General news

• Love Island accused of 'emotional abuse' as hundreds complain to Ofcom over episode

  02-07-2018 22:52
  Love Island has been accused of "emotional abuse and bullying" after a contestant was left in tears upon being shown a clip of her partner reacting to the arrival of an ex.Dani Dyer was devastated when she watched a clip of boyfriend Jack Fincham, who is currently living separately from her as part of the show, reacting to Ellie Jones entering the hit reality TV programme.Jack and Dani got together in the first stages of the hit series, and have since delighted viewers with their blossoming roma
  
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• Tory differences over UK's post-Brexit future spill into the open

  02-07-2018 22:23
  The prime minister, Theresa May, has promised to publish a long-awaited Brexit white paper next week, adding it will include Northern Ireland and customs proposals.Theresa May came under pressure to spell out her new “third way” customs proposals on a day when Conservative differences over the country’s post-Brexit future spilled into the open ahead of a crucial cabinet summit.Downing Street indicated it had produced a fresh model for the UK’s post-Brexit trading arrangem
  
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• Maybot launches PM VR to construct alternate Brexit reality

  02-07-2018 21:30
  Theresa May gives a statement to the Commons about last week’s EU summit.Right now, not even Theresa May wants to be Theresa May. Some might argue she never did.There is no area of the government that is running effectively and with the prime minister’s personal authority utterly diminished by her own incompetence, the cabinet is now bound by collective irresponsibility.
  
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• Boris Johnson defends Jacob Rees-Mogg as Brexit infighting intensifies

  02-07-2018 21:15
  Boris Johnson has leapt to the defence of Jacob Rees-Mogg after the leading Brexiteer was rounded on by fellow Conservative MPs.The MP for North East Somerset has been widely attacked for demanding Prime Minister Theresa May "stand firm for what she herself has promised", prior to crunch cabinet discussions on the PM's plan for a future UK-EU relationship.Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan was among those who hit out at Mr Rees-Mogg's "insolence" in "lecturing and threatening" the PM, stati
  
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• May wants future customs relationship with EU by end of 2020

  02-07-2018 21:14
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she wanted a future customs relationship with the European Union in place by the end of 2020 so that a backstop arrangement for the border between the north and south of Ireland would not be required.Ahead of a meeting of UK ministers later this week a report said officials had drafted a new option for how to handle customs with the European Union."I am very clear that we should be doing everything that we can to ensure that at the end of December 2020 w
  
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• May close to lifting fuel duty freeze to help meet NHS promises

  02-07-2018 20:59
  The government is close to lifting its eight-year long freeze on fuel duty to raise billions of pounds to help meet pressure from cabinet ministers to boost public spending while also continuing to reduce the deficit.An inflation-linked increase would raise £800m extra for Treasury coffers next year – and billions more over subsequent years – to help pay for Theresa May’s promise to spend an additional £20bn on the National Health Service by 2023, a pledge which the
  
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• Brexit weekly briefing: the crunchiest crunch time yet

  02-07-2018 20:42
  The PM’s fudge supplies may finally be running out. Photograph: Niklas Halle'N/AFP/Getty Images
  
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• UK weather: Scotland records its highest ever temperature

  02-07-2018 20:12
  Last month saw the highest temperature ever recorded in Scotland and was the driest June on record in parts of England.A temperature of 33.2C was provisionally recorded by the Met Office in Motherwell, Scotland, on 28 June - breaking the previous high of 32.9C set in August 2003 at Greycrook in the borders.Mean temperatures made last month the warmest June on record in Northern Ireland and Wales, and the fourth warmest in Scotland and England.
  
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• Girl found dead on Scottish island named as Alesha Macphail

  02-07-2018 20:02
  A girl found dead on the Scottish island of Bute is believed to be six-year-old Alesha Macphail, police have said.The child was reported missing from her home in Rothesay at 6.25am on Monday.Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston, from Police Scotland's major investigation teams, said: "This death of a six-year-old child has shocked the tight-knit community of Rothesay and it is imperative that we find out what has happened.
  
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• Police appeal after six-year-old's body found on Isle of Bute

  02-07-2018 19:53
  Floral tributes near a house on Ardbeg Road on the Isle of Bute after officers found the body of Alesha MacPhail in Rothesay.Police have appealed for help investigating the unexplained death of a six-year-old girl whose body was found in woodland on the Isle of Bute.Detectives confirmed the body of Alesha MacPhail had been found on Monday morning near her home in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute in the Clyde, around two and a half hours after she was reported missing.
  
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• The UK’s shameful collusion in torture

  02-07-2018 18:54
  The government itself identified years ago why an independent judicial inquiry should be established to investigate the allegations of collusion by the UK security and intelligence agencies in rendition and torture (Report, 29 June).When David Cameron appointed Peter Gibson to run such an inquiry in July 2010, the then PM said that an intelligence and security committee (ISC) investigation would be inadequate to secure public confidence.Now we see that he was right, but not because of any I
  
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• British PM May gets new customs idea as party bickers over Brexit

  02-07-2018 18:53
  British Prime Minister Theresa May's advisers have come up with a new proposal for handling customs with the EU after Brexit as lawmakers in her party bicker before a crunch meeting of senior ministers on Friday.With less than nine months left before the country leaves the European Union, little is clear about how trade will flow as May is still trying to produce a customs plan that her divided Conservative Party can agree on.May, who leads a minority government dependent on the support of a sma
  
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• Man accused of killing his date in speedboat accident absent as trial starts

  02-07-2018 18:29
  Charlotte Brown died from cold water immersion and intoxication after being pulled from the Thames.Jack Shepherd, 30, is accused of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, known to her friends as Charli.Brown, a business development consultant from Welling, south-east London, had met Shepherd, a web developer, on a dating site.
  
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• Man gets stuck up 32ft lamppost in Handsworth, Birmingham

  02-07-2018 18:23
  A man had to be rescued by firefighters after getting stuck at the top of a lamppost in Birmingham.The man scaled the 10m (32ft) lamppost at a junction near Handsworth, and then sat on the light fixture with his bare legs and feet dangling for around an hour.West Midlands Fire Service used a 13.5m (45ft) ladder held in place by metal posts and a hydraulic platform to carry out the rescue.
  
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• Temasek, RRJ Capital invest in airline caterer Gategroup

  02-07-2018 18:18
  ZURICH (Reuters) - Gategroup said Singapore state investor Temasek and RRJ Capital have joined its owner HNA Group [HNAIRC.UL] as investors in the Swiss-based airline caterer.
  
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• Thailand Cave Rescue: Missing Boys Found Alive After Nine Days

  02-07-2018 18:16
  All 12 missing boys and their assistant coach have been found alive after nine
  
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• UK PM May to EU - Parliament will reject exit deal without clarity on future relationship

  02-07-2018 18:13
  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she warned European Union leaders last week that the British parliament will not approve Britain's EU exit deal unless there is clarity on what its future relationship with the bloc will look like."I warned EU leaders I do not think this parliament will approve the withdrawal agreement in the autumn unless we have clarity about future relationship alongside it," May told parliament.
  
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• UK weather: Hot Scots make June warmest ever

  02-07-2018 17:39
  Last month saw the hottest temperature ever recorded in Scotland and was the driest June on record in parts of England.Some areas received only 6% of expected rainfall, with Middlesex getting just 0.7mm, Essex 1.7mm and Dorset 2mm.A temperature of 33.2C was recorded in Motherwell, Scotland, on June 28 - comfortably breaking the 32.9C set in August 2003 at Greycook, on the borders.
  
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• Ex-football coach Bob Higgins 'threatened alleged victim'

  02-07-2018 17:22
  A former youth football coach accused of sexually abusing schoolboy players told one alleged victim he would call up his “gangster brother” if the youngster reported an alleged indecent assault.Bob Higgins, who worked at Southampton and Peterborough United, told the player his brother could make people “go missing”.The complainant, who can only be named as W, also claimed Higgins used to mention names of famous players he had worked with, such as the former England captai
  
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• Bay City Rollers guitarist Alan Longmuir dies at 70

  02-07-2018 17:11
  Bay City Rollers guitarist Alan Longmuir has died at the age of 70.The band's frontman, Les McKeown, tweeted a picture of him with the message: "RIP Alan Longmuir.Longmuir's family say he had an "extraordinary heart" and described himself as "just a plumber from Edinburgh who got lucky".
  
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• Andy Burnham calls for more support to tackle Lancashire wildfires

  02-07-2018 17:01
  Firefighters from Tyne and Wear fire and rescue service tackle the fire on Winter Hill near Bolton.The government will be asked to provide more resources, potentially including air support, to tackle a huge moorland blaze in Lancashire as firefighters struggled to contain existing wildfires across Greater Manchester.The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said he would be asking the home secretary, Sajid Javid, to “take a closer interest” in the huge fires that ignited eight d
  
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• WhatsApp adds group chat option for only admins to send messages

  02-07-2018 16:36
  Your primary use of WhatsApp might be group chatting with friends around the globe. But the Facebook-owned app has also become an important vehicle in delivering news and information. WhatsApp released an update on Friday that adds an option to have only admins to send messages in group chats. This could be useful for people and groups that use WhatsApp as a way to send mass updates, and to cut down on noise and clutter. SEE ALSO: Facebook is pushing 'transparency' hard, but it's becoming a crut
  
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• Academic's widow asks inquest why his killer was armed and free

  02-07-2018 16:26
  The widow of an academic stabbed to death by a stranger outside their north London home has demanded to know why her husband’s attacker, who had a mental illness, was “armed and at liberty” after previous charges against him were dropped.Jeroen Ensink, 41, a water engineer and senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was “stabbed by somebody he didn’t know when he was posting some cards announcing the arrival of his first baby”, t
  
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• Corporals died in tank blast after officer given 'guest experience', inquest hears

  02-07-2018 16:23
  A Challenger 2 tank, similar to that in which Cpls Matthew Hatfield and Darren Neilson died.Two soldiers were killed in an explosion in a tank on a British firing range after a warrant officer was given a “guest experience” ride in the armed vehicle, an inquest was told.No written authorisation had been given for the guest experience, a vital piece of equipment was not in place in the tank and charges were apparently not stowed correctly away, the inquest was told.
  
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• A new project displays 20,000 weird archaeological finds from Amsterdam’s canals

  02-07-2018 16:20
  Rubbish can tell a pretty incredible story about a city.
  
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• Body found in search for girl, 6, on Isle of Bute

  02-07-2018 16:18
  Police searching for a missing girl, 6, on the Isle of Bute have launched an investigation after finding a body in woodland.The child, from Rothesay on the Scottish island, was reported missing at 6.25am on Monday."At around 6.25 this morning, police were informed a six-year-old girl was missing in Rothesay," a spokeswoman for Police Scotland said.
  
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• Government accused of misleading parents over schools' success

  02-07-2018 16:06
  The government claims 1.9 million more children are in good or outstanding schools than in 2010.A former statistician at the Department for Education (DfE) has accused the government of misleading parents over school improvement by using a “flawed” figure to claim progress.Jon Andrews, who worked in the department for 13 years, said the government’s favourite claim that “1.9 million more children are in good or outstanding schools than there were in 2010” misreprese
  
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• Outnumbered: Hugh, Claire and six more couples who met on screen

  02-07-2018 16:01 via bbc.co.uk
  The stars of BBC sitcom Outnumbered are a real-life item. Who else decided to be friends first?
  
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• Defence secretary requests more funding

  02-07-2018 15:15
  Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson says any increase to the defence budget should reflect the scale of changing threats.
  
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• Should Love Island surgery ads be banned?

  02-07-2018 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  The head of NHS England is concerned cosmetic surgery adverts in Love Island put pressure on viewers.
  
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• US steps up pressure on UK military spending - but Downing St won't commit

  02-07-2018 15:05
  Downing Street will not say whether the UK will continue to be Europe's biggest-spending military power, despite a challenge from the US to boost Britain's defence budget.In a leaked letter, US defence secretary James Mattis has written to his UK counterpart Gavin Williamson to express concern Britain's status as a leading military power "is at risk of erosion".Mr Williamson is currently lobbying Downing Street and the Treasury himself for more cash for the UK's armed forces, as part of a Whiteh
  
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• Shares slide on trade war, German coalition concerns

  02-07-2018 14:39
  A renewed slump in Chinese shares and a sobering set of global factory surveys sucked world markets lower on Monday, while the euro and Mexican peso were both jolted by political developments.It was the first trading day of the new month, quarter and half-year but there was no let up for bruised investors after the worst start to a year for world shares since 2010.Europe suffered a thud too, with the STOXX 600 share index dropping as much as 1 percentand the euro down 0.5 percent to $1.1630as di
  
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• Norfolk 'bouncy castle explosion': Girl, 3, who died in Norfolk was from Suffolk

  02-07-2018 14:37
  A little girl who died after a bouncy castle "exploded" in Norfolk was a three-year-old from Suffolk, it has been confirmed.A post-mortem is due to take place into her death on Monday afternoon following the tragedy on Gorleston beach in Norfolk on Sunday morning.Norfolk Police said: "A Home Office post-mortem is due to take place this afternoon to determine the cause of her death.
  
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• 'Relieved' Chris Froome to race in Tour de France after being cleared over asthma drug

  02-07-2018 14:31
  Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome has spoken of his relief after being cleared of any wrongdoing over his asthma drug.The investigation into his use of salbutamol began in September, when Froome returned a urine sample during the Vuelta a Espana for twice the permitted level.The presidents of both the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) agreed on Saturday morning that the Team Sky rider had no case to answer.
  
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• Social work is booming worldwide – because it's proven to work

  02-07-2018 14:27
  Costa Rica’s model encourages all people to be involved with shaping their social services.Social work is the fastest-growing profession internationally – and in many countries, statistics point towards its significant further expansion.In the US, for example, despite cuts to public administration by the Trump government, the Bureau of Labour Statistics predicts a 16% growth of the profession between 2016 and 2026.
  
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• Cameron 'personally requested Obama's back of the queue Brexit warning'

  02-07-2018 14:15
  A former key aide to Barack Obama has confirmed David Cameron personally asked the US president to warn Britain would be "back of the queue" for a post-Brexit trade deal.Ben Rhodes, an ex-White House adviser, admitted Mr Obama's dramatic intervention in the EU referendum campaign came at the personal request of the former prime minister.In April 2016, two months before the Brexit vote, the former president used a visit to London to caution the UK would not be a priority for a trade deal with Ame
  
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• People are loving this extreme sunbather sat on a sofa on the beach in Scotland

  02-07-2018 13:48
  The beach-goer took a leather sofa to Portobello Beach in Scotland for a day in the sun.
  
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• Grenfell inquiry told how 13-metre ladder was used to rescue pair

  02-07-2018 13:43
  Firefighters rescued two men trapped on the fifth floor of Grenfell Tower by propping a 13.5-metre (45ft) ladder against the outside of the building, the inquiry into the fire has been told.Thomas Abell, who drove one of the first pumps to arrive at the scene in the early hours of 14 June last year, said in a statement there was no sign of smoke or flames at that stage.“I remember thinking: ‘This is going up like rocket fuel,’” Abell said.
  
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• Barclays shifting 50 jobs to Frankfurt as Brexit planning accelerates

  02-07-2018 13:43
  Barclays has begun shifting 40 to 50 investment banking jobs from Britain to Frankfurt as part of its plans to continue doing business in the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc in 2019, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.Banks are pressing ahead with shifting jobs to Europe, in preparation for a 'worst case' scenario where Britain fails to secure a Brexit deal with the EU that would allow banks to continue serving Europe from London.A spokesman for Barclays declined to comm
  
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• Fellow Tories accuse Rees-Mogg of trying to blackmail PM on Brexit

  02-07-2018 13:41
  Jacob Rees-Mogg chairs the European Research Group of pro-Brexit Tory MPs.Conservative ministers and backbenchers have rounded on Jacob Rees-Mogg, calling the leading Brexiter’s threats to the prime minister “hectoring nonsense and blackmail”.Two Foreign Office ministers, Alistair Burt and Alan Duncan, publicly rebuked Rees-Mogg after he wrote a Telegraph article warning Theresa May she risked splitting her party like Sir Robert Peel did when pushing through changes to trade po
  
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• Urgent appeal for sun cream, socks and hats for moors fire crews

  02-07-2018 13:38
  Fire crews working to put out fires on moorland in Greater Manchester are in urgent need of sun cream, insect repellent, hats and socks.More than 100 firefighters are still tackling unprecedented blazes in Tameside and Bolton in temperatures which are expected to stay at around 27C (80F) this week.Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) tweeted an appeal for donations for the crews: "We are in urgent need of the following at Stalybridge Community Fire Station, SK15 1RF: - Sun cream -
  
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• New NHS app will let patients book GP visits online

  02-07-2018 13:32
  NHS patients in England will be able to book GP appointments using a new smartphone app by the end of the year, the government says.The app will offer patients a way to access their medical records, view test results, request repeat prescriptions and even set their organ donation status.The Department of Health's ultimate vision is of "a future where patients across the country will be able to secure a GP appointment with the click of a button, rather than having to join a queue of callers attem
  
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• British app-bank Monzo counts cost of growing popularity

  02-07-2018 13:28
  Digital bank Monzo, whose distinctive coral-coloured card has become a common feature in the wallets of young, tech savvy and mainly urban Britons, could hit 1 million users within months.To succeed in taking on Britain's big banks, Monzo needs customers to treat it as their main account, where they deposit their salary and pay their bills.At present only 1 in 5 of its users deposit their salary, with average balances of 1,400 pounds per month, its chief executive Tom Blomfield said.
  
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• Islington Stabbing Sees Two Teenagers Arrested On Suspicion Of Attempted Murder

  02-07-2018 13:26
  Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following
  
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• May gets new customs idea as party bickers over Brexit

  02-07-2018 13:09
  British Prime Minister Theresa May's advisers have come up with a new proposal for handling customs with the EU after Brexit as lawmakers in her party bicker before a crunch meeting of senior ministers on Friday.With less than nine months left before the country leaves the European Union, little is clear about how trade will flow as May is still trying to produce a customs plan that her divided Conservative Party can agree on.May, who leads a minority government dependent on the support of a sma
  
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• Brexit: Jacob Rees-Mogg faces backlash after warning to Theresa May

  02-07-2018 13:05
  Tensions between Conservative MPs have blown up into a bitter public battle between Remainers and Leavers ahead of a critical week for Theresa May.With cabinet ministers due to make key decisions on Brexit on Friday, the prime minister has seen Tory backbenchers and junior ministers launch an attack on their Leave-supporting colleagues.Meanwhile, Mrs May's top team has been told to quit government if they cannot back the prime minister in delivering a Brexit deal that acknowledges the concerns o
  
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• UK Weather Forecast: Thunderstorms Possible As UK Enjoys Hot Spell

  02-07-2018 12:54
  Parts of England could be lashed by thunderstorms and heavy rainfall today as
  
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• NHS 70: The biggest struggle in 70 years

  02-07-2018 12:45
  The head of the NHS has told Sky News the health service is tackling big challenges of staff shortages and an ageing population.
  
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• Minister hints at longer Brexit transition

  02-07-2018 12:45
  Greg Clark says "any reasonable person" would consider extending the Brexit transition - but the Tories are at war over the issue.
  
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• UK PM May's spokesman refuses to comment on reported new post-Brexit customs plan

  02-07-2018 12:43
  A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said he would not speculate about Brexit policy options ahead of a meeting of ministers later this week, after a report said officials have drafted a new way of handling customs with the European Union."There is going to be a lot of speculation between now and Chequers, some of it might even be true, but I'm not going to engage in it in advance of the away day taking place," the spokesman told reporters on Monday.
  
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