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World

Donald Trump to meet Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari in Washington on April 30, will discuss counterterrorism and economic cooperation, wants to build on Nigeria's role as democratic leader in region
US will not pull troops from Syria intil it has accomplished goal to ward off threats to American interests from chemical weapons attacks, IS terrorists and Iran according to UN ambassador Nikki Haley
Swiss Spiez laboratory found toxin used on Sergei and Yulia containing traces of nerve agent BZ which Russia never developed, according to Russian foreign minister Lavrov who casts doubt on laboratory's novichok findings as substance too volatile to be found in such amounts after over two weeks
U.S., Britain and France launch air strikes in Syria in response to last week's alleged poison gas attack, over 100 missiles fired and three of Syria's main chemical weapons facilities struck, U.S. defense secretary Mattis calls strikes "one-off" while Trump raises prospect of further strikes, Syria and Russia both responded angrily to initiative
Donald Trump warns Russia on Twitter of imminent attack with smart missiles after Russian announcement that any missiles fired at Syria will be shot down
Security minister of Israel calls for US strike on Syria after purported gas attack, Assad is an angel of death the world would be better without according to Israeli construction minister – Syria denies allegations
North Korea prepared to discuss denuclearization when Kim Jong-un meets Donald Trump in planned May meeting, according to US official to Reuters
Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin discuss Syria by phone, agree on keeping in touch, Macron's planned state visit in May to take place despite increased tensions between Russia and West
Zimbabwe president Mnangagwa makes state visit in China to secure infrastructure investments and strengthen economic cooperation between countries
Mexico's ex-president Vicente Fox debates Nigel Farage, lauds Chinese political pragmatism compared to conflicted Western democracy, sees new forms of governance in the future

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Miscellaneous

DJ Avicii dead at 28 in Muscat, Oman
Father of seriously ill toddler Alfie Evans meets Pope Francis and asks for help in struggle to take son to hospital in Rome, judge in Britain ordered last week that life support should be switched off for 23-month-old child that suffers from degenerative neurological condition that has never been definitively diagnosed
Around 250 priests from 50 countries participate in Vatican's annual exorcism course which covers theological and psychological background to practice, increasing demand among Catholics in many regions
American actor R Lee Ermey dead at 74, best known for role as Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket
John Fitzgerald: T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets finest work of distinguished Anglo-American 20th century poetry, acknowledges modern, dark and war-torn era while giving comfort and encouraging reader to search for Divine meaning
Czech-American director Miloš Forman dead at 86 after short illness, best known for directing Oscar-winning classics "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest" and "Amadeus", fled Czechoslovakia in 1968 after Communist crackdown on "Prague Spring" uprising
Pope Francis gives blessing to Formula E car ahead of Rome's first ever E-Prix, race set on three-kilometre circuit in heart of city
Former Donkey Kong world record of 1,062,800 points removed from record tracking organisation Twin Galaxies' leaderboard after video analysis proved controversial player Billy Mitchell played on software emulator instead of on legitimate arcade cabinet
72-year-old Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja who lived with wolves between age 7 and 19 reports being disappointed with human life, would rather have stayed in wilderness than living in hustle and bustle of modern society
Prince Charles denies bringing private toilet seat while traveling when asked about it in Australia radio interview during visit to Commonwealth Games

Media

BBC clarifies fictional nature of video where news presenter announces nuclear war between Nato and Russian, film made in 2016 for company investigating psychological warfare, original contained disclaimers about information being false but these have been edited out from version going viral
Chinese microblog Sina Weibo reverses decision to remove homosexual content as part of three-month cleaning campaign after protests from LGBT advocates
Facebook bans Richard Spencer's page along with two other pages he controlled, alt-right figurehead continues to have active accounts on Twitter and Youtube
Chinese microblog platform Sina Weibo bans gay and violent content including pictures, cartoons and text posts during three-month clean-up campaign, says action aimed to comply with China’s new cyber security law calling for strict data surveillance
Mark Zuckerberg in first of two days of questioning in US Senate after Cambridge Analytica affair, apologizes for Facebook being used to spread fake news and violating privacy of users but does not back regulation
The Guardian suspicious of book club run by charismatic PewdiePie, Youtube celebrity makes young people read classic literature, but is problematic since he shares much of alt-right culture and draws attention to Jordan Peterson
American TV producer Steven Bochco dead at 74 after years of battling leukaemia, created some of America's best known police drama series such as Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue
Playboy announces withdrawal from Facebook after Tesla and SpaceX removed accounts on Friday, #DeleteFacebook movement grows while it is noted that companies are still active on Facebook-owned Instagram
Tweaked service agreement from Microsoft enables banning of users publicly broadcasting material containing offensive language, nudity, pornography or graphic violence; agreement applies to Skype, Office 365, OneDrive, Bing and Outlook
Youtube introduces tighter restrictions on videos involving weapons, prohibits videos promoting websites selling firearms and accessories, instructions on how to assemble firearms to be banned

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Politics

Austria government wants to give police right to confiscate mobile phones to investigate identities of asylum seekers, also wants to repatriate minors who commit crimes and extend time required to become citizen from six to ten years
Ingo Senftleben, leader of German Christian Democrats in state of Brandenburg, ready to go into coalition with Alternative for Germany if it enables him to win power
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) retires from Congress after serving out term in January, says additional term would mean his kids would have only ever known him as weekend dad, touts tax code reform and rebuilding nation's military as top accomplishments
Ecuador once again cuts off Julian Assange’s internet connection at London embassy after Wikileaks founder criticizes Germany's detention of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, Ecuador refers to agreement about respecting country's diplomatic relations
English activists welcome obligatory deposit when buying bottles and cans of drinks, environment secretary Michael Gove points to need for attitude change and says deposit system is powerful way of influencing behavior
New Swedish political party Alternative for Sweden launches international crowdfunding campaign, seeks support from Trump voters in US
EU proposes taxing tech companies with global revenues of at least EUR 750 million and EUR 50 million in EU, new tax to be 3% of revenues, EU finance commissioner Pierre Moscovici calls proposal a tax system for the 21th century
Vladimir Putin reelected as Preisdent of Russia after winning more than 75 percent of vote in Sunday's election, Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin nearest challenger
Macron upsets French left with policies for curbing illegal immigration, proposes harsher punishments and internment, points to Italy's Renzi losing election due to failure to deal with migration issues
Conor Lamb (D) proclaims victory over Rick Saccone (R) in Pennsylvania special election for House seat of Tim Murphy who resigned in October, Saccone has not admitted defeat and points to difference being only 579 votes and thousands of votes remain to count

Annons

Opinion

Justin Raimondo: Donald Trump's unease with own foreign policy could be sign that he is being held hostage in White House by warmongerers and deep state, his initial skepticism with regards to allegations against Russia has been counteracted by interventionist advisers
Richard Greenhorn: Patrick Deneen's claim that liberalism has failed inaccurate, avoids defining ideology and does not understand that its nature is theological rather than political, modern conservatives unable to criticize progressive enemy as they are themselves part of it
Annie Holmquist: Important not to underestimate impact of friends on children's character, parents should choose activities wisely and make home place of hospitality, happiness and authority in order to help children become good and upstanding adults
Brianna Heldt: Ryan T. Anderson’s book When Harry Became Sally must-read for modern parents raising kids in cultural climate marked by transgender activism and relativistic understanding of sexuality, combines solid scientific evidence with personal anecdotes from transgendered men and women themselves
George Stanciu: Francis Bacon's experimental method of science and rejection of senses as measure of things launched man's Second Fall, lead to progressive hubris that technology and inventions could create paradise on Earth, resulted in communism, nazism and contemporary society plagued by loneliness, depression and malaise
Richard Storey: Alt-right tendency to oppose Christianity betrays lack of basic knowledge about European history, ignores Christian defense of masculine values, free will and natural law, romanticizes pagan religions which were fatalistic, hyperindividualistic and multiculturalist
Dwight Longenecker: Patience with Pope Francis begins to run out after bullying of conservatives, ambiguous comments about homosexuality and gender ideology and flawed environmentalist agenda, there is hope in observation that liberalism tends to empty churches, in continuing hard work at grassroots level as well as in faith that God really is with His Church
Daniel Lattier: Secularism ironically grew out of Christianity, described accurately by Illich's theory, progressive mutation which hubristically wanted to remake entire society and abolish older ritualism became dominant, decreased need for struggle and will power which led to lukewarm religion
José Azel: Whatever one may think of Trump’s unorthodox caustic style it is clear that his Machiavellian Madman Theory has brought Kim Jong-un to negotiating table just like Nixon's strategy with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and Viet Cong
Niklas Agevik: EU claims to invest 120 million EUR in free wifi, will force local governments to bear hidden costs for wasteful marketing campaign for EU

Annons

Europe

France expels Salafist preacher El Hadi Doudi to Algeria citing deliberate incitement to hatred and violence, authorities forced mosque where he preached to close in December 2017
Morrissey tells Britons to vote for anti-Islamic party For Britain founded by former UKIP member Anne Marie Waters, says new Brexit referendum would result in even greater support for leaving EU
Belarus passes measure prohibiting internet users from commenting on forums without authorization and requiring online publications to register as mass media, not immediately clear how authorization to be enforced but information minister Alexander Karlyukevich suggested text message system
Slovakia police chief Tibor Gašpar resigns in wake of murder of journalist Ján Kuciak who reported on connection between government and private security firm with ties to Gašpar
Prosecutor launches probe into German theater's plan to offer free tickets to George Tabori's black comedy Mein Kampf to those willing to wear armband with swastika, rest of audience to wear Star of David, theater says experiment shows how easily people can be corrupted
Statue of Theban statesman Epaminondas covered up for conference on Islam near Savona in Italy, allegedly clashed with Moroccan setting, decision criticized by League leader Matteo Salvini
Supporters of Greek communist party try to take down statue of Harry Truman in Athens during protest against US attack on Syria, riot police intervene
30-year-old woman and 26-year-old man stabbed to death in separate attacks in London, third stabbing leaves 18-year-old in critical condition, more than 35 people have been stabbed to death in capital so far in 2018
French police attacked by 300 activists at eviction operation of 1,600-hectare anti-capitalist camp outside Nantes, 2,500 police involved in clearing out 16 encampments during two days, squatting started as protest against airport building plans in 2008
Some 315,000 people demonstrate in Barcelona to demand release and freedom to return for Catalan politicians and activists involved in last year's secession attempt

North America

US Democratic party sues Russian government, Wikileaks and Trump presidential campaign, says defendants were part of conspiracy to damage Clinton campaign, Trump's participation proven in part by his public support for Wikileaks
Donald Trump will not attend funeral of Barbra Bush out of respect for family, last time sitting president participated in funeral of former first lady was when John F. Kennedy attended that of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1962
Investigation into death of Prince in 2016 closes, not possible to prove who gave him fentanyl pills which are thought to have killed him
US Air Force orders design and development of hypersonic missile from Lockheed Martin to cost of USD 1 billion, follows rapid advances from China and Russia in field
California couple arrested after returning to crime scene where they blackmailed and killed 70-year-old war veteran Kenneth Coyle who they later burned in front of their children at other location
Former first lady and president mother Barbara Bush dies at 92
Statue of father of modern gynecology J. Marion Sims moved from Central Park to cemetery in Brooklyn after controversy concerning experimental surgery on enslaved women without anesthesia
Oregon U.S. District Court dismisses felony tax evasion charge against 53-year-old Michael Bowman who hasn't paid federal income taxes since 1999 as his Christian ideals prohibits him from funding abortions, feds claim Bowman owes USD 356,857 in back taxes and penalties
War of words between Donald Trump and James Comey ahead of former FBI chief publishes autobiography Tuesday in which he calls president unethical and untethered to truth and compares his behavior to that of mafia bosses
Donald Trump pardons Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff of Dick Cheney was sentenced to prison in 2007 for lying and obstructing investigation about unmasking CIA operative Valerie Plame, original sentence was commuted by president George W. Bush

Latin America

Cuba communist party nominates 57-year-old Miguel Díaz-Canel as only candidate to replace 86-year-old Raúl Castro who retires after ten years in power
Venezuelan National Assembly approves preliminary impeachment proceedings against Nicolás Maduro after corruption scandal, not clear what effect will be as legitimate Supreme Court is exiled in Colombia and has been replaced by loyalist magistrates
Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno confirms three journalists kidnapped at Colombia border in late March are dead, says military operations against drug gangs in area will continue
Venezuela's Supreme Court in exile orders detention of President Nicolás Maduro and asks Interpol to issue arrest warrant, court is recognised by Organization of American States and consists of magistrates appointed by opposition in 2017
More than 800 Venezuelans flee to Brazil each day to escape shortages of food and medicines in homeland, other destinations include Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Argentina and Peru
Brazil's Supreme Court rules that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva can begin to serve his 12-year sentence for accepting bribes, rejects former president's plea to avoid prison while he appeals
Carlos Alvarado Quesada wins over Alvarado Muñoz in Costa Rica's presidential election; at age 38 he will be the country's youngest president ever
Passion play in southern Brazil is interrupted when a man rushes onto the scene to "save Jesus", a man who plays a Roman soldier is attacked with kicks and beatings with a motor cycle helmet
Seven policemen die in a riot in a prison in Amatlán de los Reyes in eastern Mexico
The former military dictator in Guatemala, Efraín Ríos Montt dead at 91, lead the country 1982-83 and in 2011 was convicted of crimes against humanity, the appeals process continued until his death

Asia

North and South Korea establish direct phone line between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in ahead of summit, civil servants successfully complete test call lasting 4 minutes and 17 seconds
Serious risk of nuclear accident in North Korea according to report from Russian professor of physics and chemistry, reactor model developed in country similar to Soviet-era RBMK-1000 used in Chernobyl 1986, political pressure could lead to lower safety standards to accelerate construction
Chief minister of Tripura claims internet was invented in India thousands of years ago, references depiction of battle of Kurukshetra in Hindu epic Mahabharata which supposedly also gives proof of ancient satellite technology, becomes target of ridicule on social media
China and Nepal agree on multi-year plan to develop economic corridor over Himalayas after foreign minister summit, increasingly close ties between Beijing and Kathmandu
CIA chief and secretary of state nominee Mike Pompeo has met Kim Jong-un to lay groundwork for upcoming meeting with Donald Trump, say sources to Washington Post
World Surf League cancels last two days of surfing tournament Margaret River Pro in Western Australia after two separate shark attacks, presence of aggressive sharks in area possibly due to beached whales
Two Christians killed and six others injured in Pakistani Quetta as unknown gunmen opened fire on group that had left local church, earlier this month four members of Christian family were killed in same city in what police officials call targeted attack
Singapore to set up surveillance cameras linked to facial recognition software on 100,000 lampposts, says project part of broader "Smart Nation" plan to use cutting-edge technology to improve people’s lives and has pledged to be sensitive to privacy
Chinese man at pop concert with 60,000 goers identified by facial recognition technology and arrested suspected of economic crimes, country has 170 million CCTV cameras and some 400 million new ones are expected to be installed in next three years
Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif permanently banned from running for office in Supreme Court decision, has previously handed leadership of PML-N party to his brother Shahbaz after previous court ruling, denies corruption allegations

Middle East

US-Israeli actress Nathalie Portman refuses to receive Genesis award in Israel in protest against IDF killing 36 Palestinians during riots at Gaza border
EU parliament adopts legislation preventing aid to Palestinian Authority if funds used for education to hatred, determines EU funded classes must reflect peace, liberty, tolerance and non-discrimination, Israeli research institute CEO comments that it's strange to transfer EUR 3 billion over ten years without real attempts to ensure education in line with European values
Selfies, popcorn and red carpet as AMC Cinema Riyadh shows Black Panther to Saudi celebrities, Islamic kingdom's first cinema in 30 years housed in converted concert hall, at least one princess attended
Robert Fisk visits Douma in Syria and finds no evidence of gas attack, is told by Syrian doctor Assim Rahaibani that infamous video is authentic but injuries were caused by dust clouds that came into basements and cellars where people lived, suffering from oxygen loss they arrived at clinic when someone shouted "Gas!" and panic began
Pentagon's claim that missile strike against Syria set back chemical weapons program for years exaggerated according to defense analysts, sulfur mustard and sarin gas easy to reproduce and stockpiles likely spread around many locations
Eight Egyptian soldiers and 14 jihadists killed after suicide bombers and gunmen armed with grenades attacked army base around dawn, attack took place hours after state of emergency extended for fourth time since last year, soldiers killed by four militants detonating explosive belts
One Palestinian killed and hundreds injured as protests at Gaza border continue for third consecutive Friday, dozens of Israeli flags and photos of Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman burned
Syrian government now in full control of eastern Ghouta as Douma falls, according to Russian defense ministry
Russia reserves right to shoot down US missiles fired at Syria and destroy launch sites, according to Moscow's envoy to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin
Saudi Arabia signs agreement with Paris Opera for it to help set up national orchestra and opera in country's second city Jeddah, deal made as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits France

Africa

Mace stolen in front of politicians in Nigeria parliament but later found elsewhere in Abuja, ornamental staff formally required for senators to pass new laws but in its absence legislative work proceeded with spare
Swaziland king Mswati III renames country Kingdom of eSwatini to mark 50 years since independence from British rule, change for Africa’s last absolute monarchy noted to possibly mean rewriting country’s constitution
Zimbabwe's government sacks 10,000 nurses who went on strike, cites interest of patients and of saving lives, sacked staff will be replaced by unemployed and retired nurses
Authorities in Ghana capital Accra asks mosques to use mobile text or WhatsApp messages rather than loudspeaker as prayer calls, interviewed Muslims worried about economic implications for imam and that call to prayer is traditionally supposed to reach as far as possible
German aid worker from non-governmental organisation Help abducted by unknown gunmen in Niger near border with Mali, four Nigerien colleagues also kidnapped but later released
Protesters put 16 corpses in front of UN headquarters in Central African Republic's capital Bangui after accusations that organization's soldiers killed 21 civilians during fighting with Muslim militia
At least 257 dead as Algerian military Ilyushin Il-76 plane crashes shortly after taking off from Boufarik airbase outside Algiers, 26 of passengers representatives of West Saharan independence movement Polisario
Zimbabwe to invite EU, US and other countries in West to monitor election in July, ending ban imposed by Robert Mugabe in 2002 after accusations that foreign powers favored opposition
Nigerian President Buhari seeks re-election despite concerns over his health and low energy during recent years, vowed in 2015 to crack down on graft and stamp out Boko Haram insurgency which has not been achieved
Winnie Mandela dies at age 81, was married to South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela for 38 years up until divorce in 1996, infamous for backing practice of necklacing and for involvement in kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Stompie Seipei in 1988

Economy

Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover join forces to create button to click to pay when shopping online, seen as attempt to compete with PayPal, that has been gaining market share
International Airlines group, owner of British Airways and Iberia, acquires 4.6% stake in Norwegian, intends to initiate discussions about possibility of full offer for company
Iran sets exchange rate at 42,000 rials to dollar in attempt to remove discrepancy between official rate and that used by traders, anyone trading at any other rate will be considered smuggler according to country's first Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, Iran's currency has lost 20% against dollar in two weeks
Chinese President Xi Jinping renews 2013 vow to raise foreign ownership limit in automobile sector and open country's economy further, announcement raises hopes that reforms will be implemented as soon as possible so that trade war with US can be averted
Donald Trump threatens increased tariffs on merchandise from Chine worth an additional 100 billion USD, as a countermeasure to announced Chinese tariff increases on imported US merchandise worth 50 billion USD, which in turn was the reaction to US import duties on merchandise worth 50 billion USD from China
China raises tariffs by up to 25% on 128 US products such as frozen pork, fruit and wine, no measures aimed at aircraft or soybeans which were China's biggest US imports by value 2017
Five cryptocurrency exchanges withdraw applications to be licensed in Japan, say they cannot meet government requirements
Saudi Arabia and Russia negotiate long-term agreement to control oil price, want to extend current deal between Russia and Opec up to 20 years
Maduro regime strikes three zeroes from Venezuela currency and calls it "strong", bolivar has dropped 99.99% relative to USD since Maduro came to power in 2013
World’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance moves to Malta after facing regulatory crackdowns in China and Japan, CEO Zhao Changpeng was recently invited by Maltese government to review upcoming crypto businesses bill

Technology

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies begins building two test tracks running 320 and 1,000 meters in length at facility in Toulouse in southern France, ready for testing later this year
Virgin Galactic makes its first engine powered test flight of the space craft SpaceShipTwo since the accident in October 2014 when the second pilot Michael Alsbury died but the first pilot, Peter Siebold survived, the craft is released from an airplane that reaches, at its highest, 25,600 meters altitude, and speed of Mach 1.87
The Chinese space station Tiangong-1 will to the largest part burn up when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the southern Pacific Ocean; it was launched in 2011 as a part of a space program that will establish a permanent station in orbit in 2023
Airline Qantas starts second longest direct route with flights between London and Perth in western Australia, only Qatar Airways line between Doha and Auckland, New Zeeland is longer, made posible by increasingly fuel efficient airplanes
Woman dead after being hit by self-driving Uber car in Tempe, Arizona, Uber pauses tests of autonomous vehicles in several cities
Lightning Network for Bitcoin relased in beta version, supported among others by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and former PayPal exec David Sacks who calls event an decisive moment in history of Bitcoin, means transaction capacity will be unlimited in theory and lower transaction costs
Elon Musk says SpaceX will be ready to fly its Big Falcon Rocket in 2019, rocket will land on Mars in 2022 according to earlier plan
Private initiative aims putting remote controlled car on Moon and live stream video to Earth in joint venture including PTScientists, Vodafone, Audi and Nokia
Apple confirms use of Google cloud solution to store iCloud data, has previously used Microsoft Azure and still uses Amazon Web Services
Tesla to install solar panels and Powerwall 2 batteries in 50,000 South Australian homes in cooperation with local authorities, could save average family more than AUD 700 per year, customers will pay 27 cents per kWh compared to current average price of 42.4 cents per kWh

Science

Prion infection similar to mad cow disease discovered in Algerian camels, unclear if transmission to humans possible
Austrian psychiatrist Hans Asperger collaborated with Nazi euthanasia program according to medical historian Herwig Czech, referred 35 children to infamous clinic Am Spiegelgrund wehere 800 children were murdered
Children's reading ability determines how much they choose to read, rather than vice versa, according to Dutch study covering 12,000 twins
Autodidact fossil hunter in Lilstock, England finds bones of ichthyosaur which is calculated to have been 26 meter long, could mean ancient aquatic creatures were largest animals ever, other skeletons presumed to be from land-living dinosaurs could be from marine reptiles
One in three men and one in four women in Germany smoke, according to poll with 12,200 participants, highest proportion of smokers in Brandenburg and among people with low education or income (German)
Marmoset monkeys more likely to share food with young when out of sight from rest of group, surprise researchers at University of Zürich
Rare form of ice discovered inside diamond, first time ice-VII has been observed outside laboratory, characterized by cubic crystal structure created by very high pressure
Bones found on Nikumaroro island in Pacific Ocean 1940 probably belonged to Amelia Earhart who three years earlier tried to become first female pilot to cross Pacific, according to study published in Forensic Anthropology
US aircraft carrier USS Lexington that was sunk by Japan during Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 found at depth of 3km by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's company Vulcan, will not be retrieved as it is considered to be war grave
Hearing and balance symptoms experienced by embassy employees in Cuba may be explained by interference between several ultrasound signals used in eavesdropping, according to researcher at University of Michigan

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