Political news

• Theresa May 'Rigging Parliament' With New Emergency Move To Curb Changes To Budget 2017

  27-11-2017 23:27
  Theresa May is facing fresh accusations of “rigging Parliament” with an unprecedented move to prevent MPs from changing legislation on the Budget.Labour attacked May’s latest “power grab” after it emerged that the Government will deploy a little-used procedural device to effectively eliminate any attempts to amend the Finance Bill.The tactic - which was unveiled as media attention was focused on the Royal engagement - will severely restrict MPs’ ability to sec
  
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• Corbyn becoming PM is 'worse threat to British business than Brexit', says bank

  27-11-2017 22:40
  Report by US investment bank Morgan Stanley says another general election is likely in 2018, and Labour winning could damage valuations of UK companiesThe prospect of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister is a more serious threat to British business than Brexit, the investment bank Morgan Stanley has warned.Morgan Stanley told investors that another general election towards the end of 2018 was likely once Theresa May’s government realised it could not secure the Brexit deal it wants and th
  
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• The Brexit 'impact assessment' row isn't going away

  27-11-2017 22:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour says Parliament is being kept "in the dark", because the impact assessments have been edited.
  
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• Hammond’s Budget tactics undemocratic, says Labour

  27-11-2017 22:05
  Tories close down route to changes owing to slim Commons majority
  
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• May faces Tory anger over extending Brussels ‘rule’

  27-11-2017 22:00
  New legislation will be required replicating ECJ during 2-year transition
  
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• May faces Tory anger over extending Brussels powers

  27-11-2017 22:00
  New legislation will be required replicating ECJ during 2-year transition
  
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• 9 Important Stories Buried By All That Royal Wedding News

  27-11-2017 21:58
  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement has dominated the news agenda, after the pair on Monday announced plans for a Spring wedding.Official word came from Clarence House just after 10 am, prompting near blanket coverage from newspapers, websites and TV news channels.But here are nine stories at home, abroad and at Westminster, that, on any other day, would be getting more attention.AT HOME AND ABROAD1. FIRST UK CIVIL CLAIM AGAINST WEINSTEINThe first civil claim against disgraced US m
  
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• 10 Important Stories Buried By All That Royal Wedding News

  27-11-2017 21:58
  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’sengagement has dominatedthenewsagenda, after the pair on Monday announced plans for a Spring wedding.Official word came from Clarence House just after 10 am, prompting near blanket coverage from newspapers, websites and TV news channels.But here are ten stories at home, abroad and at Westminster, that, on any other day, would be getting more attention.1. MILLIONS HAVE BENEFITS FROZEN, AGAINMillions are set to have their benefits payments frozen for anot
  
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• MPs attack David Davis for handing over edited Brexit reports

  27-11-2017 21:54
  Brexit secretary is criticised after releasing edited version of government-led analysis on how leaving EU will affect economy David Davis has been told he could be in contempt of parliament after his department heavily edited government analyses on the impact of Brexit on 58 industrial sectors before handing them to a select committee.Opposition MPs accused the Brexit secretary of leaving out “politically embarrassing” information after he refused to include anything deemed to be ma
  
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• Meghan Markle and Prince Harry give first television interview – as it happened

  27-11-2017 21:47
  Follow all the reaction after Clarence House announced that the couple are to marry in spring 2018
  Full report: Prince Harry to marry Meghan Markle
  ‘Wave of abuse’: how the couple endured unwelcome media scrutiny 8.47pm GMTWhat a day. You can read the full report by the Guardian’s Robert Booth here: Related: Prince Harry 'thrilled' after announcing he is to marry Meghan Markle The Prince of Wales has announced the engagement of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle. pic.twitter.co
  
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• Hard Brexit would hit 142 Irish cross-border agreements

  27-11-2017 21:11
  From heart surgery to special needs education to mobile phone charges, an EC and UK study has compiled a list of activities that will be hitA confidential study conducted by the UK government and the European commission has listed 142 cross-border activities on the island of Ireland that would be negatively impacted by a hard Brexit.
  They include heart surgery in Dublin for children from Northern Ireland as well as cancer treatment in Derry for people from the Republic because patients, clinicia
  
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• These 'Origami' Robot Muscles Can Lift 1000x Their Own Weight

  27-11-2017 21:00
  Imagine a robot that has superhuman strength and costs just a fraction of the robots we see today.Well researchers at MIT CSAIL and Harvard’s Wyss Institute have brought us one step closer to this reality by creating a range of origami-inspired robotic muscles.The artificial muscles might not look tough but they can lift 1000x their own weight and cost as little as $1 to manufacture.To give you some idea of just how strong that is it’s the equivalent of a 2.6 gram muscle lifting 3kg
  
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• Martin Rowson on the royal engagement – cartoon

  27-11-2017 20:59
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• Newcastle-under-Lyme election errors: Two officers suspended

  27-11-2017 20:39 via bbc.co.uk
  A council's mistakes meant almost 1,500 people could not vote in June's general election, a report says.
  
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• Needy defence secretary's blushes saved by royal engagement | John Crace

  27-11-2017 20:26
  Gavin Williamson found himself under friendly fire from his own MPs as he whined his way through defence questionsImagine the voice of a Johnny-No-Mates. A bloke with so little self-worth that he keeps a tarantula on his desk for company. That’s the shrill, nasal mewl of Gavin Williamson. Which might be perfect for the jobsworth bullying demanded of a chief whip, but is grating in a secretary of state for defence. Well before the end of his first defence questions in the Commons, MPs were
  
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• Needy defence secretary's blushes saved by royal engagement

  27-11-2017 20:26
  Gavin Williamson found himself under friendly fire from his own MPs as he whined his way through defence questionsImagine the voice of a Johnny-No-Mates. A bloke with so little self-worth that he keeps a tarantula on his desk for company. That’s the shrill, nasal mewl of Gavin Williamson. Which might be perfect for the jobsworth bullying demanded of a chief whip, but is grating in a secretary of state for defence. Well before the end of his first defence questions in the Commons, MPs were
  
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• Four key challenges raised by the UK’s new industrial strategy

  27-11-2017 20:25
  Experts welcome effort to fix productivity problems, but warn it is just a start
  
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• Scotland police responds to leadership crisis

  27-11-2017 20:12
  Acting head to set out response after suspension of leading officers
  
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• David Davis heading for row over Brexit sectoral papers

  27-11-2017 20:07
  Analyses edited down to one document before handing over to Commons committee
  
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• Prince Harry Reveals How Meghan Markle's Engagement Ring Is A Tribute To Princess Diana

  27-11-2017 20:02
  Meghan Markle wore a green crewneck dress by Italian brand P.A.R.O.S.H. for her first interview as Prince Harry’s fiancée.The couple revealed how Harry ensured that his mother’s presence would be felt throughout their wedding preparations, as they chatted to the BBC’s Mishal Hussein, hours after announcing Harry had proposed to the ‘Suits’ actress earlier this month.“The [engagement] ring is yellow gold because that’s her
  
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• The Guardian view on women’s refuges: they’re life savers | Editorial

  27-11-2017 19:57
  The UK government’s plans to change funding for supported housing won’t work. Victims of domestic abuse need a national schemeMore than a million people, most of them women, reported domestic abuse to the police last year according to the latest figures from the ONS. The “hidden crime” is slowly starting to emerge from behind locked doors and curtained windows. All the same, it is estimated that no more than half of all offences are reported, while successful prosecutions
  
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• Defence: Gavin Williamson warned of Tory revolt over cuts

  27-11-2017 19:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is told not to use a review as "camouflage" for a cut in manpower.
  
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• Keir Starmer: make funding for women's refuges mandatory

  27-11-2017 19:52
  Labour MPs warn that the government’s plans to remove refuges from the welfare system will put lives at riskKeir Starmer, the shadow cabinet member and former chief prosecutor, has called for mandatory funding for refuges amid criticism over a shake-up of funding for women’s services.Abuse survivors and charities have warned the lives of vulnerable women and children will be put at risk by government plans to remove refuges and other forms of short-term supported housing from the wel
  
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• Industrial strategy is welcome, but good intentions are never enough

  27-11-2017 19:48
  There’s much to like in the white paper, but credibility and longevity of approach hinges on how government is held to accountHurrah, the UK now has an industrial strategy – or, rather, a strategy that is designed to last longer than the next change of business secretary. We may also have conquered the national hang-up about government intervening to support business. And, on paper, there is now official acknowledgment that the geographically lop-sized state of the UK economy, and ou
  
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• Prime minister's convoy goes wrong way at roundabout

  27-11-2017 19:45 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May is filmed taking an alternative route to work as she leaves her Berkshire home.
  
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• The Irish question may yet save Britain from Brexit | Polly Toynbee

  27-11-2017 19:43
  Leo Varadkar is right to stand his ground over the Northern Irish border, and could yet force Theresa May’s handIt was always there for all to see, the great Celtic stone cross barring the way to Brexit. Finally, as crunch day nears, the government and its Brextremists have to confront what was always a roadblock to their fantasies. They pretended it was nothing. Reviving that deep-dyed, centuries-old contempt for the Irish, they have dismissed it with an imperial fly-whisk
  
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• Lords express doubt over serial stalker register

  27-11-2017 19:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Baroness Williams says another criminal register could "risk a disjointed response" to the crime.
  
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• Royal Wedding: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Reveal How They First Met

  27-11-2017 19:35
  Prince Harry has recalled the moment he knew he’d met “the one” in Meghan Markle, saying: “I was beautifully surprised and I thought I better up my game... sit down and have good chat.”In a candid interview with the BBC’s Mishal Hussein on Monday, Harry and Meghan revealed the moment the Prince popped the question - over a roast chicken dinner at his Kensington Palace cottage.“Trying to roast a chicken and it [was] just - just an amazing surprise,”
  
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• UK justice system failing defendants with mental health issues – charity

  27-11-2017 19:28
  Report by Justice suggests introduction of specialist prosecutors and a change to the defence of insanitySpecialist prosecutors should review all decisions to charge suspects with mental health vulnerabilities and the defence of insanity should be amended, a law reform charity has said. Related: Rise in prisoners moved to mental health hospitalsContinue reading...
  
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• Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Engagement: The Story Of How An Unlikely Royal Romance Blossomed

  27-11-2017 19:19
  When Meghan Markle started dating Prince Harry in 2016, the actress was barely known in the UK. After years spent breaking into the industry via a series of low-budget films and even a brief appearance on ‘Deal Or No Deal’, Meghan’s recurring role in ‘Suits’ brought her moderate levels of fame in the States.Here in the UK, she may have become recognisable to the legal drama’s devoted fans, but the fact programme aired on Dave, a channel best-known for its
  
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• Royal Wedding: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Pay Tribute To Diana In Touching Interview

  27-11-2017 19:10
  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have paid tribute to his late mother, Diana, in a touching interview, saying: “She’s with us”.Speaking to the BBC’s Mishal Husain on Monday, Harry and Meghan also revealed the moment the Prince popped the question - over a roast chicken dinner at his Kensington Palace cottage.“Trying to roast a chicken and it [was] just - just an amazing surprise,” Markle said. “It was so sweet and natural and very romantic. He got on one k
  
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• EU27 united in demanding 'more progress' on border in Brexit talks, says Irish foreign minister - Politics live

  27-11-2017 18:48
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenNo 10 lobby briefing - SummaryAfternoon summary 5.47pm GMTIf it is true that the reports they are handing over have already been redacted or edited, this would be against the spirit and the letter of parliament’s motion.It would show once again how desperate ministers are to hide the facts about Brexit from parliament and the public. The select committee must be given the analyses which were completed and nothing less
  
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• RIP Sir Noel The Christmas Dog - An FASD Love Story

  27-11-2017 18:36
  Once in a while you encounter a being so pure that you simply have to believe.Four years ago, our youngest son was struggling.  He was in Year 5. At great cost to himself he gave everything he had at school, at home, in clubs. But he walked every day in world that didn’t understand him. None of us understood yet that his behaviours were symptoms of undiagnosed brain damage caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol.He asked and he asked for a dog. He wanted a friend. Someone who would be
  
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• How Social Media Helped Me Fight Depression

  27-11-2017 18:36
  I’ve read lots recently and heard a lot of people speak IRL about the dangers and ills of social media. People tell me that Instagram is bad for your sense of self-worth because everyone poses as their best possible self; people tell me that Twitter is bad because any user can so easily go ignored or abused; and people tell me that Facebook is bad because seeing how “stable” your friends are can make you feel – if, like me, you’re recovering from a major psychologic
  
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• We All Need To Pee! It’s Nothing To Be Ashamed Of

  27-11-2017 18:33
  I’m not an exhibitionist or attention seeker, but I’ll do anything for my kids. So taking a selfie on the loo doesn’t seem like a big sacrifice.So, why a picture of me having a wee? Because I’m sick of people being too scared, embarrassed or ignorant to discuss having a wee or poo. Everybody does it. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. But because there is such a stigma around toileting, disabled people, their families and carers are currently fighting the biggest hidden
  
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• Shirley Porter on stage is a warning to us all. I hope it’s a sell-out

  27-11-2017 18:30
  Why should councils worry about treating the poor badly when the Tesco heiress’s ‘mean and nasty’ policy in the 1980s was not harshly punished? At least Gregory Evans’s play, Shirleymander, will remind usSome good news for a change: a play, Shirleymander by Gregory Evans, is to be staged near Grenfell Tower. Good news because it will remind everyone of what Shirley Porter, leader of Westminster council, did in the 1980s. I’ve often mentioned her over the years, hopi
  
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• Revealed: The Secret KGB Family Story Of Russia's Ambassador To The US

  27-11-2017 18:28
  He is Russia’s most famous ambassador. In the spring, summer and autumn of 2016 Sergei Kislyak – Moscow’s long-time envoy to the United States - was a ubiquitous figure. He met with Jared Kushner, Michael Flynn, Carter Page and Jeff Sessions. All of whom subsequently struggled to remember these encounters, as if they had happened in a magical fog. He attended the Republican party convention in Cleveland. A large, avuncular-looking figure with snow white hair, his frame fil
  
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• Secret Brexit Reports Given To MPs...But The Public Still May Not See Them

  27-11-2017 18:21
  Secret reports on how Brexit will impact the UK economy have been handed over to MPs by the Government - but they still might not be made public.David Davis’s department has given around 800 pages analysis to the Brexit Select Committee, which covers 39 different sectoral reports.Those reports take in 58 different parts of the UK economy, ranging from aerospace and aviation to tourism and legal services.However, ministers have removed from the reports anything they deem could harm the
  
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• Prince Harry and Meghan: No wedding bank holiday planned

  27-11-2017 18:21 via bbc.co.uk
  The nation had a day off for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but may not for Prince Harry.
  
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• Where Is Your Voice?

  27-11-2017 18:17
  In 2014, I published a support booklet for children whose parents are separating with a charity called FixersUK. This booklet is now being used by the NHS, schools and libraries nationwide. In the years since, I have presented my work at a conference at Oxford Union, lobbied the government and managed a charity.Often inactive, I believe the government would rather solve other simpler things. In 2015, the Ministry of Justice published a report called the ‘Voice of the Child’ stating t
  
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• Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Wedding: No Bank Holiday And People Are Not Amused

  27-11-2017 18:16
  Downing Street has announced there are “no plans” for a bank holiday on the day of Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle and, frankly, it’s gone down like a lead balloon.For a Government trailling in the polls and blundering its way to the European Union exit door, downing tools for a day would have been just the tonic for a jaded nation.And a Royal Wedding-inspired day off has happened in recent memory.The day of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding -
  
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• New Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard Won Victory After Mass Sign-Up Of Unite Members, New Figures Show

  27-11-2017 18:15
  Newly-elected Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard secured his convincing victory after an unprecedented campaign by Unite to persuade more trade unionists to vote in the contest, HuffPost UK has learned.Leftwinger Leonard, who won lavish praise from Jeremy Corbyn at a joint event on Monday, beat his rival Anas Sarwar by 57% to 43%.Leonard was only a few hundred votes ahead among party members, but clinched the leadership by winning more than three quarters of trade union affiliates in the ele
  
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• The NHS Must Protect Funding For Mental Health

  27-11-2017 18:09
  In February last year, the NHS committed to delivering the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health – a five-year plan for improving mental health services – and promised an additional £1bn in funding by 2020-21 to make this possible. But it’s no secret that the NHS is under significant pressure and earlier this month its chief executive, Simon Stevens, raised genuine concerns about whether it would be possible to deliver on this plan if there was a cash shortfall in the
  
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• Conservative MPs warn new defence secretary over spending cuts

  27-11-2017 18:08
  Gavin Williamson is told he will face large Tory rebellion if security review leads to major cuts to armed forcesThe new defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, was put on notice in the Commons that he will face a substantial Tory revolt if a national security review leads to major cuts in the armed services.
  Williamson, making his Commons debut in his new job, faced Conservative backbenchers who pressed him to stand up to the chancellor, Philip Hammond, over a threatened squeeze on the MoD budget.
  
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• The Latest Report On How Police Deal With Domestic Violence Makes Very Grim Reading

  27-11-2017 18:00
  The latest report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary makes very grim reading for women being subjected to domestic violence.For all the progress that has been made in other areas, and despite an abundance of good intentions and training initiatives, it’s clear that the police response to domestic violence cases is still inadequate and putting women and children at risk.Refuge supports more than six thousand women and children every single day. Like the police, we faced t
  
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• Sluggish growth will test voters’ endurance

  27-11-2017 17:49
  Economic distress and appetite for risk can often prime a nation for a turn to ideology
  
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• Why We Should Be Celebrating Prince Harry’s Engagement To Meghan Markle

  27-11-2017 17:46
  Unless you’re living under a volcanic rock in Indonesia, you know by now that Prince Harry is engaged.Personally, I’ve always preferred his big brother, Prince William. I knew very little about Prince Harry’s future wife, Meghan Markle, until I saw her on the news a couple of months ago, standing next to him in public and wearing a smile that could only mean one thing - she is a woman very much in love.Their engagement is, of course, good news. However, anyone who knows anythin
  
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• I Need Some Space: Tales Of An Introvert

  27-11-2017 17:40
  I’ve always been shy. Probably for as long as I can remember. I was that child at the back of the class afraid to raise their hand or partake in discussion because they were too nervous to speak aloud, or that child who cowered behind their parent whenever in the presence of somebody they didn’t know. Hell, I was even that child who struggled to converse with family members other than those they saw every day. It was a crippling shyness, to be honest, and it really followed me into m
  
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• Six Ways To Find Creative Inspiration

  27-11-2017 17:39
  Creativity has fascinated researchers for decades. Ester Buchholz, a psychologist, psychoanalyst and author of ‘The Call of Solitude’, emphasised the need for some alone time to let our thoughts wander, to figure things out, and to arrive at innovative solutions. Artists and writers such as Bergman and Hemingway have waxed lyrical about the need for this time where you can confront your emotions head on, grapple alone with the feelings and thoughts, live with them without being able
  
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• The 'Kate Middleton Engagement Dress' Is Currently On Sale

  27-11-2017 17:37
  The Issa dress the Duchess of Cambridge wore when she announced her engagement to Prince William is now on sale for £99.The famous £399 wrap dress worn by the Duchess in November 2010 sold out within hours and the brand has since repeatedly restocked the line as the flattering silhouette has proven to have lasting appeal.Now, as the Duchess’ soon-to-be sister-in-law Meghan Markle is causing a similar flurry of excitement over her choice of coat for her first appearance wit
  
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