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APRIL 12
Advani calls for a new-look BJP
Outgoing Bharatiya Janata President L K Advani today sealed the shift in his party's priorities, by telling the national executive meeting in New Delhi that the "rashtra mandir was no different from building Ram mandir". He called for a new BJP which "will be guided not by the issues of yesterday, but by the agenda of
tomorrow." This agenda is also the 'bold new approach' initiated by the most successful man to head the BJP in its brief history.
West stymies proposal to declare Indian Ocean a peace zone
The United States, Britain and France -- three veto-wielding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- have virtually killed a long-standing proposal to declare the Indian Ocean a zone of peace.
Task force report on National Security Council in a few weeks: Pant
Former Union defence minister and task force Chairman K C Pant said the Council would have to assess the security scenario and harmonise and co-ordinate between the various organisations. It would also go into the organisation and finances of the armed forces.
23 Indians killed in Haj stampede identified
As many as 23 of the 24 Indians killed in Thursday's stampede near Mina in Saudi Arabia on the last day of this year's Haj have been identified so far, a senior Indian official said on Saturday. Indian Ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Hamid Ansari, said one of the victims, believed to be an Indian, was yet to be identified.
Thakre files nomination for BJP chief's post
Party sources said no one else was likely to file his nomination papers for the election and Thakre's election would
be unanimous.
India is working on a spy satellite, says Sareen
India is seriously contemplating using an
advanced satellite for gathering intelligence data to be used by
the defence services, said the chief of air staff, Air
Chief Marshal S K Sareen.
US to probe China-Pak nexus in missile test
The Bill Clinton administration is trying to inquire whether China provided technology for Pakistan's latest medium-range missile Ghauri in violation of an international export ban, says US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Director
John Holum.
'Pakistan escalating tension, not India'
Democratic congressman Frank Pallone has protested against the US state department's attempts at equating India and Pakistan for their responsibility in arms proliferation and tension in the region.
Ghauri missile based on smuggled North Korean technology: New York Times
The new liquid-fuelled missile is an enhanced version of the North Korean Rodong Missile, which is a fancy version of the Scud missile developed in Moscow in the 1960s, the paper said.
UP does a facelift on Hindu temples
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh has taken up largescale beautification of some major Hindu pilgrimage centres, including the three contentious shrines at Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura.
No BJP-TDP ties in AP: Dattatreya
Union Minister of State for Urban Development Bandaru Dattatreya on Thursday said there was no alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra
Pradesh though their ties were cordial at the national level.
Veerappan drops conditions, willing to surrender
Forest brigand, who had sent three of his associates to surrender before Madras Police Commissioner P Kalimuthu yesterday, has offered to surrender without insisting on his earlier preconditions -- grant of amnesty and financial compensation.
Uttaranchal bill will be introduced in Budget session
Union Home Minister L K Advani yesterday said
a bill envisaging the formation of a separate Uttaranchal state
will be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament in May.
Vajpayee will not succumb to pressure from TN on Cauvery, says Patel
Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel said he had suggested that the prime minister convene a meeting of the riparian states's chief ministers to solve the problem through dialogue, besides formulating a national water policy before the Supreme
Court's verdict on the Cauvery water issue was out.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'Justice Jain prolonged the trial and made our task more difficult'
'I had taken the summary of the Warren Commission's finding and sent it to Justice Jain. I said here such an important trial is going whose outcome would affect the prestige and the security of the country, kindly hold all your hearings in-camera. But he didn't do it. ' Supersleuth D R Karthikeyan continues his revelations on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and its aftermath.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Vajpayee's path of least resistance
'There are pitfalls in allowing a pacifist like the prime minister continue in office. The hardcore BJP supporter, reared on a staple of anti-minorityism and the spectre of a strong Centre, would find all the current talk of consensus, the present pussy-footing on issues close to his heart, offputting, and try and seek solace elsewhere' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The New Nalanda
'We have an opportunity staring us at our face. The cost of education in the US is high and the students from developing countries face great difficulty in getting admissions. To the world community of developing countries, India could become the destination for higher education,' says Shalabh Kumar.
Andhra Pradesh: MIM MLA's arrest sparks violence in Hyderabad
Maharashtra: Sonia to attend Congress meet at Nashik
Maharashtra: Undertrials go on the rampage
New Delhi: 1984 riot widows petition PM on lifting ban on book
Uttar Pradesh: 102 senior IAS officers transferred
TODAY'S WEATHER
Rain or snow likely in Jammu and Kashmir
Rain or snow is likely to occur at few places in the hills of west Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and at one or two
places in Himachal Pradesh.
APRIL 10
Pak's Ghauri missile is real, not a hoax
The missile could be real despite the hoax theory that is gaining currency in New Delhi. "My inference is that Pakistan does not have the talent or the technological support structure to achieve the complex task. Hence I feel that the missile was a supplied one," says Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis Deputy Director, Captain Uday Bhaskar.
ULFA vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi arrested in Calcutta
The West Bengal police arrested outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi in Calcutta on Wednesday night.
Clinton envoy to persuade India, Pak to resume talks
America's Permanent Representative in the United Nations Bill Richardson, during his stay in New Delhi on April 14 and 15, will meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and members of his Cabinet before flying to Islamabad to see Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief.
US congressman blasts Pak for 'provocative' step
Sherrod Brown has urged President Bill Clinton to review the US nuclear cooperation agreement with China which had assisted Islamabad's nuclear and missile programmes. ''We should not sell
nuclear material to China which may very well end up on the tips of Pakistan's new missiles.''
No need to test Agni missile further: Fernandes
On reports that the Ghauri test-firing was probably a hoax, the
defence minister said, ''I would rather take the prime minister of
Pakistan seriously.''
Rao's next novel to tell all on Ayodhya
Former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao's sequel to The Insider, his just-released novel, will be a historic account
of events that led to the Babri Masjid demolition.
Allahabad high court bans cremation on the banks of Ganga at Kanpur
The Allahabad high court has come to the rescue of the holiest Hindu river Ganga which has been craving for some respite from rampant pullution. But Hindus are up in the arms, as the court order threatens to put an end to their centuries-old tradition of cremating dead bodies on the banks of the river.
Fernandes announces package for army personnel, north-east
Defence Minister George Fernandes, who visited the north-eastern states for five days from April 2 to 6, said specific issues had been raised during his meetings with governors and chief ministers, and he intended to initiate action on these
matters very shortly.
Westernisation is killing Hindi music: Lata
Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar has expressed concern over the deteriorating quality of Hindi film music and its rapid westernisation.
CPI criticises Sorabjee's remarks on President's role
The Communist Party of India criticised Attorney General Soli Sorabjee for his reported statement that the President could impose Central rule in any state 'on his own
judgement'.
Lalthanhawla warns RSS of provoking Reangs against Mizos
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalthanhawla has cautioned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to refrain from instigating the Reang community in his state against the government.
Madani taken to Coimbatore for further interrogation
Madani was taken into custody by the Tamil Nadu police for further investigation into his role in the February 14 bomb blasts at Coimbatore.
Two more MPs from Tamil Nadu to be made ministers, says Jaya
All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha said party Lok Sabha member Dindigul Sreenivasan and Rajya Sabha member M S Niraikulathan, besides Pattali Makkal Katchi MP Shanmugam, would be made Union ministers during the next Cabinet expansion in the first week of May.
Family sacrifices father, eats his flesh at Kali puja
In Varanasi, Ram Sevak Chowhan's family beheaded him, ate his flesh and danced around with his blood smeared on their body. They also chopped off the tongues of his two daughters-in-law.
Rushdie's paperback Satanic storm
Author Salman Rushdie's British publisher is bringing out a paperback edition of the Satanic Verses, his
supporters acknowledged today, after trying to hush up the
controversial move.
Clarke sees a Lankan conspiracy in sex case against him
British science fiction author Arthur C Clarke has
accused Sri Lankan child rights groups of a conspiracy to
discredit him. The police are investigating charges
that the 80-year-old, who has been living on the
island nation since 1956, is a paedophile.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'I knew the consequences if the LTTE's hand was there'
Supersleuth D R Karthikeyan, the man who cracked the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, recalls how he did it, and against what odds, in his first interview after his retirement as CBI director.
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Monopoly Game
'Under the guise of nationalism, swadeshi does nothing but resist progress, and the sole winners are industrialists who are now under pressure to *not* produce substandard goods. Since Independence, apart from JRD, how many have set up industries with national prestige and welfare foremost in mind?' asks Varsha Bhosle.
Stormy Weather Ahead
'The tempests to come for the Vajpayee ministry would be the work of current allies so much as of acknowledged foes. It is in Karnataka, the BJP's southern bastion,' says T V R Shenoy 'that I foresee trouble.'
Delhi: Assembly poll in November
Delhi: MLAs to get two water tankers
Himachal Pradesh: Ministry expanded
Maharashtra: State intelligence official spies on former minister; bodyguard fires in the air
Maharashtra: Poor coordination led to alliance's debacle, admits BJP unit chief
Orissa: BJD alleges irregularities, kickbacks in Dhamra port expansion project
Tamil Nadu: Five Al Umma activists detained under NSA
Tripura: Militants kidnap 12 Agartala-bound bus passengers
TODAY'S WEATHER
Snow in Himachal
The high altitude areas of Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur, and
Pangi valley in Chamba district experienced snowfall.
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Lucknow lady gets engaged to Lord Krishna
In a holy ceremony on April 6, Dr Snehlata Pandey exchanged
rings with Lord Krishna. The marriage is scheduled in
November.
APRIL 9
All the Prime Minister's Men
Among the movers and shakers are two PMs -- Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself and Pramod Mahajan, better known as PM among a section of the bureaucracy and the media. Other stars include former IFS officer Brajesh Mishra, former senior journalist Sudheendra Kulkarni and Ranjan Bhattacharya who has no political standing or bureaucratic credentials. But Ranjan is perhaps the closest to the prime minister. After his marriage with Vajpayee's foster daughter, Ranjan has been the leader's shadow.
Govt may halt soya imports from the US
The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government is planning to scrap the import of soyabean from the United States, fearing that the genetically-engineered American food item would bring along with it a number of exotic weeds and viruses into India. ''If these weeds and viruses enter the country, they could create chaos among the Indian crops,'' said an official. Vajpayee has also asked ministry officials to further study whether the genetically-engineered soya bean would create health problems to consumers of soya oil and soyameal in India.
Union surface transport minister quits
AIADMK's Sedapatti R Muthiah, who was chargesheeted by a Madras court yesterday in a corruption case, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister A B Vajpayee on Wednesday morning. The resignation has been accepted by President K R Narayanan.
Missile will ease tension: Pak foreign minister
Gohar Ayub Khan said, ''When India realises we have missiles it will talk to us as an equal and will stop hurling threats.'' He did not agree with a recent remark made by Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes -- that China was a greater threat to India than Pakistan. ''After the 1962 war India cannot think of a war against China,'' the foreign minister said.
Pak euphoria over Ghauri reveals fundamentalist angle
There is no official explanation as to why this missile has been
named Ghauri but the general conviction is that it is named after
Shahabuddin Ghauri who attacked India in the 12th century.
Pakistanis consider him a hero who established Muslim rule in
this region. He was an Afghan.
Ghauri poses no threat: PM
Vajpayee reiterated that the country's integrity 'will be protected at all cost'.
Pak step will not help the process of restraint: US
''This is a particularly sensitive time when the new goverment in
India is formulating its policies,'' said Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs John Holum. ''We think both countries should, especially now, not take steps that are provocative.''
'I cannot be silenced just because I am part of a coalition that governs India'
Union Defence Minister George Fernandes on why his strong views on issues like MNCs would not affect the functioning of the BJP-led coalition government.
Lalpura expelled from Akali Dal
The senior leader and legislator from Amritsar's Tarn Taran had
refused to take oath as Lok Sabha member, preferring to keep his assembly seat.
Court ultimatum forces govt to act in Kesri case
Acting on the Delhi high court's ultimatum, the Union government has decided to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation to take all necessary action for procuring certain important papers related to the Rs 37.5 million Foreign Contribution Regulation Act violation case against the Congress and its former presidents Sitaram Kesri and P V Narasimha Rao.
Kumaraswamy quits as JD functionary
In a letter to Karnataka unit president B L Shankar, Kumaraswamy, the son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, said he was resigning as general secretary because he did not want to 'shoulder the responsibility of acting as an observer for Kolar district'.
Netam quits BSP, keeps options open
Asked whether he was joining the BJP or the Congress, former Union minister Arvind Netam said, ''In politics nobody can predict what will happen tomorrow.''
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Old man, new legend
It will be outrageous to pretend the BJP can be stopped by collaborating with a characterless, corruption-soaked authoritarian-minded political formation such as the Congress. In effect, says Ashok Mitra, this was EMS's final admonition to his comrades: there can be no collaboration with class adversaries who are, to boot, corrupt, and corrupt to the core.
Swadeshi? Nope, Vajpayee likes videshi
Vajpayee, says Rajiv Shukla, has shown his partiality towards videshi in all economic ministries by bringing in people who do not believe in the Be-Indian-Buy-Indian concept -- in fact, many of his ministers are dead against it.
Tamil Nadu: Notify Cauvery tribunal award, Karunanidhi tells PM
TODAY'S WEATHER
Kutch, Saurashtra continue under heat wave
Day temperatures were also appreciably above normal in
Gujarat, north Maharashtra and parts of Rajasthan.
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Stay in India, Sonia may, but no ruling business!
Thus spake veteran actor and Dadasaheb Phalke winner Sivaji Ganesan.
APRIL 8
Charges framed against Muthiah, family members in corruption case
A special judge trying corruption cases against the previous
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday framed charges against Union Surface Transport Minister Sedapatti R Muthiah and his family members in the disproportionate wealth case against him.
Muthiah will resign only on Jaya's say-so
Asked whether he would resign if Prime Minister A B Vajpayee
asked him to do so in the wake of Tuesday's developments, a confident Sedapatti Muthiah said, "I don't think the prime minister would ask me to resign." However, he answered in the affirmative when asked whether he would step down if AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha
so wished.
Chaos, confusion at PM's first public durbar
The first public durbar of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence has turned into a scene of uttar chaos and confusion. As a result, a large number of people gathered at his residence had to return disappointed without meeting the prime minister who had a busy schedule.
If they have Ghauri, we have Prithvi, says Fernandes
Defence Minister George Fernandes, reacting to Pakistan test-firing a surface-to-surface missile which could target some Indian cities, said the country's indigenous Prithvi missile was capable of covering entire Pakistan.
India will take steps to meet any threat, says MEA
India will do all that is necessary in accordance with its security perceptions in the wake of reports from Islamabad that Pakistan had successfully test-fired a surface-to-surface missile, an external affairs ministry spokesman said.
Ghauri highlights need to refashion security measures
The fillip received by the Pakistani missile programme of
late calls for a refashioning of India's approach to regional
security on the strength of its indigenous capabilities.
US advises restraint to both Pak and India
America's Permanent Representative in the UN, Bill Richardson, and Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs, Karl Inderfurth, who visit Islamabad and New Delhi next week, will take up this issue with leaders of the two countries, state department spokesman James Foley said.
Fernandes even ready to walk into ULFA's den to end insurgency
''I am ready to go anywhere, even to the places of their
choice,'' the defence minister said, indirectly accepting the
ULFA's demand that talks be held in a foreign country.
Charges framed against second AIADMK MP in corruption case
The prosecution case was that Sathiamoorthy had amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 8.33 million in his name and in the name of his family members during his tenure as commercial taxes minister in the AIADMK regime.
Dismissal demand not discussed with PM: Karunanidhi
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi expressed confidence that his government would last its full term as Prime Minister A B Vajpayee had ruled out misuse of Article 356 of the Constitution.
Basu's men try blackmail to halt English education
The ruling CPI-M in West Bengal, it would appear, is ready to go to any length to stop the reintroduction of English in primary schools. Even blackmail.
Communist bullying drives IAS officials out of Kerala
Several Indian Administrative Service officers working
in Kerala want to move out from the state, feeling disenchanted with the Communist-led government.
Lanka seeks Interpol help in Clarke case
The Sri Lankan police said they asked the Interpol's London branch for help even as the 80-year-old author, who has made Sri Lanka his home since 1956, denied sexual relations with teenage boys.
Rao willing to serve Congress
Participating in the discussion on political resolutions at the All India Congress Committee special session, Rao said, ''Because of my advanced age, I cannot take up much responsibilities. But I am willing to serve the party, offering advice to the partymen on how to go about things.''
TODAY'S COLUMNS
Classes, classes everywhere, not a stop to think
Chirag's father shelled out Rs 50,000 (fifty thousand rupees only) for the privilege of tuitions for this child. Now that may be at the upper end of the scale, for this tutor takes just three
or four kids at a time. Still, larger classes are not a whole lot cheaper.
Chate's Coaching Classes, whose recent multicoloured ad I have here, has
"only 30 students in each batch; individual attention to students..." Dilip D'Souza on the great Indian tuition racket.
Mubarak of lost years
Gudi Padva is followed by Baishaki. Then comes Vishu which is
celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Assamese or Oriyan new
year comes after Vishu. The Gujarati new year follows Diwali.
Oh, it is quite difficult to keep track of our different new years...
V Gangadhar on India's none-too-few new years.
Jammu and Kashmir: Lama elected to Rajya Sabha
Madhya Pradesh: Create Chhatisgarh state before assembly poll, Digvijay tells Centre
New Delhi: Five children killed in Delhi hutment fire
Punjab:Woman 'human bomb' held
Tamil Nadu: Karunanidhi poopoohs Muthiah's threat
Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu turns the clock back on AIDS
TODAY'S WEATHER
Heat wave continues in Saurashtra, Kutch
Heat wave conditions also prevailed in some parts of west Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
APRIL 7
Pak test-fires surface-to-surface missile
Pakistan has successfully test-fired a surface-to-surface missile, the foreign office announced. The fifth in a series of missiles, it has a range of 1500 km with a payload of 700 kg, the announcement said. ''As part of our integrated missile research and development programme, we have carried out a successful flight test of the surface-to-surface missile, the HATF-V (Ghauri),''
the foreign ministry statement said.
Sonia pledges to rejuvenate, revamp Congress
Saying that the role ideology played in the everyday life of the Congress leaders has diminished, the party chief said her main task will be to infuse faith and credibility in the party organisations and to restore power to the hard-working Congressmen in India's villages.
Restructure and rebuild, Congress tells Sonia
The special AICC session that ratified Sonia Gandhi's election as Congress president on Monday has asked her to restructure, rebuild and lead the party in order to check the communal forces as represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Leadership's 'big brotherly' attitude affected Congress chances: Pawar
Senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar said the party leadership should come to terms with the changed political scenario in the country and should not hesitate in clinching alliance with like-minded parties.
Petroleum minister asserts that Karunanidhi will have to go
Union Petroleum Minister and Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress president Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy on Sunday asserted that
the dismissal of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in
Tamil Nadu was a 'necessity'.
AIADMK MPs will press for Karunanidhi's ouster, says Muthiah
Union Surface Transport Minister Sedapatti R Muthiah today asserted that he and other All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MPs would press for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government's dismissal as law and order in Tamil Nadu had deteriorated.
Justice will be done in Jaya's cases, says Sinha
Asked whether the finance ministry would continue to prosecute
cases against Jayalalitha objectively, Yashwant Sinha replied, ''It better remain so because the ministry is not the final word. If we deviate we are also subject to the discipline of the courts. Justice will be done in all cases."
BJP allies giving government a bad name, says Jathedar Rachhpal Singh
Unjust demands by the Bharatiya Janata Party's allies are tarnishing the image of the coalition government at the Centre, Shiromani Akali Dal (Master Tara Singh) president Rachhpal Singh said today.
Sonia admits her 'mistake'
The Congress chief asserted that the partymen, who were recently defeated in the Lok Sabha election, would not be accommodated in the Rajya Sabha. Sonia agreed that she made a mistake in accommodating some unsuccessful LS candidates in the Upper House. The party chief said she had been 'kept in the dark' about the party policies. Significantly, senior party leader Arjun Singh, who had lost the Lok Sabha election, walked out of the media conference after Sonia made the statement.
Vajpayee takes a dig at critics
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that the party could remove most of the misgivings that persisted among their opponents and a section of the society by coming to power.
''By our deeds we are going to remove the remaining misgivings,'' he said.
BJP can't give stable govt: Karunakaran
The senior Congress leader said the country could not expect a stable and effective government from the Bharatiya Janata Party and that the Congress alone could provide good governance.
'When there is a knock on the door there is panic inside'
Some of them had 303 rifles slung over their shoulders, the others had lathis. All were youths, all wore ill-fitting
police uniforms. This is the new special police officers force,
created to protect the Kashmiri Pundits who have stayed back after the Wandhama massacre. But the Pundits do not feel safe.
' Lalooji ka khel khatam ho raha hai'
Newly-elected BJP MP from Patna, C P Thakur, believes that Laloo Prasad Yadav's end is near.
Swamy tells PM to desist from praising RSS
If the prime minister, who is heading a coalition government,
praises the RSS, then others in the front have the right to
criticise it for its negative role in the 1942 Quit India movement,
the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, subversion of the anti-Emergency struggle and the demolition of Babri Masjid, Dr Subramanian Swamy said.
No evidence of Clarke being a paedophile: cops
Science fiction writer and/or cops likely to sue British tabloid that quoted him as confessing to affairs with young boys
TODAY'S COLUMNS
The young and the restless
The BJP, says Pritish Nandy, must chuck overboard the entire baggage of its past. The dream of a Hindu rashtra. Ayodhya. Swadeshi. Economic nationalism. Kashi and Mathura. Nuclear adventurism. Teaching Pakistan a lesson. Scrapping Article 370. Enforcing a Common Civil Code. Redesigning reforms. Keeping foreign investors out of consumer industries. Sucking up to the RSS.
Bihar: 25 drowned, 125 missing in boat capsize
Karnataka: JD state unit chief elected unopposed to RS
Himachal Pradesh: Dhumal justifies alliance with Sukh Ram
Rajasthan: Ceiling on election expenditure untouched in Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu: Jain Commission's final report pushes along political realignment in TN
TODAY'S WEATHER
Heat wave plagues parts of Gujarat
Day temperatures were also appreciably above normal in central Maharashtra, Marathwada, south Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka and Kerala.
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The human bomb that never was
Avtar Singh wanted to get back at his wife. So he wrote a letter to the police, saying she and her mother were conspiring to assassinate Inder Kumar Gujral!
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