever research study (NAP5) performed on this topic was carried out in 2014 by the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.
  
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• Cash cuts undermining 30-hours childcare policy

  12-02-2018 19:07
  Add-on costs are undermining the government’s tax-free 30 hour of childcare offer, lobbyists argue.Its flagship 30-hours scheme represents a unique opportunity to support working families in accessing quality, affordable childcare.This means that working families on the lowest incomes are at risk of missing out.
  
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• Couple fined for using garage door to hide secret home from council

  12-02-2018 18:52
  A couple who hid a small secret home using a fake garage door and a high fence have been fined by their local council.Reeta Herzallah and Hamdi Almasri were granted planning permission for a development in 2007 on the condition that car parking facilities, including a garage, should remain available permanently.The pair breached planning regulations by building a secret home and were eventually caught in October 2015, Blaby District Council said.
  
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• Arlene Foster: 'Good progress' but no power-sharing deal yet

  12-02-2018 18:33
  Arlene Foster says there has been "good progress" towards restoring devolved government at Stormont, but "there isn't a deal yet".The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader was speaking after a series of meetings in Belfast aimed at agreeing a power-sharing deal after more than a year of deadlock.Stressing that her party wanted a deal that was "good for everyone" and "sustainable" for the long-term, Ms Foster said: "Good progress has been made and we will continue to work towards more progress.
  
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• More funding for Madeleine McCann search requested by police

  12-02-2018 18:28
  Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have requested more money from the Home Office, Sky News has learned.
  
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• British man Liam Colgan missing after stag do in Hamburg

  12-02-2018 17:59
  A search is under way for a man from Inverness who went missing at the weekend while on a stag do in Germany.Liam Colgan, 29, organised the trip to Hamburg for his brother Eamonn's wedding next month, where he is due to be best man.Another man in the group of around 18, Alan Pearson, said his disappearance was "completely out of character" and that "nobody realised at the time".
  
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• TfL facing near £1bn deficit next year after journey numbers fall

  12-02-2018 17:57
  Transport for London also lost a government grant worth £700m, which unions want reinstated.Transport for London (TfL) has insisted it is not facing a financial crisis despite planning for a near £1bn deficit next year after a surprise fall in passenger numbers.The capital’s transport authority has shelved some tube upgrade plans, with its finances under pressure since the axing of a grant from the UK government worth £700m a year.
  
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• May to resist pressure to cut Britain's foreign aid commitment

  12-02-2018 17:45
  Jacob Rees-Mogg delivers a petition backed by the Daily Express to Downing Street.Theresa May will not abandon Britain’s commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on foreign aid, despite growing pressure from within her party and elements of the media in response to the Oxfam scandal.A Downing Street source told the Guardian the government’s promise to ringfence money for development was remaining in place, not least because it was enshrined in law.
  
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• Police investigate death threats against Brexit supporters

  12-02-2018 17:14
  Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, called the letter’s sender a coward.Prominent Brexit supporters including the Conservative leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, have been sent death threats by an anonymous source who signed off as “the real 48%”.
  
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• Oxfam deputy Penny Lawrence resigns over charity's prostitution scandal

  12-02-2018 17:06
  Oxfam's deputy chief executive has resigned over the prostitution scandal engulfing the charity, saying she is "ashamed" of what happened.Penny Lawrence said she took "full responsibility" for the behaviour of the charity's staff in Chad and Haiti "that we failed to adequately act upon".The announcement comes after talks between Oxfam bosses and ministers on Monday and amid continuing criticism of the charity's response to the allegations.
  
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• Ten Army instructors face trial over alleged abuse of teenage recruits

  12-02-2018 17:04
  Ten Army instructors have gone on trial accused of abusing teenage recruits at a training academy.The defendants, who were instructors at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, face 25 charges of ill-treatment and six of battery.It is alleged recruits were slapped or punched in the face, spat at, grabbed by the throat, had their faces submerged in mud or were ordered to eat animal manure.
  
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• Red Arrows death: Ejector seat maker 'put many pilots at risk', court hears

  12-02-2018 16:57
  The makers of an ejector seat that malfunctioned, leading to the death of a Red Arrows pilot, had put many others at risk, a court has heard.Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham died in hospital after being ejected from his Hawk T1 aircraft while it was on the ground at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on 8 November 2011.The ejector seat's parachute failed to deploy, sending South African-born Mr Cunningham falling 200ft.
  
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• Farage warns 'Brexit betrayal' would plunge UK into crisis

  12-02-2018 16:36
  If Prime Minister Theresa May allows Brexit to be watered down or halted by supporters of European Union membership, Britain will be thrust into its gravest constitutional crisis since World War Two, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said.Farage, who as UKIP leader convinced Prime Minister Theresa May’s predecessor, David Cameron, to call the Brexit referendum and then helped lead the campaign to leave the EU, said Brexit was now in danger of being scuttled by the establishment.
  
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• Brothers and girlfriend killed in Grand Canyon helicopter crash

  12-02-2018 16:34
  A victim of the helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon was celebrating his 30th birthday when he was killed alongside his girlfriend and brother.Stuart Hill was with girlfriend Becky Dobson, 27, and older brother Jason Hill, 32, when their Papillon tour helicopter came down at about 5.20pm on Saturday.Ms Dobson was an animal lover who worked as a receptionist at Vets4Pets in Worthing, West Sussex.
  
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• Deputy head of UK charity Oxfam quits over Haiti sex scandal

  12-02-2018 16:28
  The deputy head of Oxfam resigned on Monday over what she said was the British charity's failure to adequately respond to past allegations of sexual misconduct by some of its staff.The resignation of Penny Lawrence came after days of crisis at the charity triggered by a report in the Times newspaper alleging that some staff had paid for sex with prostitutes in Haiti in 2011, during humanitarian relief efforts after an earthquake."Over the last few days we have become aware that concerns were rai
  
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• Oxfam chief: Need to rebuild public trust

  12-02-2018 16:20
  Oxfam's chief responds to a minister's claims that the Charity must show "moral leadership" or lose all its Government funding.
  
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• Here’s everything you need to know about the Shrovetide football match

  12-02-2018 16:10
  The two-day game is a pre-Easter extravaganza with minimal rules, goals three miles apart, and hundreds of players.
  
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• Russia says could take 2-5 months to exit oil output deal - Ifax

  12-02-2018 16:00
  Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday it could take two to five months to exit a global oil output cut deal with OPEC and non-OPEC countries if and when such a decision was taken, the Interfax news agency reported.Global producers late last year extended a global oil output cut deal between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC states until the end of 2018.The duration of that deal is expected to be reviewed at OPEC's next meeting in June
  
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