Saturday 27 December 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Argentina's president suffers fractured ankle

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BUENO AIRES (AP) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has suffered a fracture in her left ankle, the latest in a series of health setbacks.A statement signed by two doctors, Marcelo Ballesteros and Daniel Fernandez, did not specify how the president suffered the injury. It said they have recommended the ankle be immobilized.The 61-year-old leader has been sidelined with various ailments in recent months. In November, Fernandez was hospitalized for several days for inflammation of the colon. She was obliged to suspend her presidential activities for 48 hours in October due to a sore throat.In January, the president was treated for hip pain and sciatica, and in July she missed Independence Day celebrations to continue recovering from an acute throat infection. Last year, she underwent head surgery to remove a blood clot.

California man suspected of vandalizing Islamic center

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FRESNO (AP) - A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of vandalizing the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno on Christmas day, causing investigators at first to suspect a hate crime, police said Saturday.But relatives of the 28-year-old suspect, Asif Mohammad Khan, came public to say that schizophrenia and not hatred led to the unfortunate incident. It is a case of mental illness, said his sister, Samia Khan. Theres no question about that.Asif Mohammad Khan has been booked into jail on charges including felony vandalism for more than $10,000 in damage done Thursday to the Islamic Cultural Center and a nearby medical office.In the search for a suspect, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer had said that the broken windows and bleach poured on an American flag inside the Islamic center appeared to be a hate crime. On Saturday, Dyer said that investigators interviewed Khan, and their theory has changed. It was obviously not as we thought, said Dyer, adding that police will let FBI agents decide whether hate-crime charges are warranted.Khan confessed, telling officers he was upset with people at the Islamic center for talking down or bullying him, Dyer said.Samia Khan said doctors in 2009 diagnosed her brother as schizophrenic, and in the days before the incidents he had not taken his medication. Khan said she joined Fresno police at a news conference to explain her brothers illness. She said her family is part of Fresnos close-knit Muslim community and apologized for her brother.

Ex-president Bush expected to leave hospital soon

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US president George H.W. Bush will stay at a Texas hospital through the weekend after experiencing breathing problems, but his spokesman said Saturday he could be discharged soon.Bush received family visits on Christmas Day, and his spokesman Jim McGrath said he was making progress.President Bushs condition has improved to the point that doctors have begun discussing dates for his discharge, McGrath said in a statement.He will remain at the Houston Methodist Hospital through the weekend for further observation.The spokesman did not explain the reasons for the extended stay, or when Bush would leave the hospital.The oldest of the four living former US presidents, Bush, who uses a wheelchair, seemed frail in recent public appearances.He was treated at Houston Methodist in November 2012 for bronchitis, and ended up spending nearly two months at the hospital.The former presidents wife was admitted to the same Houston hospital nearly a year ago.Suffering from pneumonia, the former first lady was released from the hospital in January.Bush, patriarch of one of Americas most prominent political dynasties, is father to former US president George W. Bush.Another son, Jeb, last week announced that he was laying the foundation for his own 2016 White House bid.

Sweden can't avoid immigration debate: analysts

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STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Sweden may have narrowly avoided snap elections that would have been dominated by a debate on immigration, but with asylum seekers arriving in record numbers the issue is unlikely to stay off the agenda for long, analysts say.The Sweden Democrats, a far-right party holding the balance of power in parliament, had said they wanted the polls to serve as a referendum on immigration -- and they almost succeeded.If we had ended up with snap elections, we would have talked a lot about immigration and it would have been on the Sweden Democrats terms, said Camilla Sandstroem, a political scientist at Umeaa University in northern Sweden.The Sweden Democrats, who came third in September parliamentary polls, this month pushed Prime Minister Stefan Loefven to call early elections after they refused to back his budget to signal discontent with his generous immigration policies.But on Saturday, Loefven, a Social Democrat, announced a surprise deal with the centre-right opposition that enables him to stay in the job without seeking a new mandate from voters.He unveiled a wide-ranging agreement that aims to ensure political stability until 2022 by allowing the traditional parties to govern without asking for support from the Sweden Democrats.But one word was absent from the accord: immigration.Its a bit surprising that the immigration issue is not part of the deal, said Sandstroem. We urgently need to discuss it.Sweden, with a population of 9.6 million people, has one of Europes most liberal immigration policies and is expected to receive up to 105,000 asylum seekers next year, according to official estimates.This record number is partly due to a sweeping gesture announced last year to grant permanent residency to all Syrian refugees who make it to Sweden.- Tolerant, and proud of it -Most Swedes are proud of the openness and tolerance associated with their country. However, many also insist on the need to discuss the consequences of their immigration laws.We have to talk more about immigration and integration. No one talks about it and that gives the protest parties more room because they are willing to address the issue, said Jakob, a 35-year-old IT consultant, who declined to give his last name.Critics argue politicians like former prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who says Sweden can handle many more immigrants, are out of tune with the reality on the ground.They say integration has generally been much less successful than claimed by the political establishment and a lack of open debate has made the situation worse.A series of riots last year by stone-throwing and car-burning youths in several immigrant-heavy neighbourhoods, mainly in the Stockholm area, has added to the controversy.Elin Wihlborg, a social scientist at Linkoeping University near Stockholm, said a conversation on immigration is bound to happen before the next election, slated for late 2018.Most people in Sweden agree that we are an open nation and we want to welcome asylum seekers for a period of time, but the big problem at the moment is how we actually treat people who have arrived here, she said.She added that Swedish municipalities, who often complain about housing shortages, could end up triggering a public debate on immigration.Its very much the responsibility of the local governments to manage asylum seekers, and I think the national government has to take that issue more seriously because the local politicians in the municipalities cant really cope, said Wihlborg.Anders Widfeldt, an expert on Swedish politics at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, said Swedes were having the debate already.There is talk about unemployment. There is talk about integration. There is talk about crime, he said. What on Earth is it that is not being debated? Its just that its being debated on different terms.What Swedes really want to avoid is a debate that opens up negative, stereotyping, stigmatising feelings about people that come from other countries and have fled for their lives, he said.

New Zealand in firm control of first Sri Lanka Test

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CHRISTCHURCH (AFP) - New Zealand eyed an early finish to the first Test Sunday as they reduced Sri Lanka to 131 for two at lunch on the third day in Christchurch.Sri Lanka, with Dimuth Karunaratne on 77 and Lahiru Thirimanne on 14, require a further 172 runs to make New Zealand bat again after being forced to follow on 303 runs in arrears on the first innings.They began the day on 84 without loss but were soon in trouble in cool, heavily overcast conditions.New Zealand quick Tim Southee had success in the first over of the morning when Kaushal Silva was caught behind by BJ Watling without adding to his overnight 33.Southees strike partner Trent Boult then claimed Kumar Sangakkara cheaply for the second time in the match.After edging Boult to slips to be out for six in the first innings, he nicked the left-armer through to the keeper to be gone for one in his second turn in the middle.It left the Sri Lankan batsman a tantalising five runs short of becoming only the fifth player to post 12,000 Test runs.Karunaratane, who brought up his 50 off the second ball of the day when he nudged Southee to mid-on for a single, had been largely untroubled but Thirimanne had a scare shortly before lunch.He was given out on 13, leg before wicket to Mark Craig, only for the decision to be overturned on appeal when replays showed the ball would have missed the stumps.

Fire in Karachi Timber Market gets violent, enters residential area

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KARACHI: (Dunya News) – Fire in Karachi’s Timber Market has got violent as the fire brigade has not yet been able to control it, Dunya News reported. Fire has now started to burn houses in residential area as well. Wood worth hundreds of thousands of rupees has already been burnt. Fire brigade cars from entire city have been called in yet the fire brigade has not yet been able to control the fire as yet.According to the details, ten cars have arrived at the venue. Fire was declared as third degree fire and fire brigade cars from across the city were called. Fire brigade cars took a long to arrive because of narrow streets in the area. Lack of water also troubled the fire brigade staff.Residential areas adjacent to the market were evacuated. Prayer calls were given in the timber market and mosques located nearby and electricity supply was cut off in the area.According to local residents, they went to fire brigade offices to inform them about fire but the staff told them that they did not even have the diesel to run their cars.Commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui was surrounded by the locals when he arrived at Timber Market to examine the situation. Local residents started to protest against the inefficiency of the local administration. Commissioner assured the residents that he was there to control the situation.Along with making efforts to control the fire, people are praying as well. They said that emergency measures should have been taken to control the fire.

China's trade growth seen falling short of target in 2014

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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinas trade will grow 3.5 percent in 2014, implying the country will fall short of a current 7.5 percent official growth target, according to a report on the Ministry of Commerces website that was subsequently revised to remove the numbers.The initial version of the report published on the website on Saturday, which quoted Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng, was replaced with a new version that had identical wording but with all the numbers and percentages removed.The Commerce Ministry did not answer calls requesting comment on the reason for the change.Chinas trade figures have repeatedly fallen short of expectations in the second half of this year, providing more evidence that Chinas economy may be facing a sharper slowdown.Foreign direct investment will amount to $120 billion for the year, the earlier version of Ministry of Commerce report said, in line with official forecasts. The earlier version of the report also said outward non-financial investment from China could also come in around the same level.That would mark the first time outward flows have pulled even with inward investment flows in China, and would imply a major surge in outward investment in December given that the current accumulated level stands slightly below $90 billion.The earlier version of the report also predicted that retail sales growth would come in at 12 percent for 2014, in line with the current average growth rate.In a separate report, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences predicted that real estate prices in Chinese cities would continue to slide in 2015, with third- and fourth-tier cities hit hardest. But it said the market would have a soft landing as local governments take action to provide further policy support to the market.

Chelsea confirm Torres Milan move

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LONDON (AFP) - Spain striker Fernando Torres will join AC Milan permanently from Chelsea in the New Year, the English Premier League leaders said Saturday.The news came several hours after Spanish media reports claimed the former Liverpool forward would be returning to his first club Atletico Madrid.He won the Champions League, the Europa League and the FA Cup in three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, but never lived up to goal-scoring expectations after a 64m euros, transfer from Liverpool.Torres will join Milan permanently on January 5, Chelsea said.The deal does not rule out a return to Atletico in the upcoming transfer window, though.The Spanish champions have indicated they do not have the funds for a permanent deal themselves, but may yet sign him on another loan deal from Milan once he has left Chelsea.In fact, Sports newspapers such as Marca and AS and national daily El Pais had said earlier that Torress move back to Atletico was decided after the Madrid clubs Italian player Alessio Cerci agreed to move to Milan in return.A return home could be what Torres needs to reignite a once sparkling career.The World Cup winner and double European champion scored 46 goals in 172 Chelsea appearances, but only 20 of those came in 110 league outings -- a poor return when compared with the 65 Premier League goals he scored in 102 appearances for Liverpool.Torres moved to Stamford Bridge late on January transfer deadline day in 2011 for a then record British fee. Initial struggles appeared to be a crisis of confidence, as he managed just one goal in 18 appearances before the end of the season.The following season he scored 11 goals, including a hat-trick against QPR and a vital breakaway goal against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, but still looked a shadow of his former self.His best season in a Chelsea shirt came in the following campaign as he scored 22 goals across seven competitions, including the winner in the Europa League final against Benfica.He managed only 11 goals the following season, after which Jose Mourinho broke up his misfiring striking trio of Torres, Samuel Etoo and Demba Ba, all of whom left the club.Since his move to Milan he has scored just one goal in 10 appearances.

N. Korea calls Obama 'monkey', suffers new Internet outage

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SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea suffered a new Internet outage on Saturday shortly after calling US President Barack Obama a monkey over the release of a comedy film about a fictional plot to kill its leader.The latest shutdown came after the isolated dictatorships powerful National Defence Commission (NDC) threatened inescapable deadly blows over the film and accused the US of disturbing the Internet operation of media outlets after a blackout earlier this week.The earlier shutdown triggered speculation that US authorities may have launched a cyber-attack in retaliation for the hacking of Sony Pictures -- the studio behind The Interview -- which Washington said Pyongyang was behind.The outage on Saturday evening also affected telecommunication networks in the pariah state, according to Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency.At Pyongyang time 7:30 pm (1030 GMT) North Koreas Internet and mobile 3G network came to a standstill, and had not returned to normal as of 9:30 pm, Xinhua said, adding that its reporters in the North found the Internet to be very unstable throughout the day.Respected cyber security firm Dyn Research said the Internet blackout was country-wide.This time there wasnt the hours of routing instability that presaged the outage like last time. Although it did flicker back on for a moment, and go back down and stay down, said Doug Madory, director of Internet Analysis with Dyn Research.If an outside force took it down again, it did it more efficiently than the previous incident.The firm later said the Internet was back, tweeting: Off-again, on-again: North Korea returns after > 5 hour national outage.The North has about one million computers -- mainly at educational and state institutions -- but most lack any connection to the world wide web.All online content and email are strictly censored or monitored with Internet access limited to a handful of top party cadres, propaganda officials and expatriates.- Unlikely symbol of free speech -The NDC accused Obama of taking the lead in encouraging cinemas to screen The Interview on Christmas Day. Sony had initially cancelled its release after major US cinema chains said they would not show it, following threats by hackers aimed at cinemagoers.Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest, a spokesman for the NDCs policy department said in a statement published by the official KCNA news agency.If the US persists in American-style arrogant, high-handed and gangster-like arbitrary practices despite (North Koreas) repeated warnings, the US should bear in mind that its failed political affairs will face inescapable deadly blows, the spokesman said.He accused Washington of linking the Sony hacking to North Korea without clear evidence and repeated Pyongyangs condemnation of the film, describing it as a movie for agitating terrorism produced with high-ranking politicians of the US administration involved.The film took in $1 million in its limited-release opening day, showing in around 300 mostly small, independent theatres. It was also released online for rental or purchase.The film, which has been panned by critics, has become an unlikely symbol of free speech thanks to the hacker threats that nearly scuppered its release.The low-brow comedy revolving around the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un played to packed cinemas across the US.A file sharing website reported it had been illegally downloaded more than 750,000 times.Online services for Sonys PlayStation and Microsofts Xbox gaming consoles, which had decided to release the film online, went down Thursday, apparently attacked by hackers.Microsofts online network for its Xbox gaming console was restored to nearly full service Friday but the PlayStation network remained down.The NDC spokesman called again for a joint investigation into the Sony hack, which has already been rejected by the US, while accusing Washington of beating air after being hit hard by others.In actuality, the US, a big country, started disturbing the Internet operation of major media of the DPRK (North Korea), not knowing shame like children playing tag, he said.From Monday night, websites of the Norths major state media went dead for hours with the cause of the attack unclear.The US has refused to say whether it was involved in the shutdown.KCNA previously compared Obama to a black monkey in a zoo in May, prompting Washington to condemn the comments as ugly and disrespectful.

Belarus strongman sacks PM amid economic woes

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MINSK (AFP) - Belarussian strongman Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday sacked his prime minister and several other top officials as the ex-Soviet state reels from the effects of Russias economic crisis next door.Lukashenko, who has ruled the country of 10 million with an iron fist for the past 20 years, linked the reshuffle to a presidential vote scheduled for next year and indicated he would seek re-election.Presidential elections will be a test for us all, he was quoted as saying on his website.If all goes well, I am ready to work with this cabinet and these officials after elections, too.His administration, quoting the president, said the reshuffle was nothing out of the ordinary.The president dismissed Mikhail Myasnikovich, in office since December 2010, and appointed his chief of staff Andrei Kobyakov as his new head of government.He also replaced the head of the central bank and several other top officials including the economy and industry ministers.The tightly-controlled countrys economic ills present a key challenge to Lukashenkos grip on power.The president said he would hold the countrys new economic team, including the new premier and the central bank chief, personally responsible for the countrys well-being.He said the economy represented the greatest danger and therefore called for the greatest responsibility.Although the Belarussian ruble is not officially pegged to the Russian currency, the country is highly dependent on its former master Moscow and is very sensitive to its economic woes.The collapse of the Russian ruble this month sparked panic, with Belarussians rushing to convert their savings into dollars.Since the start of the year the Belarussian ruble has lost about half of its value.The run on the Belarussian ruble forced the central bank to announce a temporary tax of 30 percent on all purchases of foreign currency and raise interest rates to 50 percent.Lukashenko has admitted that his countrys economy has been hit hard as around 40 percent of its exports are bound for Russia.Earlier this month, the Belarussian strongman tasked the government with conducting transactions with Russia in dollars or euros only.Fluctuations on the Russian currency market are unfathomable, he said at the time.Under pressure from falling oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine, Russia is sliding into a full-blown economic crisis complete with the collapse of the ruble and growing inflation.- Country needs reforms -Independent political analyst Alexei Korol said the Belarussian government re-shuffle was a band-aid solution that would not help address the root causes of its economic troubles.The country needs deep economic reforms. Instead he is re-shuffling an old pack of cards, he told AFP, referring to Lukashenko.He wont embark on reforms because at the end of the day they would lead to the collapse of his authoritarian regime, he added. Its important for Lukashenko to pass the buck onto his team.The former head of the Belarussian central bank, Stanislav Bogdankevich, also said that the move signalled Lukashenkos apparent unwillingness to conduct sweeping reforms.You have to openly say that the economy is in crisis and you have to come up with new economic policies, said the opposition-minded figure.He dismissed Kobyakov as an obedient official who will be unable to challenge the president.The IMF lent Minsk $3.5 billion (2.8 billion euros) in 2009 but has denied it further support since 2011 as Belarus refused to implement the liberal reforms and budgetary cuts it was demanding.Lukashenko, once described by Washington as Europes last dictator, has ruled Belarus that lies between three EU states and Russia since 1994.In 2010, tens of thousands of people protested against what they saw as unfair presidential elections that gave Lukashenko a landslide victory.Following the protests the strongman unleashed a crackdown on the opposition, imprisoning some of his most prominent critics and muzzling non-state media.

Raptors rip Clippers with fourth-quarter surge

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LOS ANGELES: (AFP) - Kyle Lowry scored 25 points and Greivis Vasquez sparked a key fourth-quarter run to power the Toronto Raptors over the Los Angeles Clippers 110-98 in an NBA matchup Saturday.Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Amir Johnson added 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who improved the best record in the Eastern Conference to 23-7.JJ Redick scored 23 points while Blake Griffin added 22 and reserve Jamal Crawford contributed 20 for the Clippers, who fell to 20-11, sixth in the Western Conference.Deadlocked 49-49 at half-time, the teams stayed close into the fourth quarter, which began with Toronto ahead 80-78 thanks to a Valanciunas layup five seconds before the third quarter ended.The Raptors then began the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run sparked by Venezuelan guard Vasquez, who made two 3-pointers and another basket for eight consecutive points in the pivotal spurt.That put Toronto ahead 93-80 with nine minutes remaining and the Raptors held off the hosts from there for their seventh win in eight games.

Sweden beats Denmark 5-1 in world junior hockey

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TORONTO (AP) - Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick William Nylander scored in Swedens 5-1 victory over Denmark on Saturday in the World Junior Championship.Lucas Wallmark, Jacob de la Rose, Anton Blidh and Sebastian Aho also scored and Linus Soderstrom made 19 saves to help Sweden improve to 2-0 in Group B play. Sweden beat the Czech Republic 5-2 on Friday night. Nick Olesen scored for Denmark, coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to Russia on Friday.In the other Group B game Saturday, the Czech Republic faced Switzerland.In Group A in Montreal, defending champion Finland faced Slovakia, and Canada played Germany.The United States opened Group A play Friday in Montreal with a 2-1 shootout victory over Finland. The Americans will face Germany on Sunday, Slovakia on Monday and finish group play Wednesday night against Canada. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals.

Gunmen kill farmer from minority community in Gujranwala

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LAHORE, Pakistan: (AFP, Dunya News) - Gunmen in Pakistan on Saturday shot dead a farmer from the Ahmadi community, one of the countrys most persecuted minority groups, police and a spokesman said.Luqman Ahad, 25 was hit by a single bullet in his head and died on the spot, Rohail Sabir, a senior police official in Gujranwala told AFP.Ahmadis, were declared non-Muslims by the Pakistani government in 1974 and now suffer discrimination and violent attacks.Police are investigating the motives for the killing, which occurred early Saturday in a village in the eastern district of Gujranwala, more than 100 kilometres north of Lahore.Luqman Ahad was murdered while he was on his way from his home to his farm, said Saleem ud Din, a spokesman for the community.They are also banned from going on the Hajj pilgrimage on Pakistani passport.In October, a retired air force official who was a member of the minority group was shot dead north of Islamabad. An Ahmadi doctor was gunned down the month before in Mirpur Khas.In July, an angry mob torched an Ahmadi neighborhood in the city of Gujranwala, killing a woman and two girls after a local Ahmadi boy was accused of blasphemy.

Zimbabwe chooses Whatmore as national coach

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HARARE, Zimbabwe: (AP) - Australian Dav Whatmore will start work Sunday as the new Zimbabwe cricket coach ahead of the 2015 World Cup.Zimbabwe Cricket said Saturday that the former Sri Lanka and Bangladesh coach will be in charge of the African side at the tournament, which starts mid-February, after Stephen Mangongo was fired on Dec. 18.Whatmore, who is 60, and Zimbabwe Cricket are hoping to sign a longer-term deal after the World Cup.Under the deal, Zimbabwe players will also receive coaching from Whatmores Dubai-based cricket academy.Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has failed to clinch a deal with former captain and coach Dave Houghton as Whatmores assistant and team batting coach due to his commitments with English county side Middlesex.

Four die in Libya of bird flu, says Libyan miniter

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BENGHAZI: (AFP) - Four people have died of bird flu in Libya in recent days, the health minister of the countrys internationally recognised government said on Saturday.Rida al-Awkali said a fifth person suspected of having contracted the virus is currently in hospital in the far eastern city of Tobruk.Three of the victims died in the capital Tripoli, while the fourth died in Tobruk, he added, without saying which strain of the disease they caught.Tobruk is across the border from Egypt where at least eight people have died of bird flu this year, according to health authorities in Cairo.Awkali said that he will visit Tobruk on Sunday and then travel on to Egypt to meet experts from the World Health Organisation which closely monitors the various strains of avian influenza.The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 400 people, mainly in Southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003.Another strain, H7N9, has claimed more than 170 lives since emerging in 2013.Libyas first case of bird flu was recorded at a Tobruk poultry farm in March, but no people were infected.Again, officials did not reveal the strain of the virus. Awkali said that the WHO would be sending a delegation to Libya within 48 hours.
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