General news

• Palace plea for 'understanding' as Meghan Markle's dad may not attend wedding

  14-05-2018 23:54
  Kensington Palace has asked for "understanding" ahead of Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle amid reports her father will not attend."This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding," said a palace spokesman.Reports emerged on TMZ that former Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle had decided not to appear at Windsor Castle on Saturday after being left "deeply embarrassed" by the release of pictures that appeared to show him colluding with photographers.
  
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• Britons captured In DR Congo park 'lucky to be alive'

  14-05-2018 23:01
  Two Britons who were kidnapped and held hostage in the Democratic Republic of Congo are lucky they were not killed, a local human rights worker has said.Hervé Nsabimana, who is based near the area of the Virunga National Park where doctors Bethan Davies and Robert Jesty were captured, told Sky News it was "extraordinary" that they had been freed."Being taken hostage and coming back alive, it's really something extraordinary, especially as the ransom was not paid," said Mr Nsabimana, who w
  
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• MPs get second chance to resurrect Leveson inquiry into unlawful press behaviour

  14-05-2018 22:59
  The Leveson Inquiry into unlawful behaviour by the press could be resurrected after a dramatic intervention by the House of Lords.Peers put themselves on a collision course with the Commons by voting through proposals to enact the second half of the review.The Government defeat sends the proposal back to the Commons, which could see a legislative tussle between the two houses.
  
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• Prince Harry's office asks for understanding over report Markle's father won't attend wedding

  14-05-2018 22:52
  Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle asked for "understanding" for the father of the American actress after the U.S. celebrity news site TMZ reported on Monday he would not attend the couple's glittering wedding in Britain this weekend.TMZ said Thomas Markle had decided not to attend the marriage of his daughter to the prince, who is Queen Elizabeth's grandson, because he did not wish to embarrass the royals after media reports that he had staged paparazzi photographs."This is a deeply per
  
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• Labour frontbencher clarifies call for referendum on final Brexit deal

  14-05-2018 22:44
  A Labour frontbencher has been forced to issue a clarification after appearing to call for a referendum on the final Brexit deal.Preet Gill, a shadow international development minister, said she "agreed that a people's vote" on the terms was "an absolute must".The group announced on Sunday it had the backing of 120 elected student leaders representing nearly one million students for a "people's vote" on the final Brexit deal.
  
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• Meghan Markle's father will not attend royal wedding – report

  14-05-2018 22:13
  Thomas Markle, 73, is meant to walk his daughter down the aisle at St George’s Chapel when she marries Prince Harry.Meghan Markle’s father may not attend her wedding, it has emerged, just five days before he was due to walk her down the aisle.Doubts that Thomas Markle Sr, 73, father would give his daughter away on Saturday followed claims by US celebrity website, TMZ, that he was pulling out amid allegations he cooperated with a Los Angeles based photo agency to stage pictures of him
  
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• Palace admits 'difficult situation' on Meghan's dad ahead of royal wedding

  14-05-2018 22:12
  Kensington Palace asks for "understanding" ahead of the royal wedding amid reports Meghan Markle's father will not attend."This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding," said a palace spokesman.Reports first appeared in TMZ earlier on Monday that the former Hollywood lighting director, 73, had decided not to appear at Windsor Castle on Saturday after being left "deeply embarrassed" by the release of pictures that appeared to show him colluding with photographers.
  
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• May tries to charm MPs in bid to avoid party split over post-Brexit customs plan

  14-05-2018 21:40
  Theresa May has held private meetings for dozens of Conservative backbench MPs in an effort to get them onside with her customs union plans ahead of another crunch meeting of her Brexit inner cabinet on Tuesday.The prime minister summoned nearly all of her parliamentary party to briefings to try to explain the two options for customs arrangements with the European Union amid fears the issue would continue to divide the party.Several MPs who attended the meetings insisted that May and her senior
  
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• May tries to charm MPs in bid to avoid party split over customs plan

  14-05-2018 21:40
  Theresa May has held private meetings for dozens of Conservative backbench MPs in an effort to get them onside with her customs union plans ahead of another crunch meeting of her Brexit inner cabinet on Tuesday.The prime minister summoned nearly all of her parliamentary party to briefings to try to explain the two options for customs arrangements with the European Union amid fears the issue would continue to divide the party.Several MPs who attended the meetings insisted that May and her senior
  
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• Palace says no comment on report Markle's father won't attend wedding

  14-05-2018 21:08
  Prince Harry's office declined to comment on Monday on a report by U.S. celebrity news site TMZ that the father of his U.S. fiancee Meghan Markle would not attend the couple's glittering wedding in Britain on Saturday.TMZ said on Monday that Thomas Markle had decided not to attend the marriage of his actress daughter to the British prince, who is Queen Elizabeth's grandson, because he did not wish to embarrass the royals after media reports that he had staged paparazzi photographs."We have got n
  
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• Sturgeon quips about Donald Trump's penchant for Irn Bru

  14-05-2018 20:57
  Scotland's leader on Monday weighed into row over the banning of Irn Bru, Scotland's most popular soft drink, in Donald Trump’s luxury golf resort, quipping that she was sure the U.S. president liked the luminous orange drink."I'm pretty sure Donald Trump is a lover of Irn Bru," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said at an event at Thomson Reuters in London."He is very keen to proclaim his Scottish connections, his mother was born on the Scottish islands, so I'm sure he likes Irn Bru
  
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• Mother threatened to tear up teenager's passport if she did not marry, court told

  14-05-2018 20:44
  The girl, who is now 19, said she cried through a wedding ceremony and begged her mother for help after being forced into the 2016 marriage in Pakistan, four years after her pregnancy.Wiping away tears, she told Birmingham crown court how she felt like an “object that could be moved from place to place” and feared her mother would be angry and disappointed if she did not comply with her wishes.
  
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• Labour shortlists candidates for Lewisham East byelection

  14-05-2018 20:30
  The four candidates are hoping to win the seat vacated by Heidi Alexander, who resigned as an MP to take up a role as London’s deputy mayor for transport.A former Ken Livingstone adviser, an anti-Transatlantic trade treaty activist, Lewisham’s deputy mayor and a former mayoral candidate have been shortlisted by Labour for the election to succeed Heidi Alexander in Lewisham East.Labour’s national executive committee has shortlisted Claudia Webbe, Brenda Dacres, Janet Daby and Sa
  
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• Spain and Catalonia could learn from Scotland, Sturgeon says

  14-05-2018 20:08
  LONDON (Reuters) - Spain and Catalonia could learn lessons about how to handle independence movements from Scotland, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday, adding that she was concerned by the Spanish authorities' treatment of some politicians.
  
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• Scotland's leader quips about Donald Trump's penchant for Irn Bru

  14-05-2018 20:08
  Scotland's leader on Monday weighed into row over the banning of Irn Bru, Scotland's most popular soft drink, in Donald Trump’s luxury golf resort, quipping that she was sure the U.S. president liked the luminous orange drink."I'm pretty sure Donald Trump is a lover of Irn Bru," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said at an event at Thomson Reuters in London."He is very keen to proclaim his Scottish connections, his mother was born on the Scottish islands, so I'm sure he likes Irn Bru
  
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• UK not being pushed out of EU satellite programme, Barnier says

  14-05-2018 20:06
  The UK would still be able to use the satellite’s encrypted signal, pending an agreement.The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has insisted the UK is not being pushed out of the Galileo satellite navigation programme but said “little progress” had been made in recent talks on the UK’s EU exit.Barnier said British participation in the EU satellite programme would have to change as a result of Brexit.
  
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• Cornwall fisherman in dramatic rescue after shark bite

  14-05-2018 20:06
  A fisherman was bitten on the leg by a shark after hauling the animal on to his boat off the coast of Cornwall.The man, named locally as Max Berryman, was part of a crew that caught the porbeagle shark at about 8.15am on Sunday.The 21-year-old was trying to put the animal back in the sea when it attacked him, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.
  
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• Up next is Nicky, Nick and David: the new Brexit supergroup

  14-05-2018 19:53
  ‘Never underestimate the narcissism of former politicians who fail to realise that the public is no longer interested in what they have to say’.“Hello Tilda,” Morgan yelled, before segueing seamlessly into her greatest Brexit hits.Miliband and Clegg then got to do their brief solos, which more or less echoed what Morgan had already said.
  
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• Grenfell rally demands urgent removal of flammable cladding

  14-05-2018 19:48
  Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have urged ministers to urgently strip flammable cladding from hundreds of tower blocks across the country, saying it is unacceptable that people still live in homes wrapped in materials similar to those that burned so fiercely on 14 June 2017.Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle died in the blaze, and Natasha Elcock, who escaped from the 11th floor, made the demand at a rally in Parliament Square attended by people who escaped the blaze and the families of victims.Th
  
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• Baroness Tessa Jowell remembered by MPs: 'She was the best of us'

  14-05-2018 19:47
  Baroness Tessa Jowell has been honoured by MPs as "the embodiment of empathy" after she died of brain cancer over the weekend.A Tessa Jowell "global symposium" was also announced to bring experts together to help battle brain cancer and government funding for research into the disease was doubled to £40m.Leading the tributes, Prime Minister Theresa May called Baroness Jowell's political achievements "outstanding".
  
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• Scottish independence is never off the table, Sturgeon says

  14-05-2018 19:46
  Scottish independence will never be off the table until it happens, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday.Sturgeon, speaking at Thomson Reuters in London, said that just under half of the Scottish electorate still supported independence."There will be different opinions as to whether we should do that now or in five years or ten years time, but with that body of opinion, a constitutional option like independence is not going to be off the table," she said.
  
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• Introduce mental health checks for new mothers, ministers told

  14-05-2018 19:22
  The NCT found 42% of new mothers said their perinatal problems were not picked up at the six-week health check.New mothers should receive a mental health checkup six weeks after giving birth to help tackle possible postnatal depression and other problems related to having a baby, ministers have been told.A cross-party group of 60 MPs and peers have written to Steve Brine, the minister for public health and primary care, demanding that all mothers in England have an assessment of their emotional
  
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• Introduce mental health checks for new mothers, experts urge

  14-05-2018 19:22
  The NCT found 42% of new mothers said their perinatal problems were not picked up at the six-week health check.New mothers should receive a mental health checkup six weeks after giving birth to help tackle possible postnatal depression and other problems related to having a baby, ministers are being urged.A cross-party group of 60 MPs and peers have written to Steve Brine, the minister for public health and primary care, demanding that all mothers in England start to undergo an assessment of the
  
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• Theresa May Urged To Reverse 'Absurd' Move To Block Settlement Of Turkish Businesspeople

  14-05-2018 19:02
  Theresa May has been urged to reverse an "absurd decision" to remove a path to
  
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• 'The clock is ticking' - EU warns Britain of poor Brexit progress

  14-05-2018 18:50
  The European Union on Monday warned Britain time was running out to seal a Brexit deal this autumn and ensure London does not crash out of the bloc next March, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May.The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told 27 ministers of the bloc meeting in Brussels on Monday that "no significant progress" had been made in negotiations with London since March, the Bulgarian chairwoman of the talks said.Diplomats and officials in Brussels have raised doubts about
  
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• Iran nuclear crisis: What next?

  14-05-2018 18:45
  Iran nuclear crisis: What next?
  
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• MH370 Captain Zaharie Shah 'Planned Deliberate Murder-Suicide Mission'

  14-05-2018 18:39
  The captain of flight MH370 carefully planned a murder-suicide mission and
  
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• Boris Johnson says companies must remain confident in doing business in Iran

  14-05-2018 18:34
  Boris Johnson has called on Iran to stick to its nuclear agreement with the UK, France and Germany in a bid to protect companies fearful of being penalised for doing business there.The announcement by Donald Trump thatthe US would pull out of the agreementcame with the restoration of sanctions against Tehran,including six individuals and three companiesit claims are funnelling millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force.Foreign firms engaging in trade in Iran have a
  
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• Why your social media is covered in gammon

  14-05-2018 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  Comparing ham to the complexion of angry middle-aged white men is the latest internet culture battle.
  
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• Club 18-30: Are millennials responsible for its downfall?

  14-05-2018 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  The rise of "ego travel" and social media has been blamed for the decline of package clubbing holidays.
  
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• Boris Johnson backs post-Brexit customs relationship plans after branding one of them 'crazy'

  14-05-2018 17:56
  Boris Johnson has insisted he backs Theresa May's stance on a customs relationship with the EU after Brexit.The Foreign Secretary spoke out after facing calls to resign for saying one of the two options being considered by Downing Street was "crazy".It comes ahead of the Government's "war cabinet" meeting on Tuesday to thrash out the proposals.
  
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• Immigration enforcers 'will not use Windrush taskforce information'

  14-05-2018 17:46
  Sajid Javid and Theresa May are under pressure to ensure information collected to deal with the Windrush scandal is not passed on to immigration enforcers.The prime minister has pledged that information received by a taskforce set up to deal with the fallout from the Windrush scandal will not be passed on to immigration enforcement.In a letter received on Monday by David Lammy MP, Theresa May said the taskforce helpline has received more than 8,000 calls, of which more than 2,700 have been ident
  
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• BAFTA stars 'passionately' back Time's Up campaign

  14-05-2018 17:44
  The issues of inequality and sexual harassment have been brought to the fore this awards season following the Harvey Weinstein scandal.Host Sue Perkins opened the ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall by joking about the gender pay gap.
  
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• O'Key aims to emulate Lidl to fill Russian retail niche

  14-05-2018 16:58
  O'Keyhopes its Russian discounters can mirror the rise in Europe of German-owned chains Lidl and Aldi as Russian consumers count their pennies, its chief executive said.Russia's economy has returned to growth after two consecutive years of recession sparked by a drop in oil prices and sanctions, but shoppers are watching prices closely."Price starts to be more important, but this is part of education and development of clients, not because they have less money," Miodrag Borojevic told Reuters in
  
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• UK-based sport streaming service adopts Netflix model after $1bn deal

  14-05-2018 16:43
  Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promotes fighters including the world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua (left).The Netflix and Amazon model that has revolutionised entertainment TV viewing is being brought to the world of sport, as a London-based streaming service looks to take on the giants of pay-TV.Few British viewers will have heard of DAZN, pronounced “Dazone” and part of the sports media group Perform, but the business sent shockwaves through the sports world last
  
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• How long are you going to live?

  14-05-2018 16:43 via bbc.co.uk
  Use our calculator to see where you are on the global life expectancy scale.
  
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• The hamster-based celeb game which is delighting and frustrating Twitter

  14-05-2018 16:39
  Whose head is Hammy on?
  
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• US citizens are standing up against poverty – the UK should follow suit

  14-05-2018 16:35
  The Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, at the National Civil Rights Museum last month, announcing six weeks of non-violent ‘direct action’. Photograph: Mark Humphrey/AP
  
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• British woman 'drugged and gang raped' in Italian holiday resort Sorrento

  14-05-2018 16:28
  Arrest warrants have been issued for five hotel workers after a British woman was allegedly drugged and gang raped in Italy.The 50-year-old tourist is said to have been attacked in the holiday resort of Sorrento in October 2016.The woman contacted police in Kent on her return to the UK and DNA testing was ordered.
  
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• IMF presses German government to invest more to reduce trade surplus

  14-05-2018 16:22
  The International Monetary Fund on Monday stepped up pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to help reduce Germany's high trade surplus by further increasing its public investment.Germany should also consider pension reforms to lengthen working lives, mitigating the need for workers to save so much for retirement and lower the risks of old-age poverty, the Fund said.The IMF and the European Commission have long urged Germany to boost domestic demand by lifting wages and investment to
  
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• Royal wedding: Here's where Harry and Meghan will spend night before the big day

  14-05-2018 16:04
  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will stay in separate hotels in the Windsor area on the night before the royal wedding, Kensington Palace has confirmed.Harry will stay at the Dorchester Collection's Coworth Park in Ascot, Berkshire, with his brother and best man Prince William.It has also been revealed that the couple will attend a garden party marking the Prince of Wales' 70th birthday patronage celebration just days after their wedding on Saturday 19 May.
  
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• Russia's Rosneft plans to announce share buyback details in June

  14-05-2018 15:56
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rosneft , Russia's top oil producer and one of the biggest globally, plans to reveal share buyback details in June, CFO Pavel Fyodorov said in a conference call on Monday.
  
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• Alfie Evans funeral: Hundreds line procession route to pay respects to toddler

  14-05-2018 15:55
  Hundreds of tearful mourners threw flowers and applauded as a hearse carrying 23-month-old Alfie Evans passed his father's favourite football club.Members of the public and "Alfie's Army" said their goodbyes to the youngster on Monday as his funeral procession passed Everton's Goodison Park ground ahead of a private burial in Liverpool.One card read: "Alfie.
  
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• Johnson backs May's position over EU customs' plans

  14-05-2018 15:27
  British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has described proposals for a customs partnership with the European Union after Brexit as "crazy", said on Monday he backed Prime Minister Theresa May's stance on the issue.May has said Britain would leave the EU's customs union and the "customs partnership" which would see Britain essentially collect tariffs on behalf of the EU in order to keep trade with the bloc flowing freely, is said to be her preferred plan for its replacement.Writing in a newsp
  
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• How to deal with waste dumped on your land

  14-05-2018 15:25 via bbc.co.uk
  More than a million incidents of fly-tipping were reported in England last year.
  
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• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to stay at separate hotels on eve of wedding

  14-05-2018 15:24
  Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle will stay at separate hotels in the Windsor area on the night before their wedding, Kensington Palace said."Prince Harry will stay at the Dorchester Collection's Coworth Park.
  
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• Victims of crime being handed over to immigration enforcement

  14-05-2018 15:18
  There are fears the disclosure about migrant victims of crime being handed over could discourage others from coming forward.Migrant victims of crime are being handed over to immigration enforcement officials by police when they report crimes, figures show.Of 45 police forces asked about the practice of handing over victims’ details, more than half said they did, three said they did not, while the rest either did not reply, did not give a clear yes or no, or said they did not have informati
  
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• UK firms face greater corruption risk after Brexit, National Crime Agency warns

  14-05-2018 15:17
  British firms trading abroad are at greater risk of being drawn into corruption after the UK leaves the European Union, law enforcement officials have warned.
  
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• Shell, Eni trial on Nigeria corruption re-adjourned to June

  14-05-2018 15:10
  The trial of top executives from oil majors Eniand Shellover alleged corruption in Nigeria kicked off on Monday with a brief procedural hearing and a decision to re-adjourn next month.At the next hearing, set for June 20, the Milan court said it would assess requests from third parties, including a series of international non-profit organisations, to join the case.At Monday's hearing Domenico Cartoni Schittar, a lawyer representing the Nigerian government, said he was stepping down from his role
  
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• Hard Brexit could force part of Tilda's Essex mill to close

  14-05-2018 15:00
  Tilda, one of the UK’s most popular rice brands, has said some of its business is at risk if the country withdraws from the customs union and single market.The company’s joint managing director Umesh Parmar said the theory favoured by Brexiters that short-term pain was worth the sacrifice for the long-term gain of free trade deals around the world was misguided.Tilda employs 250 people and exports 30% of milled rice at the 24-silo plant in Rainham and its nearby ready-meal plant.
  
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