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EU leaders will hold emergency summit on Ukraine, European security

The leaders of the 27 European Union countries will have an emergency summit on March 6 about next steps for Ukraine and Europe's security. European Council President Antonio Costa announced Sunday that he is convening the summit in Brussels. "We are living a defining moment for Ukraine and European security," Costa said in a post on social media. Since the EU leaders last met February 3, the Trump administration has upended years of US support for Ukraine and decades of commitment to defending European allies. The leader of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and other members of the EU's executive branch will visit Kyiv on Monday to show support for Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion.  This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

24 February,2025 12:49 AM IST | Brussels | AP
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Pope Francis in critical condition with early kidney failure as prayers pour in

Pope Francis remained in critical condition Sunday and blood tests show early kidney failure but he remains alert and "well-oriented", and attended Mass, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia and a complex lung infection. In a late update, the Vatican said Francis had not had any more respiratory crises since Saturday night but was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen. Some blood tests showed "initial, mild, kidney failure", but doctors said it was under control. The decreased platelet count, necessary for clotting, that was first detected Saturday was stable. "The complexity of the clinical picture, and the necessary wait for drug therapies to provide some feedback, dictate that the prognosis remains reserved," the doctors concluded. Prayers for him poured in from around the world, from his native Argentina to the seat of Sunni Islam in Cairo to schoolchildren in Rome. In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan admitted what church leaders in Rome were not saying publicly: that the Catholic faithful were united "at the bedside of a dying father". "As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile health, and probably close to death," Cardinal Dolan said at St Patrick's Cathedral, without saying if he had independent information about the pope's condition. Doctors have said Francis' condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. His condition has revived speculation about what might happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and whether he might resign.Prayers for pope at VaticanFrancis was supposed to have celebrated Mass on Sunday morning in St Peter's Basilica and ordained deacons as part of the Vatican's yearlong Holy Year commemoration. The organiser of the Holy Year, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, celebrated the Mass in his place and offered a special prayer for Francis from the altar before delivering the homily the pope had prepared. "Even though he is in a hospital bed, we feel Pope Francis close to us. We feel him present among us," Archbishop Fisichella told the hundreds of white-robed deacons. A pre-written message that had been prepared for Francis to read Sunday but did not deliver said he was "confidently continuing my hospitalization at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy"! The message asked for prayers for him "as he always asks" and noted the upcoming anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "a painful and shameful occasion for the whole of humanity". Meanwhile in Francis' native Argentina, Catholics prayed for the pope at the Buenos Aires cathedral and the city's iconic obelisk was lit up "Francis, the city prays for you". In Cairo, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning who forged a close bond with Francis, wished him well. "I pray to Allah to grant my dear brother, Pope Francis, a swift recovery and to bless him with good health and well-being so that he may continue his journey in serving humanity," Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb wrote in a Facebook post. And school children from around Rome deluged the Gemelli hospital with get-well cards, while Italian bishops led rosary prayers and celebrated special Masses across Italy. Doctors have warned that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, the pope's medical team said in their first in-depth update on the pope's condition. Francis developed a low platelet count, a condition called platelopenia or thrombocytopenia. Platelets are cell-like fragments that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds heal. Low platelet counts can be caused by a number of things, including side effects from medicines or infections. Francis, who has chronic lung disease and is prone to bronchitis in winter, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed "absolute rest" and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.  

24 February,2025 12:34 AM IST | Rome | AP
Representation Pic/istock

1 dead, at least 2 wounded in France knife attack labelled Islamic extremism

A knife attack on Saturday in eastern France left one person dead and at least two others wounded, authorities said, in violence labelled as Islamic extremism by President Emmanuel Macron. A 37-year-old Algerian man was arrested, prosecutors said. The attack occurred in the French city of Mulhouse near a covered canal-side market. The area borders Germany and Switzerland. The French anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said that it's handling the investigation. Macron said that the perpetrator was an Islamic extremist, adding that the government has 'complete determination' to respond to the attack. France has been on high alert for extremist threats. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was heading to the scene of the attack on Saturday night. The victim was a 69-year-old Portuguese man, the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said. Those wounded were police officers who intervened. The suspect had been on a list of people flagged for radicalism, the regional prosecutor said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

23 February,2025 08:15 AM IST | Paris | AP
Pope Francis. Pic/AFP

Pope in critical condition after long respiratory crisis, requiring oxygen

Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old Francis, who has been hospitalised for a week with pneumonia and a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed low platelet counts associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update. 'The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,' the statement said. Doctors have said Francis' condition is touch-and-go and that he is by no means out of danger. They have warned that the main threat facing Francis would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, the pope's medical team said in their first in-depth update on the pope's condition. Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed 'absolute rest' and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it. Dr Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Rome's Gemelli hospital, said the biggest threat facing Francis was that some of the germs that are currently located in his respiratory system pass into the bloodstream, causing sepsis. Sepsis can lead to organ failure and death. 'Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,' Alfieri told a news conference Friday at Gemelli. 'The English say 'knock on wood,' we say 'touch iron.' Everyone touch what they want,' he said as he tapped the microphone. 'But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream.' 'He knows he's in danger,' Alfieri added. 'And he told us to relay that.' Meanwhile, the Vatican hierarchy went on the defensive to tamp down rumours and speculation that Francis might decide to resign. There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated. Francis has said that he has written a letter of resignation that would be invoked if he were medically incapable of making such a decision. The pope remains fully conscious, alert, eating and working. The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave a rare interview to Corriere della Sera to respond to speculation and rumours about a possible resignation. It came after the Vatican issued an unusual and official denial of an Italian media report that said Parolin and the pope's chief canonist had visited Francis in the hospital in secret. Given the canonical requirements to make a resignation legitimate, the implications of such a meeting were significant, but the Vatican flat-out denied that any such meeting occurred. Parolin said such speculation seemed 'useless' when what really mattered was the health of Francis, his recovery and return to the Vatican. 'On the other hand, I think it is quite normal that in these situations uncontrolled rumours can spread or some misplaced comment is uttered. It is certainly not the first time it has happened,' Parolin was quoted as saying. 'However, I don't think there is any particular movement, and so far I haven't heard anything like that.' Deacons, meanwhile, were gathering at the Vatican for their special Holy Year weekend. Francis got sick at the start of the Vatican's Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism. This weekend, Francis was supposed to have celebrated deacons, a ministry in the church that precedes ordination to the priesthood. In his place, the Holy Year organiser will celebrate Sunday's Mass, the Vatican said. And for the second consecutive weekend, Francis was expected to skip his traditional Sunday noon blessing, which he could have delivered from Gemelli if he were up to it. 'Look, even though he's not (physically) here, we know he's here,' said Luis Arnaldo Lopez Quirindongo, a deacon from Ponce, Puerto Rico, who was at the Vatican on Saturday for the Jubilee celebration. 'He's recovering, but he's in our hearts and is accompanying us, because our prayers and his go together.' This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

23 February,2025 08:15 AM IST | Rome | ANI
Yvette Cooper

New UK laws target ‘cuckooing’

The United Kingdom has unveiled plans to clamp down on the exploitative practice of “cuckooing”, where criminals seize control of a vulnerable person’s home without their consent to conduct illegal activities like drug dealing, as part of the government’s new legislation. Cuckooing is commonly associated with drug supply, serious violence and anti-social behaviour, involving people often with disabilities or those with illegal substance misuse issues targeted by criminals for their own gain. Another new offence will be created against adults who use a child to commit criminal activity. Both measures, carrying considerable prison sentences between five and 10 years, will be part of what the UK Home Office has dubbed the “landmark” Crime and Policing Bill set to be introduced in the House of Commons next week. “As part of our Plan for Change, we are introducing these two offences to properly punish those who prey on them, ensure victims are properly protected and prevent these often-hidden crimes from occurring in the first place,” said UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

23 February,2025 07:49 AM IST | London | Agencies
The police chief said that there have been 17 shooting incidents and 5 stabbings since January. Pic/PTI

Sri Lankan govt vows action against provokers of violence

The Sri Lankan government said on Saturday that the recent killings in the country, including that of a prominent underworld figure, appear to be an attempt to undermine the ongoing investigations into high-profile criminal cases such as the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings. The government’s response came following this week’s courtroom shooting that left the underworld figure dead. The incident sent shockwaves across the country, leading to the opposition probing the government’s measures to tackle the spate of violence. “Most of these are done by gangs now resident in neighbouring countries,” Ravi Seneviratne, the secretary to the Ministry of Public Security told reporters. Seneviratne said the government has felt that recent killings were an attempt to sabotage the ongoing investigation into high-profile cases of the past, including the revived investigation on the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings. Anura Kumara Dissanayake. PIC/X On April 21, 2019, nine suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing 273 people, including 11 Indians. Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in September last year said he would reopen an investigation into the terror attacks after meeting with the head of the Catholic Church Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, who has been critical of the investigation into the attacks. Blaming both former Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe for the incident, Ranjith slammed the investigation as a political cover-up of the attacks. Police chief Priyantha Weerasuriya on Saturday said there have been 17 shooting incidents and 5 stabbings since January.  The police have identified 57 organised crime gangs operating and manned by around 1,400 gang members. During the press conference, the police chief and enforcement officials faced intense questioning regarding the incident in which two criminal suspects died while in police custody. The police this morning said the two were shot dead by the police when the two criminals tried to grab police weapons in their bid to escape. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

23 February,2025 07:49 AM IST | Colombo | Agencies
The couple’s hangout spot is the dumpster, where perishables become house supplies. Pics/Youtube

Someone’s trash, their treasure

Amir and Ruth from Dorchester, Dorset, are turning trash into treasure. This couple isn’t just recycling; they’re out here reclaiming discarded items and making a whole lifestyle out of it. Their home? Fully furnished—without spending a single penny. Their groceries? Courtesy of supermarket bins. They’ve saved a mind-blowing Rs 9.5 lakh just by diving into what others throw away.  Amir Jardan, 38, and his fiancée Ruth Moore, 27, have been at this since 2022, feeding their family of five with perfectly good bread, pasta, chocolate, and crisps that were this close to being wasted. “We come from humble beginnings, so we know how brutal the cost of living is,” Amir explains. #GOAL? Teach their kids the real value of things. And it’s not just about food. This couple has scored luxury items, designer clothes, and even broken gadgets (like an iPad) that Amir fixes up like a pro. They met in 2021, but by April 2022, they were fully into the dumpster diving game. What started as a survival hack turned into a full-blown lifestyle. Guess their total food budget. Just Rs 4,500 a month—mostly on takeaway coffee, because who doesn’t deserve a Starbucks? But they don’t hoard. Anything they don’t need goes to We Are Humans, a Bournemouth-based charity that helps those in need. “We never take more than we need. Greed isn’t our thing,” Amir says. Oh, and they’ve got receipts—their YouTube channel, documenting every dive since November 2023, now has over seven thousand followers. Is Doomsday near? The oarfish, infamously known as the “doomsday” creature washed ashore in the Canary Islands, sparking fear on the Internet. According to Japanese mythology, these creatures will purposely rise to the surface whenever they sense trouble on the horizon. During the 2011 Fukushima tsunami, dozens of the beasts washed ashore in the years preceding the catastrophe. A$AP Joe is on his way! Pic/Getty Images A$AP Rocky and Rihanna have promised to name their next child after the rapper’s lawyer after he was acquitted in his recent court case of a shooting of a former friend. In a show of gratitude to their attorney Joe Tacopina, the couple announced to bestow their next baby with his moniker. Speaking of the honour, Joe said: ‘They said, ‘our next baby is A$AP Joe’. I said, ‘I’m gonna hold you to that!”’ 

23 February,2025 07:49 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Averu Mengistu (3rd from left) and Tal Shoham (extreme right). Pic/PTI

Hamas frees last six living hostages

Hamas freed six Israeli hostages due to be released on Saturday even as heightened tension between the adversaries clouded the future of the fragile ceasefire deal. In the central town of Nuseirat, three Israeli men in their 20s—Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen—were posing alongside the fighters. A beaming Omer Shem Tov blew kisses to the crowd, flashed the thumbs up, and even kissed the militant next to him on the head. Earlier in the day, two other hostages—Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39—were freed in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The sixth and final hostage was not immediately identified but is expected to be Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, a Bedouin Israeli with a history of mental health illness, crossed on his own into Gaza in 2015 and had been held since. The latest release, to be followed by the freeing of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, is going ahead after tensions mounted over a grisly and heart-wrenching dispute triggered this week when Hamas initially handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two young boys abducted by militants. The remains that Hamas transferred with her sons’ bodies on Thursday were later determined to be those of an unidentified Palestinian woman. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge for “a cruel and malicious violation,” while Hamas suggested it had been a mistake. The six hostages freed Saturday are the last living ones to be released under the first phase. The new releases brought a moment of joy and relief for families, but with the ceasefire’s future uncertain, fears remain over the fate of the remaining hostages seized during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 in Israel and ignited the war. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

23 February,2025 07:48 AM IST | Gaza Strip | Agencies
Representation pic

Shooting at Air Force Base in New Mexico kills an airman and wounds another

A shooting at a US Air Force base in New Mexico early Saturday left one airman dead and another wounded, military officials said, adding that it was not an act of terrorism or an attack by an outsider. A statement from Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque said security forces responded to a shooting near one of the entrances to the base at about 2 am. One airman died at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound to a hand and later discharged, the statement said. The Air Force released few other details and did not immediately say whether anyone was in custody or if military authorities were searching for a suspect. A spokesperson declined to say whether the shooter or shooters also were airmen. The names of the airmen who were shot were not immediately released. FBI investigators were at the scene being helped by Albuquerque police, said Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesperson. Police were not searching for any suspects, he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

23 February,2025 07:46 AM IST | Albuquerque | AP
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New bat coronavirus could infect humans via same route as Covid-19: China

A Chinese team of virologists have found a new bat coronavirus that carries the risk of animal-to-human transmission because it uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes Covid-19, a media report said. The study was led by Shi Zhengli, Chinese virologist from the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), where the COVID-19 was alleged to have emanated from. Shi, who is known as the Bat Woman for her research on viruses from the Bats, as well as the Chinese government deny that the virus was leaked from the Wuhan lab. The latest discovery is a new lineage of the HKU5 coronavirus first identified in the Japanese pipistrelle bat in Hong Kong. The new virus comes from the merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers), the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported. The virus is able to bind to the human angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2), the same receptor used by the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, to infect cells. "We report the discovery and isolation of a distinct lineage (lineage 2) of HKU5-CoV, which can utilise not only bat ACE2 but also human ACE2 and various mammalian ACE2 orthologs [genes found in different species with a common origin]," the team of virologists headed by Shi wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell on Tuesday, according to the Post report. The researchers found that when the virus was isolated from bat samples it could infect human cells as well as artificially grown masses of cell or tissue that resembled miniaturised respiratory or intestinal organs. Earlier this month, China said its bio-lab in Wuhan which faced allegations leaking the COVD-19 causing the global pandemic has never engaged in "gain-of-function studies" on coronavirus amid allegations that USAID has funded the study of the infectious disease. "China has also made it clear more than once that the Wuhan Institute of Virology has never engaged in gain-of-function studies of coronavirus," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing here responding to allegations in US that the USAID taxpayers' money was used to fund gain-of-function studies at the Chinese bio-lab. Gain-of-function research is medical research that genetically alters an organism in a way that may enhance the biological functions of gene products."Never has it designed, made or leaked COVID-19. On the origins-tracing of the virus, China firmly opposes all forms of political manipulation", Guo said. According to recent American media reports, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) used taxpayers' money to fund gain-of-function studies at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, which may have caused the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the deaths of millions around the world. Trump has shut down the USAID work that was not aligned with American strategic interests and wastes money. The Wuhan bio-lab was constantly under scanner, especially during the previous Trump presidency. Guo said at a media briefing on February 12 here that "It is 'extremely unlikely' that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a lab leak" this is the authoritative conclusion reached by the experts of the WHO-China joint mission based on science following their field trips to the lab in Wuhan and in-depth communication with researchers. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

22 February,2025 06:09 PM IST | Beijing | PTI
Hadi Matar and Salman Rushdie

Indian-origin author Salman Rushdie's attacker found guilty of attempted murder

Hadi Matar, a 27-year-old from New Jersey, was convicted of attempted murder for stabbing Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie, ANI reported. The jury in western New York gave the verdict after Rushdie's testimony, who said that he had been struck by his attacker's dark, ferocious eyes. He described initially feeling as though being punched, but soon realised he had "a very large quantity of blood pouring out" onto his clothes. Matar was also convicted of assault for injuring Ralph Henry Reese, a co-founder of a programme that provides refuge for writers, who was on stage to moderate the event, ANI reported. As per ANI, Matar is set to be sentenced on April 23 and will face up to 32 years in prison, in addition to federal terrorism-related charges. On August 12, 2022, Rushdie was scheduled to give a talk at Chautauqua Institution, however, right before his talk, a man in dark clothing and a face mask went onto the stage and repeatedly stabbed Rushdie. Soon after the attack, he was rushed to a hospital in northwestern Pennsylvania and underwent surgery. Rushdie had sustained three stab wounds to his neck, four to his stomach, puncture wounds to his right eye and chest, and a cut on his right thigh. Rushdie was also blinded in the eye and the attack also affected the use of one of his hands, ANI reported. He also suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and an eye. According to ANI, Matar had earlier praised Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini and admitted that he didn't think that the author would survive. "When I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess," Hadi Matar had said as quoted by the New York Post. When asked if he was inspired by the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa against Rushdie over his book 'The Satanic Verses,' Matar replied, "I respect the Ayatollah. I think he's a great person. That's as far as I will say about that," Matar claimed, noting he only "read like two pages" of Rushdie's controversial novel. "I read a couple of pages. I didn't read the whole thing cover to cover," he said. Previously, Salman Rushdie has endured several death threats following his 1988 novel 'The Satanic Verses' which angered many Muslims, who considered it sacrilegious. The late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini also called for his death, which made Rushdie spend a decade under British protection, ANI reported. (With inputs from ANI)

22 February,2025 02:44 PM IST | New York | mid-day online correspondent
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