General news

• Suella Braverman 'disappointed' with Rwanda ruling

  29-06-2023 16:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Court of Appeal judges rule the government's plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda are unlawful.
  
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• Russia-Ukraine war live: Wagner mercenaries will no longer fight in Ukraine; Putin greets crowds in rare walkabout

  29-06-2023 14:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Group’s chief refuses to sign contracts with Kremlin, says head of Duma defence committee; Russian president poses for selfies in DagestanWagner mutiny has weakened Putin, says Scholz, as Russian president makes rare public visitSee all our Russia-Ukraine coverageSuspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that the distribution of humanitarian aid in Nevske in the Ukraine-controlled portion of Luhansk has been paused after Russian shelling.It cites the regional governor Artem Lyso
  
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• UK’s privatisation model under fire amid Thames Water crisis; squeezed households run down savings – business live

  29-06-2023 14:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsThames Water in crisis talks over potential £10bn black holeEnvironmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey says Thames Water’s financial woes have exposed that the industry is “very financially fragile”.Sharkey told Radio 4’s Today Programme that failures in the regulatory system and political oversight had led to the current crisis.We’ve seen the symptoms of it, in terms of the sewage crisis, in terms of Lon
  
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• The Ashes 2023: England v Australia, second Test, day two – live

  29-06-2023 14:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Play at Lord’s continues on day two at 11am BST/8pm AESTAny thoughts? Email Geoff or tweet @GeoffLemonSportAnd here is the Test Match Special overseas listening link.It’s fundraising day at Lord’s in memory of Ruth Strauss, who passed away in 2018. The funds will contribute to lung cancer research and supporting families whose loved ones have the disease. Most people are wearing red today in honour of the project. Continue reading...
  
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• Aspartame sweetener to be declared possible cancer risk by WHO, say reports

  29-06-2023 14:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Artificial sweetener used in thousands of products reportedly to be labelled ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’A popular artificial sweetener used in thousands of products worldwide including Diet Coke, ice-cream and chewing gum is to be declared a possible cancer risk to humans, according to reports.The World Health Organization’s cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has conducted a safety review of aspartame and will publish a report nex
  
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• France police shooting: Macron holds crisis meeting as officer investigated

  29-06-2023 14:11 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 150 arrested overnight amid growing anger at shooting of 17-year-old during traffic stopA police officer involved in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy has been placed under formal investigation – akin to being charged – for voluntary homicide, as Emmanuel Macron struggled to contain mounting public anger over the killing.The French president held a crisis cabinet meeting on Thursday after a second night of unrest and rioting across France in which public buildings wer
  
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• Braverman plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda unlawful, appeal court rules

  29-06-2023 14:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Rishi Sunak announces government will seek supreme court appeal, but Labour says policy is unravelling after judges’ decisionUK politics live – latest updatesCourt of appeal judges have ruled that it is unlawful to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed, in a judgment that delivers a potential hammer blow to government policy.Rishi Sunak said in a statement that the government would now seek permission to appeal against the decision at the supreme court as he in
  
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• Slovakian anti-corruption official arrested in corruption inquiry

  29-06-2023 14:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Head of Agricultural Payment Agency held in investigation into alleged misuse of EU and state fundsA high-ranking official appointed to root out corruption in a key Slovakian agency has been arrested by police investigating corruption, in a case said to highlight the country’s ongoing struggle to reform its institutions.Josef Kiss, the general director of the Agricultural Payment Agency, was one of five high-level officials detained and then released without charge by officers working on O
  
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• Alexis Tsipras to step down as Syriza leader after Greek election rout

  29-06-2023 14:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Leftwing opposition leader who was prime minister during eurozone crisis says ‘this is a painful decision’Greece’s leftwing opposition leader, Alexis Tsipras, has announced he is to step down after a crushing election defeat.Tsipras served as Greece’s prime minister from 2015 to 2019 during politically tumultuous years as the country struggled to remain in the eurozone and end a series of international bailouts. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘We are ashamed’: protesters gather in Helsinki over ministers’ far-right links

  29-06-2023 14:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Several hundred people protest against new rightwing administration’s austerity and immigration-cutting programme “We are scared and ashamed and terrified,” said Sofi Hakkinen, with her arm slung around her boyfriend’s neck outside the Finnish parliament. “This is not supposed to be happening, but it is.”Hakkinen was one of several hundred – mainly young – people who gathered outside Finland’s parliament on Wednesday evening to protest at the
  
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• The best films about AI – ranked!

  29-06-2023 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Will artificial intelligence destroy humanity? That remains to be seen. For now, gen up on the dangers and delights with this selection of movies Forget the more recent TV show, which ended up so frustratingly opaque as to render it pointless. The most fun version of Westworld is Michael Crichton’s original movie. A robot cowboy comes to life and goes nuts in a theme park. What more could anyone need? Continue reading...
  
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• Tory MPs tried to interfere with Johnson probe - report

  29-06-2023 13:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nadine Dorries and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg are among MPs criticised for attacking investigation into ex-PM.
  
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• Bridgend medical supplies plant closure risks 540 jobs

  29-06-2023 13:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Medical manufacturing firm Zimmer Biomet says it will end production in Bridgend.
  
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• Undercover policing unit tactics not justified, says report

  29-06-2023 13:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Undercover policing inquiry's first report says unit should have been disbanded early on.
  
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• UK households withdrawing savings at fastest ever rate, official figures show

  29-06-2023 13:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Bank of England data shows families drew on £4.6bn in May to help them cope with the cost of living crisisUK households are pulling money out of their savings accounts at the fastest rate ever recorded, as they draw on rainy day funds to weather the cost of living storm.Figures from the Bank of England show households withdrew a net £4.6bn from banks and building societies in May, the highest level of withdrawals since it started collecting the monthly data in October 1997. Continue
  
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• What is the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda?

  29-06-2023 13:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Court of Appeal has ruled the government's Rwanda policy is unlawful.
  
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• Rwanda policy: Government to appeal ruling in Supreme Court

  29-06-2023 13:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government suffers a setback as judges say Rwanda is not a safe third country for asylum seekers.
  
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• Ex-Metropolitan Police officer jailed for raping woman

  29-06-2023 13:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ireland Murdock's victim said she was worried he would come to her house following the attack.
  
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• David Ejimofor: Inquest held into teenager who died after pier jump

  29-06-2023 13:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  David Ejimofor was described as an "exemplary pupil" and is said to have jumped off a pier.
  
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• Brexit hampered Scotland's pandemic plan, Nicola Sturgeon says

  29-06-2023 13:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The former first minister and her deputy are facing questions on how they handled the pandemic.
  
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• NHS workers: have you left the health service in the last year?

  29-06-2023 13:40 via theguardian.com
  
  We would like to hear from NHS workers who left their jobs in the last yearThree in 10 NHS staff in England often think of quitting, the health service’s 2022 survey found, amid high levels of burnout, stress and shortages of staff. The figure is at a five-year high.We would like to hear from NHS workers who left their jobs in the last year. What were your reasons for leaving? Continue reading...
  
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• UN expert calls for arms embargo on Haiti amid gang violence

  29-06-2023 13:37 via theguardian.com
  
  William O’Neill says ‘survival of a nation’ is at stake and also calls fordeployment of an international forceA UN official has called for an immediate arms embargo for Haiti and an intervention force to combat endemic gang violence in the Caribbean state, after the killings of more than 200 gang members in recent months.William O’Neill, who was appointed in April as an expert on human rights in Haiti, added his voice to growing calls for an international intervention in
  
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• Chloe Mitchell had warm and generous heart, mourners hear

  29-06-2023 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A live stream of the thanksgiving service was shown on a large screen in Ballymena.
  
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• PJ Harvey: I Inside the Old Year Dying review – a disquieting escape into the wilds of Dorset

  29-06-2023 13:32 via theguardian.com
  
  (Partisan)
  Enigmatic and occasionally disturbing, the songwriter adapts her own book of poetry into a rough-edged LP full of potency and atmosphereThe last time the world of music heard from Polly Harvey was more than seven years ago, in the spring of 2016. Brexit had yet to happen, Barack Obama was still president, and the 53-year-old was on a world tour, albeit the kind of tour the late PJ O’Rourke conducted to research his 1988 opus Holidays in Hell, rather than the kind that involves r
  
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• Bargain hunters bolster UK sales at B&M and H&M

  29-06-2023 13:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Upbeat figures from discounter and fashion chain follow similar updates from Next and PrimarkShoppers searching for ways to trim their budgets have boosted sales at the discounter B&M and the fashion chain H&M in the latest sign of resilient trading on Britain’s high streets.B&M said sales rose 9.2% at its core UK stores with trade in both groceries and non-food doing well. Continue reading...
  
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• Plymouth shootings: Government responds to coroner's recommendations

  29-06-2023 13:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Policing Minister Chris Philp rejects other recommendations made by the coroner.
  
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• Dining across the divide: ‘He made me realise I’m woke – I thought it was a negative thing’

  29-06-2023 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A Tory and a Labour voter share a love of mid-century furniture, but will they agree on the government’s levelling up fund?Rebecca, 48, BristolOccupation Marketing assistant Continue reading...
  
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• Meta oversight board orders firm to take down video by Cambodian leader

  29-06-2023 13:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Board overturns decision to leave up Facebook video of Hun Sen threatening opponents with violenceMeta’s content moderation board has ordered the social media company to take down a video of the Cambodian prime minister threatening his political opponents with violence, and urged it to suspend his Facebook and Instagram accounts.The oversight board, whose decisions on content are binding, overturned Meta’s decision to leave up a video on Facebook in which Hun Sen issued a number of t
  
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• ‘You could smell the teargas’: Nanterre estate reeling after night of unrest

  29-06-2023 13:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Residents emerge to broken glass and burnt-out cars as France struggles to contain anger over police shooting of teenage boyOn the Pablo Picasso housing estate in Nanterre on Thursday morning, smoke was still rising from the smouldering, twisted carcasses of dozens of burnt-out cars.Shards of glass were spread across pavements from smashed bus stops, which children on scooters tried to dodge, and there was an overpowering stench of burning tyres and melted tarmac. After hours of clashes between
  
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• Government heat pump scheme misses first year target

  29-06-2023 13:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Heat pump costs, poor insulation and lack of workers hinder scheme but industry remains positive.
  
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• Man filmed being punched by Queensland police officer charged with drink driving

  29-06-2023 13:12 via theguardian.com
  
  The 25-year-old also charged with obstructing police, assaulting police and resisting a public officer after incident in BrisbaneA man captured on video being repeatedly punched by a police officer was allegedly drunk and failed to follow directions, according to Queensland police.The 25-year-old from Warner in Brisbane’s north faces drink driving and other charges after the incident last week which raised concerns over the officer’s conduct. Continue reading...
  
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• England will enjoy having a target on their backs at World Cup, says Toone

  29-06-2023 13:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Forward believes Lionesses will thrive on pressure‘We believe in ourselves as a squad’Ella Toone believes England’s players will embrace the pressure of travelling to the Women’s World Cup “with a target on their backs” after their triumph at Euro 2022. Sarina Wiegman’s side are second favourites behind the holders, USA, despite losing their 30-match unbeaten record in a friendly against Australia at the end of April. They will face Portugal on Saturday
  
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• Julian Sands' brother on 'overwhelming' tributes after actor's death

  29-06-2023 13:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nick Sands says anyone who knew his brother would appreciate the family's "great loss".
  
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• ‘Spy cops’ operations against leftwing groups unjustified, inquiry finds

  29-06-2023 13:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Report says officers collected details of activists’ sexuality and bank accounts and operations should have been shut down• What is the ‘spy cops’ scandal and why was inquiry set up?Undercover operations to infiltrate leftwing groups in the 1970s and early 1980s were not justified and should have been closed down, a retired judge leading a public inquiry has concluded.In a critical report published on Thursday, Sir John Mitting found that undercover police officers collect
  
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• Tour de France 2023: full team-by-team guide

  29-06-2023 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Our in-depth look at every team, the main riders to watch and the cast of characters racing through France this summerStage-by-stage guide to this year’s Tour de FranceVeteran French Tour battlers notorious for wearing brown shorts. Their Australian climber Ben O’Connor had a nightmare in 2022, ripping a muscle in a crash, but O’Connor is back on form this season so they need a repeat of his 2021 feats, with Paret-Peintre and Cosnefroy likely to target hilly stages. Continue re
  
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• The failed Wagner coup shows Vladimir Putin’s regime remains stubbornly strong | Anatol Lieven

  29-06-2023 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Russian leader’s show of mercy towards Yevgeny Prigozhin was not a sign of weakness but a shrewd moveMuch of the western analysis of the events in Russia last weekend has concluded that Vladimir Putin displayed his weakness by allowing Yevgeny Prigozhin and other Wagner group commanders to depart peacefully for Belarus, and the rank-and-file to join the Russian army or retire to their homes. Of course, if Putin had in fact crushed the revolt by force and executed its leaders, commentat
  
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• Bee swarm moved from bin of Glasgow city centre bar

  29-06-2023 12:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A swarm of 20,000 bees which forced the closure of a Glasgow bar has finally been moved on after three days.
  
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• Marion Bartoli: ‘Wimbledon made me and Wimbledon saved me’

  29-06-2023 12:53 via theguardian.com
  
  The 2013 singles winner on being in hospital with anorexia, running a marathon despite not training and what Emma Raducanu should be thinking aboutThe first Thursday of this year’s Championships will mark 10 years since Marion Bartoli’s finest day, when the French woman won the Wimbledon title, the culmination of an outstanding and colourful career. Bartoli was two-handed on both sides and was famous for her eccentric pre-point routines. She won eight titles and was ranked in the wor
  
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• Bus fare or food? The support workers trying to fix England’s school absence crisis

  29-06-2023 12:49 via theguardian.com
  
  The charity School-Home Support is working with families to overcome the hurdles some face in sending children to schoolOne in 10 GCSE-year pupils absent each dayFleur, 13, and 12-year-old Rowan are two of the tens of thousands of children at the centre of the school attendance crisis in England. Fleur’s mental health was so poor she has missed more than half of her education. Rowan’s attendance was little better at 59%.Rowan lives with his mother and two younger brothers. Home life
  
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• ‘I wanted to play but my hand wouldn’t move’: making an album with Parkinson’s

  29-06-2023 12:46 via theguardian.com
  
  When musician Samuel Smith received a life-changing diagnosis he decided to make the record he’d always dreamed of – and many of his Nashville heroes agreed to play on itIt was 3 December 2020 when I found out. For months I had been battling stiffness in my right arm. Now, the test results had come back from the lab. “You do know what’s going on here, don’t you?” my neurologist inquired, peering over the top of his notes. I could feel all the air being sucked
  
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• Drought likely in Cumbria and Lake District, government committee told

  29-06-2023 12:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Other summer hotspots such as Devon and Cornwall also likely to face problems, leaked minutes showCumbria and the Lake District are likely to be plunged into drought, minutes from the government’s National Drought Group reveal, with reservoir levels in the regions having dropped significantly.Other popular summer holiday destinations including Devon and Cornwall are also likely to be hit by water supply problems, the group heard, and holidaymakers may be be told to curb their us
  
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• Sexual harassment claims dealt with too slowly in politics, says Caroline Nokes

  29-06-2023 12:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Chair of Commons equality committee says she believes Daisy Goodwin’s allegations about Daniel KorskiSexual harassment complaints in parliament are dealt with too slowly and opaquely, the chair of the Commons equalities committee has said, after concerns were raised over a former Downing Street special adviser.Caroline Nokes said she believed Daisy Goodwin, who has accused Daniel Korski of touching her breast in No 10 in 2013. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘It burns wild and free up there’: Canada fires force US crews to shift strategy

  29-06-2023 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Different strategies in fighting wildfires have prompted new questions about best practices in the face of a global challengeDustan Mueller had come to expect the unexpected. The US Forest Service deputy fire chief had been deployed thousands of miles from home to battle an out-of-control blaze in the wooded bogs and swampland of Alberta, Canada.In the dry moisture-hungry forests of northern California he was used to, a favorably-timed rainstorm would likely mean an end to the fire. But in this
  
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• Glastonbury Festival crew member dies in tent on site

  29-06-2023 12:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The death of a man in his 40s is not being treated as suspicious, police say.
  
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• Andy Murray surprises Oxfordshire girl who uses tennis prosthetic

  29-06-2023 12:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Joanie, who was born with a congenital limb condition, uses the prosthetic to help her serve.
  
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• Skin disease in orcas off North American coast concerns scientists

  29-06-2023 12:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Lesions found on 99% of southern resident orcas studied on Pacific north-west coastScientists studying an endangered population of orcas resident off the Pacific north-west coast of Canada and the US have recorded a “strong increase” in skin lesions on the animals’ bodies, which they believe is owing to the decreasing ability of their immune systems to deal with disease.The lesions appear on the whales as grey patches or targets, or black pin points. Some resemble tattooed skin
  
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• Taxpayer cash must not be used to bail out Thames Water, says Feargal Sharkey

  29-06-2023 12:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigner says firm should be brought under public control using powers in original privatisation legislationCrisis-ridden Thames Water must not receive a penny of public money in a bailout as it faces rising costs on £14bn of debt, the water campaigner Feargal Sharkey has said.Sharkey, who has been crucial in raising public consciousness about the way privatised water companies are run, said he did not believe anyone in the UK would support using taxpayers’ money to prop up the com
  
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• What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman review

  29-06-2023 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A charming and deeply researched study of the science and cultural significance of this most mysterious of birdsIn her new book, Jennifer Ackerman, bestselling author of The Genius of Birds, takes us on a journey of discovery into the world of owls, exploring both their mystery and the new science that is revealing their complexity. Along the way, she introduces us to numerous species, from the tiny northern saw-whet owl, which lives in forests across North America and is as small as a robin, to
  
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• ‘There are more trans bans than trans athletes’: what’s driving anti-LGBTQ+ hate in America?

  29-06-2023 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Advocate Gillian Branstetter sees reasons for hope after four trans youth won a fight for healthcare in an Arkansas courtGillian Branstetter, a trans rights advocate, has watched in distress over the last year as lawmakers have eliminated fundamental protections for transgender people across the US.But last week she felt a rare moment of hope after four trans youth fought for their lives in Arkansas federal court – and won. Continue reading...
  
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• Suffolk lamb given wheels to stay mobile after legs fail

  29-06-2023 12:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Three-month-old Winnie's back legs stopped working shortly after birth but now she can still explore.
  
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