Political news

• Donald Trump Fails To Learn From Sean Spicer's Gaffes And Employs Giant Stack Of Paper As Prop

  14-12-2017 23:47
  Although it feels like far longer, it was only in March that Sean Spicer was roundly mocked for using two stacks of paper to prove a point about health care.
  I just can't get over this argument. "Look at the size. This is the Democrats. This is us." pic.twitter.com/0lPfRxFvMf
  Never one to be outdone Donald Trump today went a step further by symbolically cutting a red tape adorning an two absolutely gigantic stacks of A4.
  Trump was touting just how much he’s done to deregulate the US with t
  
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• US regulators vow to be on guard for bitcoin risks

  14-12-2017 23:28 via ft.com
  Financial watchdogs use first risk assessment of Trump era to focus on virtual currency
  
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• Behaviour At Christmas Parties Affected By Harvey Weinstein And Sexual Harassment Scandals, Poll Finds

  14-12-2017 23:03
  Workplace Christmas parties have been affected by the recent spate of sexual harassment scandals, with a quarter of male employees worried colleagues could misunderstand their behaviour at this year’s events, a new poll has revealed.A ComRes poll for ITV News one in four people expect their Christmas party to be more subdued this year as a result of the Harvey Weinstein allegations that have rocked Hollywood, which spread Westminster and beyond, fuelled by campaigns such as #metoo.It
  
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• UK must tackle loneliness, says Jo Cox Commission report

  14-12-2017 23:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Commission set up by murdered MP Jo Cox says nine million adults in the UK are affected.
  
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• Transition Deal Should Be ‘Priority’, May Tells EU After Irish Warn Over Trade Talk Delays

  14-12-2017 22:26
  Theresa May has asked the EU to make agreeing a Brexit transition timetable a priority in the next round of talks to reassure worried businesses.At a dinner in Brussels during the EU summit, the Prime Minister spoke directly to leaders of the 27 other countries in the bloc in a bid to kick-start discussions around trade.The EU is expected to sign-off on phase one of the talks during a meeting on Friday morning, after the UK and Brussels reached draft agreements on citizens’ rights, a finan
  
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• Embattled May Applauded By EU Leaders As She Makes Personal Pledge To Deliver A 'Smooth' Brexit

  14-12-2017 22:26
  Theresa May has been applauded by European leaders after reassuring them she wants a “smooth” Brexit with a transition period that will reassure worried businesses and residents.At a dinner in Brussels during the EU summit, the Prime Minister was clapped as she told the 27 other countries in the bloc she wanted to kick-start discussions on to the next phase of what happens once the UK quits the EU in 2019.Acutely aware that May is under pressure back home, amid Cabinet splits and a s
  
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• Brexit: UK in Erasmus student scheme until at least 2020

  14-12-2017 21:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May confirms UK participation in student exchange will continue for a period after Brexit.
  
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• Dominic Grieve Says He's Received Death Threats Over Brexit Rebellion As He Questions Daily Mail Reporting

  14-12-2017 21:07
  The senior MP who led the Tory rebellion over Brexit has admitted receiving death threats as a result of his position as he criticised the Daily Mail’s reporting of the vote.Dominic Grieve, the ex-Attorney General who led 10 fellow Conservatives to vote against Theresa May to give parliament a “meaningful” vote on the Brexit deal, warned of a “febrile” atmosphere that meant detail of the debate was being overlooked, and that it meant any questions raised about
  
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• Unite likely to face hearing over Len McCluskey election

  14-12-2017 20:44 via theguardian.com
  Regulator expected to set date to examine claim that 10 different rules were breached during union’s leadership campaignUnite is likely to face a hearing into Len McCluskey’s election as general secretary in the new year after months of inquiries by the regulator.The certification officer has been looking into complaints from Gerard Coyne since June, after he lost the union’s leadership election by fewer than 6,000 votes in April. Continue reading...
  
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• Dominic Grieve says he has had death threats after Brexit rebellion

  14-12-2017 20:28 via theguardian.com
  Tory MP whose amendment led to defeat for Theresa May reports incidents to police, and questions Daily Mail’s reporting of vote The Conservative MP Dominic Grieve has received death threats after leading a parliamentary rebellion that resulted in the prime minister’s first Commons defeat on Brexit.The former attorney general, who has reported the most serious incidents to the police, said such threats should have “no part in the political process of a democracy”. Continue
  
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• Peer backs down on changes to data protection laws

  14-12-2017 20:26 via ft.com
  Media welcomes move that would have restricted investigative journalism
  
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• Brexit: Inside the UK’s messy deal to secure an amicable divorce

  14-12-2017 20:06 via ft.com
  As the talks neared conclusion, mishaps over an agreement for Northern Ireland almost brought Theresa May’s government crashing down
  
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• NASA And Google's AI Discover First Solar System Other Than Our Own With Eight Planets

  14-12-2017 20:02
  NASA has revealed that by utilising Google’sartificial intelligence researchers have discovered the first known solar system with as many planets as our own.Using a system called machine learning, Christopher Shallue a senior software engineer at Google AI was able to effectively teach a computer to look through the vast amounts of data collected by NASA’s Kepler space telescope and then identify a planet.In this instance the computer was able to discover a brand-new planet call
  
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• Undersea cables at risk of Russia attack, warns UK armed forces chief

  14-12-2017 19:56 via ft.com
  Links for trade and internet seen as vulnerable to newly aggressive Moscow
  
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• Scotland plans to raise more from the better-off

  14-12-2017 19:44 via ft.com
  SNP proposes first-time use of powers to vary income tax rates
  
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• EU leaders voice support for Theresa May after Brexit vote defeat

  14-12-2017 19:35 via ft.com
  Brussels summit warns against trying to renegotiate any deal PM strikes
  
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• MPs take back control to signal a smoother Brexit

  14-12-2017 19:25 via ft.com
  May will need to listen to parliament’s views on future trade talks
  
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• Grenfell Families Reveal What Today’s Memorial Service Meant To Them

  14-12-2017 19:20
  Exactly six months have passed since a devastating blaze ripped through Grenfell Tower in north Kensington.The 24-storey building has come to symbolise more than a preventable tragedy that killed 71 people and left scores more homeless. It is now a symbol of a community united and of the startling inequalities in one of London’s richest boroughs.Four attendees told HuffPost UK what today meant to them, and where survivors and bereaved families go from here.Judy BoltonJudy Bolton lost her u
  
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• Grenfell Families Reveal What Today’s Memorial Service Meant To Them - And Where They Go From Here

  14-12-2017 19:17
  Exactly six months have passed since a devastating blaze ripped through Grenfell Tower in north Kensington. The 24-storey building has come to symbolise more than a preventable tragedy that killed 71 people and left scores more homeless. It is now a symbol of a community united and of the startling inequalities in one of London’s richest boroughs.But today was a day of remembrance, with hundreds of survivors, bereaved relatives, volunteers and first responders filling the pews of St P
  
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• MPs Demand Amazon Investigates Reports ‘Dangerous’ Drivers Work 12 Hour Days

  14-12-2017 19:05
  MPs have demanded Amazon investigate reports that drivers delivering its parcels are regularly working shifts of more than 12 hours without a break, forcing some to urinate in bottles.The chairs of the Commons Business and Work and Pensions Committees, Rachel Reeves and Frank Field, have asked the web giant’s UK chief Douglas Gurr to respond to a newspaper investigation into working conditions for those delivering orders.The Sunday Mirror reported earlier this month that drivers were deliv
  
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• French Crash: Four Teenagers Killed And Seven Injured As Train And School Bus Collide In Perpignan, Southern France

  14-12-2017 18:46
  Four teenagers were killed and seven seriously injured after a train and a school bus collided outside the town of Perpignan in southwestern France on Thursday, the interior ministry said.TV images showed a long line of ambulance and emergency service vehicles near the crossing where the collision occurred.Prime minister Edouard Philippe described the crash as a “terrible accident” and said on Twitter he was heading to the scene, more than 850 km (530 miles) from Paris.The interior m
  
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• Brexit rebels and political books of the year – Politics Weekly podcast

  14-12-2017 18:32 via theguardian.com
  Heather Stewart is joined by Jessica Elgot, Tom McTague, Jess Phillips and Gaby Hinsliff to discuss the government’s defeat on an amendment to the EU withdrawal bill and the political books of the yearTheresa May suffered a humiliating defeat in the Commons this week as rebel Conservatives forced the government to accept a greater role for parliament in agreeing the Brexit deal. Despite this, the prime minister arrived in Brussels to state that she is ‘on course to deliver Brexit&rsq
  
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• Dear Theresa... My Response to Theresa May's Letter to EU Citizens

  14-12-2017 18:23
  Dear TheresaI am writing in response to your Open Letter. Unfortunately the agreement reached last week is ‘too little, too late’, and your open letter adds insult to injury to millions of people after nearly 18 months of anxiety and uncertainty.  I have lived here for 27 years - my entire adult life - and have a family, friends and a business here.  I do not feel reassured.  I am more terrified and angry than ever.For a start, it is simply not true that protecting our
  
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• Four Killed And 19 Injured As Train And School Bus Crash In Perpignan, Southern France

  14-12-2017 18:19
  Four people have been killed and 19 injured after a train and a school bus collided outside the town of Perpignan in southern France on Thursday, the country’s interior ministry has confirmed.Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne described the crash as a “terrible accident” and said on Twitter that she was heading immediately to the scene, more than 850 km (530 miles) from Paris.Très vive émotion suite au terrible accident survenu à #Millas dans les Pyré
  
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• French Crash: Four Teenagers Killed And 11 Seriously Injured As Train And School Bus Collide In Perpignan, Southern France

  14-12-2017 18:08
  Four adolescents were killed when a train smashed into a school bus on a level crossing outside the town of Perpignan in southwestern France on Thursday.Images from the scene showed the bus split in two, with a long line of emergency vehicles on an approach to the crossing.Another 20 people were injured in the crash, 11 of them seriously, according to French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who traveled immediately to the scene. Most of the injured were schoolchildren aboard the bus, aged 13-17.
  
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• Breastfeeding Vouchers? I Vouch For Feeding Equality

  14-12-2017 18:02
  On Tuesday 12th December, the Victoria Derbyshire programme featured a segment dedicated to discussing the idea of offering new mothers financial incentives for breastfeeding. They wanted the opinions from women who would be directly affected if this scheme was rolled out nationally.Here’s the background:New research from the University of Sheffield and the University of Dundee has found rewarding breastfeeding mothers with monetary vouchers at various stages may significantly increase low
  
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• Grenfell Tower fire survivors struggle to rebuild lives

  14-12-2017 17:55 via ft.com
  Six months on, just 42 out of 208 households have been found new homes
  
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• How The #MeToo Campaign Highlighted Society’s Spiritual Sickness

  14-12-2017 17:50
  I wrote this post around 18 months ago, way before the Harvey Weinstein news that opened up the floodgates for people to speak in a franker way than ever before. At the time, I thought it was too much. I mean, I write about creativity, and personal development, and wellness – where does harassment come into that?But in hindsight, I realise that many women fear creatively expressing themselves, because it may cause them to be sexualised. And now that TIME Magazine has revealed the ‘si
  
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• A Tax On Single-Use Plastics Won’t Prevail Over Convenience Culture - But It’s A Start

  14-12-2017 17:49
  The finale of the BBC’s brilliant Blue Planet II was probably David Attenborough’s most important appearance on our screens to date.“Surely we have a responsibility to care for our blue planet. The future of humanity, and indeed all life on Earth, now depends on us.”If anyone can influence the masses, it’s Attenborough - a man with the ear of the nation, and the strong and stable reputation of which most politicians can only dream. His parting message left viewers i
  
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• A Tax On Single-Use Plastics Won’t Prevail Over Convenience Culture

  14-12-2017 17:49
  The finale of the BBC’s brilliant Blue Planet II was probably David Attenborough’s most important appearance on our screens to date.“Surely we have a responsibility to care for our blue planet. The future of humanity, and indeed all life on Earth, now depends on us.”If anyone can influence the masses, it’s Attenborough - a man with the ear of the nation, and the strong and stable reputation of which most politicians can only dream. His parting message left viewers i
  
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• Christmas truce?

  14-12-2017 17:48 via bbc.co.uk
  We asked Brexiteers to name one good thing about the EU - and Remainers to do the same about Brexit.
  
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• Tax rate changes are a smart move by the SNP

  14-12-2017 17:44
  
  Judging by the muted Tory and Labour responses, it succeeded in taking the wind out of their sails
  
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• Accidental Icon: 64 Year-Old Fashion Blogger Dominates Instagram With Her Fierce Looks

  14-12-2017 17:40
  Lyn Slater is a model, professor, writer and Instagram sensation, who happens to be 64. A champion of the #ageisnotavariable movement, Slater’s taste for quirky, yet timeless, fashion demonstrates how accessible true style really is. She took the opportunity to blog (Accidental Icon) on the subject of personal style as an ode to the fact that, basically, nothing can stop you from slaying. Slater’s blog is a way for her to express herself “in ways that includ
  
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• EU 'has east-west split' on migrant quotas

  14-12-2017 17:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Leaders at a Brussels summit argue over relocation of asylum seekers in the EU.
  
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• The War On Domestic Violence: Time For Radical Reform

  14-12-2017 17:17
  In the Queen’s Speech in June, the Government announced they would publish a draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill to ‘transform our approach to domestic violence’. The challenge is immense. Last year it is estimated that 1.2 million women were victims of domestic violence. Two women are killed each week by current or former partner.Theresa May attaches ‘personal importance’ to tackling domestic violence - and has already led many measures in Government to try and
  
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• What To Expect When You're Expecting Chemotherapy

  14-12-2017 17:12
  After the initial shock of a cancer diagnosis wears off, anxiety over upcoming treatment takes over. Whether you will have chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation or surgery, the fear of the unknown is very real. Luckily, that can be overcome – to some extent.Here are a few tips that helped me get through cancer in one piece.1. BE DILIGENTPrepare yourself for oncologist visits by writing down your questions and concerns before each appointment. Take a notepad and pen with you into the docto
  
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• Heartbreaking Survey Reveals One In 10 Have Considered Suicide 'Because Of The Festive Period'

  14-12-2017 17:02
  Almost one in 10 people have considered taking their own lives because of the festive period, with a similar number considering harming themselves.That’s according to new research from mental health charity Mind, which found over a quarter of people (26%) would not feel able to ask for help at Christmas if they were struggling emotionally.The charity has called on people to donate to its Christmas Appeal to ensure no one has to cope on their own this Christmas.Becky Gore, 30, from Swa
  
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• Microsoft's Seeing AI App Can Help The Blind 'See' Through Their Smartphone

  14-12-2017 17:01
  Microsoft has unveiled a major update for its Seeing AI app which helps the blind and low vision community by narrating the world around them.By using the smartphone’s camera the app is able to recognise a staggering amount of information and more importantly, actually understand the context within which it’s being used.New features now include colour recognition for when you’re trying to get ready in the morning and don’t know what to wear.A musical light notification pl
  
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• Keeping The Gin Boom Alive

  14-12-2017 16:59
  The last couple of years have seen the re-birth of gin, a spirit that many considered long dead. It has shaken off its historical ‘mother’s ruin’ image to capture the imagination of consumers like almost no other spirit category has before.Shops and bars are awash with different gin brands and new products seem to pop up every week. Gin palaces, often dens of iniquity in the past, are re-opening. Gin is cool again and consumers are lapping it up.But what has driven this boom an
  
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• Gineration X - Keeping The Gin Boom Alive

  14-12-2017 16:59
  The last couple of years have seen the re-birth of gin, a spirit that many considered long dead. It has shaken off its historical ‘mother’s ruin’ image to capture the imagination of consumers like almost no other spirit category has before.Shops and bars are awash with different gin brands and new products seem to pop up every week. Gin palaces, often dens of iniquity in the past, are re-opening. Gin is cool again and consumers are lapping it up.But what has driven this boom an
  
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• Haemophilia A: Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

  14-12-2017 16:58
  There are 7,700 people living with haemophilia A in the UK, where the blood doesn’t clot properly because the body can’t make a protein called ‘clotting factor VIII’.The condition, which affects men more than women due to their genetic make-up, means that when a person cuts themselves their blood doesn’t clot properly, so the body bleeds for longer.According to The Haemophilia Society, haemophilia A is a genetic condition and nearly everyone who has it was born
  
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• Five Ways To Make Creativity A Part Of Everyday Life For Mental Health

  14-12-2017 16:56
  Mental health is something we still do not fully acknowledge, understand, or discuss. It is still something that we ignore, stigmatise and brush away. Assigning such a broad term to what is a complex spectrum of triggers, symptoms and consequences, is not helpful either. What is certainly helpful is that there has been much progress made in the last year or so. With charities such as Heads Together bringing together a number of mental health charities in a concerted effort to tackle well-being o
  
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• Political Disruption But At What Cost To The Jewish Community?

  14-12-2017 16:36
  Elections have become a buzzword for political disruption over the last few years. The mass disenfranchisement from politics which characterised the previous twenty years has been replaced with a passionate youth who are demanding change. In many countries this is supplemented by a feeling that quality of life has declined and is only getting worse. People want sweeping change.This has led to political disruption in the form of Trump in America and Brexit, the success of Le Pen in France and a n
  
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• Theresa May Refuses To Say If She Will Compromise With Tory Rebels Ahead Of Another Potential Defeat

  14-12-2017 16:34
  Theresa May is on a collision course with Tory rebels after refusing to say if she will compromise over plans to cement the date of Brexit into law.A group of Tory MPs, lead by former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, want to stop the Brexit date of March 29, 2019 being written into the EU Withdrawal Bill.The MPs – estimated to number 15 - believe such an act would severely undermine negotiations with Brussels as it could prevent the UK and the EU from extending negotiations if needed to ge
  
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• Relax, Don't Do It: David Davis And The Art Of Leadership

  14-12-2017 16:33
  Another week, another Brexit rollercoaster for Theresa May. She started the week on a high, enjoying her ‘unexpected’ success in bringing to a close phase one of the talks. She ended it ‘humiliated’, with Parliamentarians forcing a vote on the eventual deal she will do. The newspapers have worked themselves up into their usual lather. If you believe all you read, the Government is reeling.But none of us should believe what we read. In fact Mrs May carries on, if not saili
  
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• The Tory Trade Union Act Is Not Doing What It Set Out To - Strikes In The Private Sector Are Up

  14-12-2017 16:27
  With the publication of strikes figures for most of 2017 now out, the Tories will be disappointed their Trade Union Act 2016 has not had more of – in their view – a positive effect. The Act, effective from 1 March 2017, requires that a lawful mandate for strike or industrial action must now have a 50% turnout in a ballot to authorise the action and in certain essential services, like education and transport, the additional requirement that the proportion of those voting for action mu
  
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• 'Star Wars': The Struggle Is Real For Fans Trying To Avoid 'The Last Jedi' Spoilers

  14-12-2017 16:22
  ’Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ hasn’t even been out for a day yet, but already social media has turned into a minefield of spoilers many people are having trouble navigating.After ‘Episode VIII’ hit cinemas late on Wednesday night (13 December), spoilers began swirling online, leaving those who haven’t seen it yet exposed to them.Many have been finding this challenge harder than taking on the Death Star trench run, sharing their frustrations in typical ‘Star
  
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• Wacky jumpers and jokes - this year's MPs' Christmas cards

  14-12-2017 16:20 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon opt for more traditional festive greetings.
  
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• My Annual Tradition And The Greatest Christmas Movie Ever Made

  14-12-2017 16:20
  I’m not inclined to be traditional. I prefer the path of least resistance in life and I find the idea of establishing arbitrary rules governing my behaviour very dull. Mine is a life lived in the mode of improv night rather than well-rehearsed high theatre. This, I should add, is neither a cry for help nor is it the beginning of an ahead-of-schedule pre-midlife crisis as I approach my thirtieth birthday, but something I enjoy. My taste for making things up as I go and eschewing the “
  
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