General news

• UK heatwave: Hottest day of year as temperatures soar

  26-07-2018 21:48 via bbc.co.uk
  Temperatures hit 35C as the Met Office predicts the UK's all-time record could be beaten this week.
  
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• Teenage boy missing after going into sea at Clacton

  26-07-2018 21:41 via bbc.co.uk
  One boy has already been rescued by emergency services after entering the water.
  
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• Brexit: Barnier rules out key UK customs proposal

  26-07-2018 21:27 via bbc.co.uk
  The EU's chief Brexit negotiator rejects a key element of Theresa May's proposals for future trade.
  
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• UK halts co-operation with US over Islamic state suspects

  26-07-2018 21:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh could be tried in the US and face the death penalty.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn facing growing calls to solve Labour's antisemitism crisis

  26-07-2018 20:36
  Senior party members join Jewish newspapers in making criticisms Jeremy Corbyn is facing mounting pressure to tackle the party’s crisis over antisemitism after three Jewish newspapers jointly condemned the party, with two shadow cabinet members among a series of seniorfigures calling on the Labour leader to change course. Related: Jewish newspapers claim Corbyn poses 'existential threat'Continue reading...
  
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• A secret tape, a rightwing backlash: is Michael Cohen about to flip on Trump?

  26-07-2018 20:35
  Judging by the change of tone in rightwing media about Trump’s former aide – where he has been branded ‘The Rat’ – the White House seems to think Cohen will strike a deal with prosecutorsFor months, the political world has hung on the question of whether Donald Trump’s former aide Michael Cohen would cut a deal with federal prosecutors to spill the beans on the president. Related: Trump's 'pay with cash' offer on Cohen tape could spell fresh peril for presiden
  
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• Over $118bn wiped off Facebook's market cap after growth shock

  26-07-2018 20:26
  Shares crash as platform admits user growth fell after Cambridge Analytica breach More than $110bn (£84bn) has been wiped off Facebook’s market value, which includes a $16bn hit to the fortune of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, after the company told investors that user growth had slowed in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
  Facebook’s shares had plunged 18% by Thursday afternoon in New York, a day after the Silicon Valley company revealed that 3 million users in Europe
  
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• 18-year-old UK snowboarder dies

  26-07-2018 20:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Ellie Soutter, one of Britain's most talented young snowboarders, died on her 18th birthday on Wednesday.
  
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• Scottish football's child protection policies labelled 'inadequate'

  26-07-2018 20:17
  • Report calls for a culture change across football community• Moves to safeguard young players are ‘slow and random’Scottish football’s child protection policies have been criticised in a damning report which calls for a comprehensive culture change across the country’s footballing community.The independent inquiry, commissioned by the Scottish Football Association in December 2016 following allegations of historic abuse spanning decades, published its interim
  
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• House of Fraser rescue deal faces delay while legal action is settled

  26-07-2018 20:09
  Investor C.banner is concerned about challenge to restructure terms brought by landlordsHouse of Fraser faces the threat of a cash squeeze after a key Chinese investor warned of a delay to a planned rescue deal following a legal challenge in Scotland.One industry source said that suppliers were already beginning contingency planning for a collapse into administration of the retailer as, without a cash injection, House of Fraser could struggle to pay its rent bill due at the end of September. Con
  
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• Jamie Porter’s England call-up is reward for consistent quality at Essex | Chris Stocks

  26-07-2018 20:05
  25-year-old seamer’s impact on the county circuit makes him one of the most deserving Test selections of recent yearsFrom working as a recruitment consultant to being recruited by England. And all in less than five years. It’s been some journey for Jamie Porter. The 25-year-old Essex seamer became one of the most deserving England call-ups of recent years when he was named in the England squad for next week’s first Test against India at Edgbaston.Porter’s rise has followe
  
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• Martin Rowson on Brexit bafflement in the heatwave – cartoon

  26-07-2018 20:01
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• Michel Barnier kills off Theresa May's Brexit customs proposals

  26-07-2018 19:51
  EU’s chief Brexit negotiator says UK ministers’ attempts to appeal to individual leaders are ‘waste of time’Michel Barnier has warned that attempts to appeal to EU leaders over his head were a waste of time as he rejected Theresa May’s proposals on customs after Brexit, in effect killing off the Chequers plan.Against a backdrop of British cabinet ministers travelling across Europe to persuade governments of the benefits of the proposals, the EU’s chief Brexit
  
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• Don’t whine at Adil Rashid over his switch from white to red | Vic Marks

  26-07-2018 19:46
  There is anger in Yorkshire at spinner’s absence from county’s T20 campaign, but it should be directed at England selectorsWhatever the names of the spin bowlers announced by Ed Smith they were less likely to cause Virat Kohli and his fellow batsmen sleepless nights than the heatwave. The selectors opted for Moeen Ali and, more surprisingly, Adil Rashid, which betrayed their short-term expediency.They would surely not have taken this course if the first Test was at Headingley, such i
  
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• Virgin Media v ITV: state of play in the battle

  26-07-2018 19:42
  Questions arising from the dispute that could lead to ITV channels disappearing from cable platformWhat is the nature of the dispute between ITV and Virgin Media?
  The dispute dates back more than a year when a change in legislation relating to Virgin Media led ITV to believe it should be able to charge the cable company tens of millions of pounds a year to carry its flagship ITV channel, home to shows ranging from Victoria to The X Factor.Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on the heatwave: our climate is endangered | Editorial

  26-07-2018 19:42
  Adapting to hotter temperatures is sensible – but ignoring their causes is dangerousThe NHS is experiencing a “summer crisis”, with increased emergency admissions and uncomfortable conditions in buildings not equipped for the heat, while the Met Office has warned that the UK temperature record of 38.5C could be broken on Friday. Authorities in Greece are dealing with the aftermath of devastating wildfires that killed at least 85 people, while efforts to control blazes in Sweden
  
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• Did the UK government do a dirty deal with Trump over the Isis suspects? | Ben Emmerson

  26-07-2018 19:42
  The decision to help the US was unlawful and unconstitutional. Theresa May should open a public inquiry into what happenedUnder immense legal and political pressure the government caved in and is beating a tactical retreat on its decision to help the US convict and potentially execute two Islamic State terrorism suspects, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh.Earlier this week, Sajid Javid’s decision to help the US became public. And now the government’s legal department has given la
  
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• The Guardian view on Pakistan’s elections: Imran Khan’s real test is coming | Editorial

  26-07-2018 19:41
  Opposition parties rejected the outcome even before official results were in. What will Mr Khan do – and be able to do – with the victory he has just claimed?Imran Khan says that he has won the election in Pakistan, and is poised to fulfil his long-pursued ambition to lead the country. Projections give his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party a commanding lead, but opponents of the cricket star turned populist politician are unanimous in rejecting the outcome. Though the startling delay in
  
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• May accused in high court of deserting international law principle

  26-07-2018 19:39
  Quiet ministerial code rewrite draws ire from human rights campaignersHuman rights campaigners have challenged the prime minister in the high court, accusing her of abandoning the longstanding principle that members of the government should be bound by international law.In a hearing in the court of appeal on Wednesday, campaigners from the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) argued that ministers had abandoned their commitment to abide by international law after quietly rewriting the ministerial
  
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• Tory ideology behind attacks on our schools | Letters

  26-07-2018 19:25
  Readers respond to a Guardian leader on government education policy and the new education secretary’s pledge to improve support for teachersYour leader on education (Teachers need a pay rise. But Tory damage to schools goes deeper, 23 July) makes many trenchant criticisms of government policy, but, to my mind, misses the most important objection of all. These policies have been deliberately designed to dismantle the national system of education. That is why there are now seven different ty
  
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• Greece wildfires: authorities blamed for high death toll

  26-07-2018 19:21
  Defence minister is heckled on visit to devastated village of Mati as number of dead rises to 85Grief has turned to fury in Greece, where victims of the deadliest wildfires in more than a decade are blaming an inept state apparatus for the scale of the disaster.In Mati, the coastal village almost entirely obliterated by the blaze, the defence minister, Panos Kammenos, was heckled on Thursday as authorities announced that the death toll had risen to 85. Residents, who had lost loved ones and home
  
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• Maestro Pep Guardiola gets a sweet tune from his smooth operators | Simon Burnton

  26-07-2018 19:19
  Sade’s 1984 soul hit has proved a suitable soundtrack to Manchester City’s sexy football under their Spanish managerFew people know the secrets behind Pep Guardiola’s managerial success as well as Domènec Torrent, who worked as the Spaniard’s assistant at Barcelona B, with the Catalan club’s first team, at Bayern Munich and finally at Manchester City before, after 11 years, leaving his mentor’s side this summer to take over at New York City. This w
  
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• Paul McCartney review – secret tour down memory lane in Liverpool

  26-07-2018 19:11
  Cavern, Liverpool
  Classic Beatles songs come along like buses during this jolly surprise gig at the club synonymous with BeatlemaniaAlthough Paul McCartney became, in 1964, the last Beatle to move away from his home town, lately he doesn’t seem to be able to keep away from the place. Last month he played an impromptu gig at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms pub on Hope Street, where he entertained disbelieving drinkers with Fab Four and Wings classics. Then – for a special edition of the
  
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• Yes, school exclusions are up. But zero-tolerance policies are not to blame | Tom Bennett

  26-07-2018 19:08
  Asking schools to keep on disruptive pupils is wrong-headed. Progress lies in more positive, respectful environmentsThe education select committee this week claimed that rising rates of school exclusions amount to a “scandal”. MPs pointed the finger at several culprits for the growing number of children being temporarily or permanently excluded from school, most notably the rise of so-called “zero tolerance” behaviour policies. Related: "Wild west" system of school exclus
  
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• Household debt in UK 'worse than at any time on record'

  26-07-2018 19:01
  British household finances among most indebted in major western countries, ONS saysBritish households spent around £900 more on average than they received in income during 2017, pushing their finances into deficit for the first time since the credit boom of the 1980s. The Office for National Statistics said the shortfall amounted to nearly £25bn – equal to almost a quarter of the NHS budget – and the overspend was mostly paid for with borrowed money, though households als
  
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• UK heatwave: England's parched landscape from the air

  26-07-2018 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  England's green and pleasant lands are turning brown.
  
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• Italian police clear Roma camp despite EU ruling requesting delay

  26-07-2018 18:49
  Rome evictions seen as latest victory for far-right interior minister, who rallies against minorityPolice in Rome have cleared nearly 400 people, including dozens of children, from a camp inhabited for years by members of the minority Roma community, despite an EU court ruling halting demolition.Residents stood outside the camp with mattresses and other belongings piled alongside vehicles, some protesting against the move with chants of “racists!” Continue reading...
  
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• Human Rights Watch: testosterone limit for female athletes is discrimination

  26-07-2018 18:48
  • Body calls for IAAF to scrap new rules on hyperandrogenism
  • IAAF ‘forcing women to have unnecessary interventions’Human Rights Watch has accused the International Association of Athletics Federations of discriminating against female athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone and urged the governing body to scrap its hyperandrogenism rule.From 1 November, female athletes who race between 400 metres and a mile and have at least five nanomoles of testosterone per l
  
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• Charlotte Brown: Man guilty of first date speedboat death

  26-07-2018 18:48 via bbc.co.uk
  Charlotte Brown, 24, died after falling in the River Thames on her first date with Jack Shepherd.
  
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• Tommy Hilfiger's new clothing line will monitor use and give 'rewards'

  26-07-2018 18:47
  Tommy Jeans Xplore items contain a bluetooth chip that will also track customers’ locationClothing stores have long employed all kinds of sneaky behaviour to make you want buy their products. The store assistants tell you you look fantastic in everything, the changing mirrors make you look skinnier, they play music that encourages people to make more purchases. Then often when you get home, those trousers don’t look so good after all, and they stay at the back of your closet forever
  
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• Stephen Port: Officers refuse to answer watchdog's questions

  26-07-2018 18:43 via bbc.co.uk
  Met officers ignored early chances to catch serial killer Stephen Port who murdered four young men.
  
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• Lions attack sole rhino survivor of bungled Kenyan park relocation

  26-07-2018 18:37
  Ten black rhinos died last month in Tsavo East park due to conservation officers’ negligenceThe only rhino to survive a bungled relocation to a Kenyan wildlife park has been attacked by lions, Kenya’s tourism minister, Najib Balala, has said. Ten out of 11 black rhinos died last month in their new home in Tsavo East national park after being moved by the state wildlife service, prompting protests from conservation groups around the world. Continue reading...
  
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• Home Office suspends cooperation over US death penalty threat for Isis pair

  26-07-2018 18:35
  Temporary concession comes after mother’s legal challenge seeking to quash Sajid Javid’s decisionThe Home Office has bowed to pressure over two British-raised jihadis facing the possibility of execution in the US by temporarily suspending cooperation with the American authorities over the case, lawyers have said.Although it is only a temporary concession, it marks the first breach in the UK government position. The Home Office could be forced to extend the suspension pending the outc
  
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• Farmers across UK braced for heavy rain and thunderstorms

  26-07-2018 18:29
  Sudden weather change after weeks of drought could cause flooding and crop damageFarmers across many parts of the UK are bracing themselves for thunderstorms and outbursts of heavy rain after weeks of drought and high temperatures.The sudden change in the weather, expected to affect eastern areas hardest but spreading to the north and Midlands over Friday, is likely to cause problems of flooding and potential crop damage. Continue reading...
  
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• Rightmove sorry for 'special favours' ad for Birmingham house

  26-07-2018 18:22 via bbc.co.uk
  A two-bedroom house was advertised for a female tenant with "reduced rent for special favours".
  
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• Spotify beats expectations by reaching 83m subscribers

  26-07-2018 18:09
  Music streaming service posts positive figures in face of competition from Apple and AmazonSpotify recorded an 8m rise in its number of paid subscribers in the second quarter as it attempts to stave off mounting competition from deep-pocketed rivals Apple and Amazon.The music streaming service said the number of monthly paying subscribers, which account for the bulk of its revenue, rose to 83m at the end of June from 75m in the first three months of 2018, more than double Apple’s last-repo
  
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• Tour de France: Arnaud Demare shrugs off Andre Greipel row to win stage 18

  26-07-2018 18:08
  • French sprinter holds off Christophe Laporte to win in Pau
  • Geraint Thomas stays in yellow after keeping out of troubleArnaud Demare has won stage 18 after a bunch sprint finish in Pau, holding off Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) and Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Team Emirates) to earn his first stage victory of this year’s Tour.The Groupama-FDJ rider brushed off an online row with rival sprinter Andre Greipel, who accused the Frenchman of using race vehicles to make it up the final cl
  
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• DIY London: partying on the periphery

  26-07-2018 18:02
  Faced with ever-stricter licensing laws in the capital, a raft of organisers are keeping clubland alive by taking their experimental communities to the fringesIt has been two years since it felt as if London’s nightlife had truly hit rock bottom. Countless clubs had closed – Plastic People, Madam Jojo’s, The End, Dance Tunnel to name a few – climaxing in summer 2016, when superclub Fabric temporarily lost its licence over drug deaths, a high-profile case that threw the su
  
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• China's long game to dominate nuclear power relies on the UK

  26-07-2018 17:53
  Approval of Chinese nuclear technology in the UK would act as a springboard to the rest of the worldChina wants to become a global leader in nuclear power and the UK is crucial to realising its ambitions.While other countries have scaled back on atomic energy in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, state-backed Chinese companies benefit from the fact that China is still relying on nuclear energy to reach the country’s low-carbon goals. Continue reading...
  
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• 'It felt like we'd got the golden ticket': Paul McCartney plays Cavern club

  26-07-2018 17:48
  Beatles fans tune into Twitter to find ticket location of McCartney’s gig at Liverpool venueRead Dave Simpson’s review of the gigGordon Smith was visiting his brother in Manchester on Wednesday night when he first saw rumours online that there was to be a secret Paul McCartney gig at Liverpool’s Cavern club the next day. By about 8am on Thursday, the 21-year-old student from Edinburgh, and Beatles mega-fan, was waiting in line outside the venue for a ticket.He joined the queue
  
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• Too much? Vast haul of Spice Girls mementos goes on display

  26-07-2018 17:37
  Alan Smith-Allison’s huge trove ranges from costumes and cups to crackers and crispsA superfan’s jaw-dropping collection of Spice Girls memorabilia is to go on a UK tour of 12 cities. It includes costumes, dolls, flasks, lunch boxes, plates, cups, Christmas crackers, toys, biscuits and cushions.There are also cake toppers, jigsaws, radios, magazines, Easter eggs, Pepsi cans, drinking glasses, handbags, three Aprilia mopeds and dozens of packets of Walkers crisps. Continue reading...
  
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• School exclusions: Inside a Pupil Referral Unit

  26-07-2018 17:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Reece is 13 and has been excluded six times. He now attends a Pupil Referral Unit.
  
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• Imran Khan claims victory in Pakistan elections

  26-07-2018 17:35
  Former cricketer strikes unifying tone after campaign marred by violence and vote that opponents say was riggedThe former international cricket star Imran Khan has declared victory in Pakistan’s general election, hailing what he described as “the fairest” vote in the country’s history, despite widespread allegations it was rigged in favour of his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.In a televised address to the nation from his house in Bani Gala, a wealthy suburb of Islamabad, Kh
  
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• Was James Gunn the first undeserving victim of Hollywood’s new zero-tolerance policy?

  26-07-2018 17:34
  The director of the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films was dismissed from the third movie after outrage over bad-taste Twitter jokes he made between 2008 and 2011. Did he deserve to go – or was it a witch-hunt?In a film industry that has become rife with hasty, face-saving, PR-vetted apologies, James Gunn’s read more sincerely than most. “My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative,” said the director of
  
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• 'Billy can live a normal life': families react to medicinal cannabis move

  26-07-2018 17:26
  Families of children with epilepsy welcome easing of rules but warn there is work to doCharlotte Caldwell, whose son Billy became the symbol of the campaign to make cannabis-based medicinal products available on prescription, has welcomed Sajid Javid’s climbdown on the issue because Billy will now be able to live “a normal life”.But while families that have been campaigning for children living with epilepsy to get access to medicinal cannabis have welcomed the news, they warned
  
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• Conor McGregor avoids jail time with plea deal for Brooklyn melee

  26-07-2018 17:23
  McGregor will face no jail time for melee at event in AprilLack of probation means UFC star’s visa will be unaffectedThis time, Conor McGregor didn’t put up a fight.
  The mixed martial arts star pleaded guilty on Thursday to disorderly conduct and will perform five days of community service to resolve charges stemming from a backstage melee at a New York City arena in which he was caught on camera hurling a hand truck at a bus full of fighters. Continue reading...
  
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• Sir Cliff Richard: BBC agrees to pay £850,000 towards legal costs

  26-07-2018 17:21 via bbc.co.uk
  The BBC was also seeking leave to appeal against the privacy case ruling but it has been refused.
  
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• Century-old Cardiff post box 'a safety risk'

  26-07-2018 17:21 via bbc.co.uk
  Royal Mail said the post box's door could no longer be opened safely because of overgrown roots.
  
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• Medicinal cannabis products to be legalised

  26-07-2018 17:19 via bbc.co.uk
  It follows high-profile cases involving children with severe epilepsy being denied access to cannabis oil.
  
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• Police seek moped driver who gave lift to dying teenager

  26-07-2018 17:16
  Driver left stabbed 18-year-old near King’s College hospital in south LondonPolice are searching for the driver of a moped who dropped a teenager dying from stab wounds off on a street near a hospital in south London.A murder investigation has been opened into the killing of the 18-year-old, who was the 16th teenager to have been murdered this year in the city. Continue reading...
  
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