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National Security Advisor condemns attack on Indian Consulate

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that the US State Department is in touch with the local law enforcement authorities…reports Asian Lite News

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has condemned the attack that took place on Sunday on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco by Khalistani separatist elements.

Sullivan said via Twitter that the US condemns the acts of violence against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. He further said that the US is committed to the safety and security of Indian diplomats. He confirmed that the US State Department is in touch with the local law enforcement authorities.

“We condemn the acts of violence against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. We are committed to the safety and security of these facilities and the diplomats who work within them. The State Department is in touch with local law enforcement on next steps in this matter,” Sullivan wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

Even after the “condemnation”, more than 200 protesters waving Khalistan flags again descended upon the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Wednesday for a planned demonstration amid a heightened security presence of the San Francisco Police Department (SFDP).

Unlike the violent disorder on Sunday when the Consulate came under attack, the protesters were heavily barricaded across the road with uniformed SFPD officers standing guard and patrolling the area.

The protesters included turbaned men of all ages who chanted pro-Khalistan slogans. They came in from different parts of the Bay area.

The organisers used mics to make anti-India speeches both in English and Punjabi language and attack the Punjab Police for alleged human rights violations.

Meanwhile, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has said vandalism at Indian Consulate in San Francisco is “absolutely unacceptable” and is condemned by the US.

“We certainly condemn that vandalism, it’s absolutely unacceptable. State Department’s diplomatic security service is working with local authorities to properly investigate. The state Department will work on infrastructure perspective to repair the damage,” Kirby said.

US State Department spokesperson told ANI: “The United States condemns the attack against the Indian Consulate and any attack against diplomatic facilities within the United States. We pledge to defend the safety and security of these facilities as well as the diplomats who work within them.

Khalistan supporters have started creating chaos across the world. After vandalism in London, Khalistan supporters attacked Indian Consulate in San Francisco. Videos of supporters breaking the doors and barging into the office surfaced on social media.

Visuals shared online show a huge mob brandishing Khalistan flags mounted on wooden poles, using them to smash glass doors and windows of the consulate building. They raised pro-Khalistan slogans as they broke through makeshift security barriers raised by the city police and installed two Khalistani flags inside the premises.

In a meeting with the US Charge d’Affaires in New Delhi on Monday, India conveyed its strong protest at the vandalisation of the property of the Consulate General of India, San Francisco.

“The US Government was reminded of its basic obligation to protect and secure diplomatic representation. It was asked to take appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. Our Embassy in Washington D.C. also conveyed our concerns to the US State Department along similar lines,” read the Ministry of External Affairs press release. (ANI)

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Sunak wins post-Brexit trade vote  

Despite the opposition, Sunak won the vote by 515 to 29, suggesting that several in his Conservative Party had abstained on the vote…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak won the backing of parliament on Wednesday for a key element of a reworked post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland despite a lack of support from the province’s biggest unionist party and some of his lawmakers.

Sunak has tried to end years of wrangling over Brexit by revisiting one of the trickiest parts of the negotiations – to ensure smooth trade to Northern Ireland without creating a hard border with Britain or with European Union-member Ireland.

He agreed with the EU to introduce the “Stormont brake”, aimed at offering Northern Ireland more control over whether to accept any new EU laws, as part of the so-called Windsor Framework of measures.

But in Wednesday’s vote in the lower house of parliament, those he most wanted to win over – Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Conservative eurosceptics in the European Research Group (ERG) and his two predecessors, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – said they would rebel.

Despite the opposition, Sunak won the vote by 515 to 29, suggesting that several in his Conservative Party had abstained on the vote.

Sunak and his ministers had urged lawmakers to support the brake.

“The Stormont brake is at the heart of the (Windsor) Framework,” Northern Ireland minister Chris Heaton-Harris told parliament ahead of the vote. “It restores practical sovereignty for the United Kingdom as a whole and the people of northern Ireland in particular.” The brake enables Britain to prevent new EU laws applying to goods in Northern Ireland if asked to do so by a third of lawmakers in the province’s devolved legislature.

The ERG has described the measure as “practically useless” and the DUP complains that it does not apply to existing EU law.

The new agreement was hammered out by Sunak, in office since October, after Johnson’s former government threatened to renege on the original deal it had struck with the EU.

A hard border risked endangering the Good Friday Agreement which largely ended three decades of armed conflict in Northern Ireland involving militants seeking a united Ireland, “loyalists” wanting to remain part of the United Kingdom, and British security forces.

The United States has said that any threats to the agreement could hurt the possibility of a US-British trade Sunak hailed securing the deal last month as a “decisive breakthrough”.

But the DUP has said it does little to ease its concerns over the post-Brexit trading arrangements, saying the brake did not deal with the fundamental issue – the imposition of EU law.

The Northern Irish party, at odds with opinion polls suggesting 45% of voters in the province support the framework versus 17% opposed, has said it will keep talking to the government to try to assuage its concerns.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said his party could not return to Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government “at this stage”, a blow to Sunak who wants the assembly to be up and running.

Earlier, the ERG’s chairman Mark Francois told reporters the group had recommended to its members to vote against the government to show their discontent over what he called an “oversold” agreement that was a “brake with no brake pads”.

Johnson, the face of the campaign to leave the EU, and his successor, Truss, both said they would vote against the brake.

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Rahul Gandhi convicted by Surat court, gets Bail

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was held guilty by a court in Surat in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his alleged ‘Modi surname’ remarks…reports Asian Lite News

The Surat District Court on Thursday sentenced Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to two years’ imprisonment in a criminal defamation case filed against him over his alleged ‘Modi surname’ remark.
He was later granted bail by the court.

 “The court has suspended the punishment for 30 days and granted bail to Rahul Gandhi,” said an advocate at Surat district court.
Meanwhile, Union law minister Kiren Rijiju outside Parliament said, “I will see the details of the order before I say anything. Whatever Rahul Gandhi speaks it always affects the Congress party and the entire nation in a negative way. Some Congress MPs told me that because of his attitude, Congress is suffering.”

Earlier today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was held guilty by a court in Surat in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his alleged ‘Modi surname’ remarks.

The Surat District Court pronounced the verdict in the case for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. Rahul Gandhi had made the alleged remarks about Modi’s surname at a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Last week, the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma concluded hearing final arguments from both sides and set March 23 to pronounce its judgment in the four-year-old defamation case. (ANI)

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First India-GCC Senior Officers Meeting held in Riyadh

Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and had discussions on various issues pertaining Indian Hajj and Umrah Pilgirms.”…reports Asian Lite News

The first round of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Senior Officers Meeting (SOM) was held in Riyadh. Ausaf Sayeed, secretary(CPV&OIA), Ministry of External Affairs held a meeting with Saudi Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eng. Waleed bin Abdul Kareem El-Khereiji on the Political-Security-Social-Cultural pillar of India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC), the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.

During the India-GCC meeting on March 20, the two sides conveyed happiness over the progress made in trade and investment between India-GCC countries. The Indian delegation was led by Ausaf Sayeed, while the GCC delegation was led by Abdul Aziz Bin Hamad Al-Owaishaq, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Negotiations, GCC. Both sides agreed for an early finalisation of the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the press release. Sayeed called for more collaboration between India and GCC countries in renewable energy, food security, health, IT sector and counter-terrorism. The two sides proposed the formation of Joint Working Groups to cater to particular areas of cooperation between India and GCC countries.

“Secretary(CPV&OIA) invited for more collaboration between India and GCC countries in renewable energy, food security, health, IT sector and counter-terrorism,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated in the press release.

Ausaf Sayeed on Wednesday held a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al-Rabiah. Sayeed expressed gratitude to Tawfiq Al-Rabiah for the allocation of a Haj quota of 1,75,025 for India for 2023, the MEA said in the press release.

Sayeed said an invitation was extended to him to visit India at his earliest convenience. Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia tweeted, “Secretary (CPV&OIA), Dr Ausaf Sayeed @drausaf met with Minister of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia H.E. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and had discussions on various issues pertaining Indian Hajj and Umrah Pilgirms.”

On March 20, Sayeed met Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed bin Abdul Kareem El-Khereiji on the Political-Security-Social-Cultural pillar of India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC). Both sides assessed the continued high-level contact between India and Saudi Arabia.

Sayeed discussed the progress made under the Committee on Economy and Investment of the SPC with Saudi Centre for International Strategic Partnerships (SCISP) President and CEO Dr Faisal Al-Sugair.

The two sides agreed to make further progress on priority opportunities identified under the Committee in various sectors, including renewable energy, grid connectivity, pharmaceuticals, food security, IT, fintech and water resources, the release stated.

On March 19, Sayeed met the Deputy Minister for International Partnerships in the Saudi Ministry of Investment Mohammad Al Hassnah and discussed opportunities for bilateral investment exchanges. The two sides discussed setting up an investment bridge for accelerating the pending investment projects and facilitating investors. (ANI)

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Next round of G20 meetings to be held in Gujarat

In January and February, Gujarat had hosted a series of meetings related to G20, one of them on tourism…reports Asian Lite News

Gujarat will host the next round of G20 meetings from March 27 to April 4, during which three conclaves will be held in the state on a range of issues, where delegates from different countries will converge for participation, said an official on Tuesday.

India currently holds the year-long presidency of the Group of 20 (G20), which comprises 19 countries across continents and the European Union (EU).

Of these three upcoming events in the state, the first meeting on “Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG)” will take place between March 27 and 29 in Gandhinagar, said IAS officer Mona Khandhar, who is coordinating G20 events in Gujarat.

“This is the second meeting of ECSWG. It will be inaugurated by G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant in the presence of several senior central government officials and subject experts,” said Khandhar, who serves as Principal Secretary (Economic Affairs) in the state finance department.

Some of these dignitaries include Leena Nandan, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Debashree Mukherjee, Additional Secretary – Water Resources, Ministry of Jal Shakti and G Ashok Kumar, Director General, Mission for Clean Ganga, she told reporters.

Officials from the Central Water Commission, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme and the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services would also participate, said the senior bureaucrat.

“Representatives from nearly 30 countries, including the United States, Argentina, Brazil, China, France and Germany, will take part in the three-day event,” said Khandhar.

On the first day, discussions will be held on the subject “Best Practises on Water Resources” and other related topics. Later, guests will be taken to the famous Adalaj Stepwell, Narmada canal syphon on the Sabarmati river and the Sabarmati Riverfront.

On March 28, technical sessions would take place on five focus areas – climate resilient infrastructure, ground water management, water sanitation and hygiene, climate change mitigation and resource efficiency and circular economy, she said.

On March 29, technical sessions will be organised on topics related to oceans, sustainable blue economy, conservation of marine and coastal ecosystem and marine spatial planning among others, the IAS officer said.

As per a release by PIB (Press Information Bureau), the second meeting in this series on the topic “Disaster Management” will be held in Gandhinagar from March 30 to April 1.

In January and February, Gujarat had hosted a series of meetings related to G20, one of them on tourism.

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Second G20 meeting takes place at Udaipur  

The outcomes of this workshop will contribute to building an understanding among G20 members and strengthen policy and other recommendations for actions to achieve SDGs…reports Asian Lite News

G20 workshop on enabling finance for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was organized on the second day of the 2nd G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group Meeting at Udaipur, Rajasthan today.

The workshop presented the views and experiences of a wide range of stakeholders, including the public sector, private sector, and academia, on the use of social impact investing as a tool for channeling finance towards social SDGs and measures to improve nature-related financial information in the future.

The outcomes of this workshop will contribute to building an understanding among G20 members and strengthen policy and other recommendations for actions to achieve SDGs. The workshop was attended in person by delegates from G20 member countries, 10 invitee countries and 14 international organizations. Many delegates joined the workshop virtually.

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Beijing, Delhi have wisdom to resolve bilateral disputes: Chinese envoy

Ma Jia said that China supports India’s G20 Presidency and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and expressed hope for positive outcomes….reports Asian Lite News

China has said that the border dispute with India is a bilateral issue and foreign interference will not help solve the problems, Chinese Charge d’Affaires Ma Jia said while speaking to reporters in New Delhi.

Speaking to reporters, Ma Jia said, “Border issue between India and China is a bilateral issue, both countries have the wisdom to resolve the issue, we can handle that, we don’t invite any other, especially from other regions to interfere in this bilateral dispute, and whether foreign interference is helpful to resolve the issue, anytime you see there is interference in bilateral dispute, on the contrary, it will not help the two sides to solve the problems.”

Commenting on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks that the situation at the India-China border is fragile, the Chinese envoy said, “Jaishankar says that situation now is fragile, that’s what we are talking about, that’s what senior commander and diplomats are talking and discussing about, there are difficulties, we have to face it.”

The Chinese envoy’s remarks came after Jaishankar in India Today Conclave on March 18 made a comment on the India-China border issue and said, “The situation, to my mind, remains very fragile because there are places where our deployments are very close, and in military assessment, actually quite dangerous,” the minister told the gathering.

Further, Ma Jia added, “China and India don’t want a war, neither of us wants a war, neither of us wants a confrontation along the border areas so I think as long as we have these kinds of intentions, understanding of each other, we can find a way out, we have some difficulties, the border issue is very complicated it has a leftover of history for many years so it is not easy to reach an agreement, we have to face the problem, we have to talk, the intention of the two sides is to improve the situation, our two leaders have consensus on that, we can find a way out.”

Expressing her views on reports of China building huge infrastructure along the border, the Chinese envoy said that as a government it is their responsibility to build infrastructure for civil and military purposes and countries must have mutual trust and there are channels to build this trust. He also said the Indian side is also building huge infrastructure in the past few years.

Chinese Charge Charge d’Affaires Ma Jia called mutual trust a “crucial thing”. The envoy said, “Crucial thing is mutual trust, if we have diplomatic and military channels to keep the channels smooth and explain to each other about what is the intention of that would be helpful to increase the mutual trust between the two sides, especially between the two militaries.”

“I think that is very crucial, we have already solved some problems through these channels, we finished some disengagement in some points, we can gradually solve these problems. We have to understand as a government, we have a responsibility to build infra to be used for civil and military purposes,” she added.

Speaking on the growing ties among Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) nations comprising of Japan, Australia, India and the US, the Chinese envoy said that Beijing does not oppose any kind of regional or international cooperation if it is in the interest of the people and the country in the region.

Commenting on the growing partnership among the Quad nations, the Chinese envoy said,

“We don’t oppose any kind of regional or international cooperation if it is in the interest of people and country in this region but we oppose those small circles composed for the purpose of geopolitical intentions for the containment of China, so we are hopeful all the cooperation are helpful to the world and the region.”

Ma Jia said that China supports India’s G20 Presidency and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and expressed hope for positive outcomes. Notably, India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1. She stressed that India has been trying very hard to bring everyone together but the job is very tough.

Speaking on why there was no consensus reached during G20 foreign ministers meeting, the envoy said, “I have personally attended the G20 foreign affairs meeting, I can see that everybody from the US and western countries talking about Ukraine they don’t have time to talk about other G20 agenda so like this is overwhelming.”

She further said, “At the Bali summit, we already had a similar thing but finally they reached some kind of accommodation in a joint statement. Nowadays, the situation has intensified so it becomes more difficult to reach accommodation so you are out of the track of discussing prominent security issues in the economic and financial platform.

“It’s very difficult to reach consensus … it’s not that China and Russia stand together. We are having a very strong believe that G20 should talk about economic and financial problems and that we have to face that is very serious we can see that G20 has shouldered the responsibility to do something, it’s not just Ukraine and I think India has played a very crucial role and India has been trying very hard to bring everyone together but the job is very tough we support India’s presidency, we also hope G20 and SCO have fruitful outcome this year.”

While speaking to reporters regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping’s participation at G20 and SCO in India, Ma Jia said, “We have already received an invitation. I don’t have too much information right now because it is still several months, and the date is still under discussion so that is why I don’t have very specific information right now to tell you Chinese leader will come or not, we will keep you informed.” (ANI)

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G20 Agriculture Working Group delegates to visit Haryana

In recent times, it has been renamed as Yadavindra Garden in memory of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of the former princely state of Patiala…reports Asian Lite News

Delegates of the G20 second Agriculture Working Group will visit Haryana to interact with state officers on March 31, Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said on Wednesday.

He said the delegates would be apprised of milestones achieved by the state, especially in the field of agriculture.

He also reviewed preparations for the visit of the delegation with state functionalities.

According to Kaushal, 100 delegates of the G20 Agriculture Working Group will visit the historical Yadavindra Gardens, which was created in the 17th century by architect Nawab Fidai Khan.

In recent times, it has been renamed as Yadavindra Garden in memory of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of the former princely state of Patiala.

In the meeting, it was informed that selfie points have been identified in the garden for delegates to capture photos and moments for themselves.

A programme showcasing the Haryanvi Culture will also be organised on this occasion.

Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and senior officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare will also accompany the delegates.

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NGO seeks more UN provisions, budget for disabled

The NGO worked tremendously during Covid-19 with the support of the government and corporate sector….reports Asian Lite News

An Indian NGO, Samarthanam International has asked the United Nations to add more provisions and increase budget allocation for people with disability the world over.

They organised a side event during the ongoing 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council with a theme titled “Impact of Covid-19 on Disabled in India” in Geneva on Wednesday. Dr Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar, Chairman of Samarthanam International told ANI, “The main reason for coming to UN and participating in HR Council is to talk about what Samarthanam is doing and what the Government of India is doing for persons with disability”.

“How the rights of Persons with Disability is protected and also learn how other countries are doing and also tell the UN to add more provisions, increase the budget allocation and also raise the needs of the persons with disabilities because people with disability are most marginalised in all the development agenda, disability is the last. So, how can we bring it up so that people with disability will get the best of the facilities”, he said.

Bengaluru-based Samarthanam International is working to empower visually challenged, disabled and underprivileged people through developmental initiatives focusing on educational, social, economic, cultural and technological aspects.

The NGO worked tremendously during Covid-19 with the support of the government and corporate sector.

Dr Mahantesh told the UN, “When the lockdown was announced during Covid-19 because people could not touch each other, people with disability were most affected. So, we started getting calls from them asking for support then Samarthanam being a responsible organisation decided to jump into and join hands with the government in the fight and requested the government to grant permissions to us to work and also avail certain resources for government and corporates. So, we obtained and started distributing and reaching out to people with disability so that their suffering is reduced to the greatest extent”.

Samarthanam International is also working to collaborate with an African NGO to work for the betterment of people with disabilities.

The NGO, which has been promoting cricket among people with disability in India, is discussing with Afghanistan and Iran to promote cricket. It already has collaboration with 10 countries and organises cricket tournaments every year. (ANI)

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Health India News

Modi advises caution amid rise in flu, Covid cases

PM Modi was briefed that India has been witnessing a slight rise in new cases with average daily cases reported as 888….reports Asian Lite News

Amid the spike in influenza cases in the country and the rise of Covid-19 cases in the past 2 weeks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to assess in terms of preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, the status of the vaccination campaign, stated an official release.

A comprehensive presentation was made covering the global Covid-19 situation including the rising cases in India by the Secretary, of Health, MoHFW. PM Modi was briefed that India has been witnessing a slight rise in new cases with average daily cases reported as 888 and weekly positivity reported as 0.98 percent in the week ending March 22, 2023. However, 1.08 lakh daily average cases have been reported globally during the same week.

“The action taken on the directions given by Prime Minister during the last Covid-19 review held on December 22, 2022, was also briefed. He was informed that the availability and prices of 20 main Covid Drugs, 12 other drugs, 8 buffer drugs, and 1 influenza drug are being monitored,” it read.

A mock drill was also conducted on December 27, 2022, in 22,000 hospitals, and many remedial measures were taken by hospitals thereafter.

The Prime Minister was apprised of the influenza situation in the country, particularly with respect to a higher number of cases of H1N1 and H3N2 being noted in the last few months.

PM Modi directed officials to enhance the Whole Genome Sequencing of Positive Samples with the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories.

“This will support tracking of newer variants if any, and timely response,” said PM Modi.

He also emphasized on Covid appropriate behaviour including wearing masks in hospital premises by patients, health professionals, and health workers.

He also stressed that wearing of masks is advisable when senior citizens and those with co-morbidities visit crowded areas.

He directed that effective monitoring of IRI/SARI cases, and testing for influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and Adenovirus be followed up with States.

Further, Prime Minister stressed the need to ensure the availability of required Drugs and Logistics for influenza and Covid-19 across Health Facilities along with the availability of sufficient beds and for health human resources.

He highlighted that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over and there is a need to monitor the status across the country on regular basis.

The PM advised to continue focusing on the 5-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and Covid Appropriate Behaviour, enhance Lab Surveillance, and testing of all Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases. Mock drills should be conducted regularly to ensure that our hospitals are ready for all exigencies.

Prime Minister exhorted the community to follow respiratory hygiene & to adhere to Covid appropriate behavior in crowded public places.

The meeting was attended by PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to PM, Dr. V K Paul, Member (Health) NITI Aayog; Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary; Secretary, Health & Family Welfare; Secretary, Pharmaceuticals and Secretary, Biotechnology; DG, ICMR, Amit Khare, Advisor, PMO along with other senior officials. (ANI)

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