SetFit/ag_news · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 100 1.01k	label int64 0 3	label_text stringclasses 4 values
Burundi Urges Sanctions on Rebels Over Massacre DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Burundi will urge regional leaders at a summit on Wednesday to impose sanctions against the rebel Hutu Forces for National Liberation (FNL), blamed for the slaughter of more than 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees in ...	0	World
Australian foreign minister ends #39;productive #39; North Korea talks Australia #39;s foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has wrapped up talks in North Korea on the stand-off over the country #39;s efforts to develop nuclear weapons.	0	World
Australian terrorist seeks deal to testify in foreign trials SYDNEY : Australia #39;s first convicted terrorist, who confessed to conspiring with Al-Qaeda to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra, wants a deal in exchange for testifying against terror suspects in foreign courts.	0	World
Wall Street Set to Open Down LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. shares were expected to open lower on Wednesday after crude oil pushed to a fresh high overnight, while Web search engine Google Inc. dented sentiment as it slashed the price range on its initial public offering.	2	Business
Google reduces IPO price range; SEC approval awaited NEW YORK, August 18 (New Ratings) Google Inc has reportedly reduced its expected IPO price range to \$85-\$95 per share, from the previously expected price range of \$108-\$135 per share. The company is unlikely to price its shares until the market closes ...	2	Business
Crude Oil Prices Climb to Record Before US Inventory Report Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices rose to a record in New York before a government report that #39;s expected to show the third straight weekly drop in US crude oil inventories.	2	Business
Phelps #39; gold rush ATHENS, Greece - The night before, Michael Phelps had stood by the pool with a strained smile and a bronze medal, his quest for Olympic immortality dashed, his million-dollar bonus lost, his gold medal count stuck on one.	1	Sports
Games go eons back in time today ATHENS, Greece The slogan for these Olympics is, quot;Welcome Home. quot; But the Games really go home today, when the men #39;s and women #39;s shot put are held in the excavated stadium of ancient Olympia, which started all this madness in 776 BC ...	1	Sports
NHL: No progress in talks With less than a month remaining before the current collective bargaining agreement expires, representatives for the NHL and the Players #39; Association met for nearly 4 1/2 hours yesterday without making any progress on a new CBA.	1	Sports
Fighting Rages in Najaf After Peace Bid Fails NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Heavy fighting broke out between US troops and Shi #39;ite militiamen in the Iraqi city of Najaf, where Iraq #39;s interim defense minister said he expected a quot;decisive battle quot; to take place on Wednesday.	0	World
Internet pharmacies get go-ahead The government gives the green-light to internet-only pharmacies in England.	3	Sci/Tech
Karzai urges neighbours to stop militants crossing borders (AFP) AFP - President Hamid Karzai has called on neighbouring countries to prevent militants crossing into Afghanistan through poorly monitored borders and cooperate in the "fight against terror."	0	World
Poll: Kerry Continues to Hold Edge in Pa. (AP) AP - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is maintaining a slight lead over President Bush in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with crucial support from veterans and military families, according to a poll released Wednesday.	0	World
Najaf clashes as truce talks fail Fighting resumes in the Iraqi city of Najaf between US troops and Shia militias after an abortive peace bid.	0	World
N Korea food prices 'rocket' Changes in North Korea's economy have led to spiralling food prices many people cannot afford, the UN says.	0	World
Two die in South Ossetia fighting Clashes with separatists in the breakaway region of South Ossetia kill two Georgian soldiers.	0	World
Iraq Won't Send New Delegation to Najaf BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's National Conference refused Wednesday to send a second delegation to the holy city of Najaf to negotiate an end to fighting between U.S. troops and loyalists of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a day after he rebuffed their demand for a meeting...	0	World
A DIFFERENT SPIN (SiliconValley.com) SiliconValley.com - As surely as CDs followed vinyl, there was bound to be a successor to the DVD spinning around in research labs.	3	Sci/Tech
Sex spam clogs summer in-boxes Summer is associated with romance and spammers are trying to cash in by bombarding inboxes with porn.	3	Sci/Tech
US children 'abandoned in Africa' Texas authorities are investigating claims that a US mother left her seven adopted children in Nigeria and went to work in Iraq.	0	World
Pakistan issues \$1m al-Qaeda list Pakistan offers rewards totalling more than \$1m for the capture of six top al-Qaeda suspects.	0	World
Sex spam clogs summer in-boxes Summer is traditionally associated with romance and spammers are trying to cash in by bombarding inboxes with porn.	0	World
Update 14: Google Lowers Its IPO Price Range In a sign that Google Inc. #39;s initial public offering isn #39;t as popular as expected, the Internet search giant lowered its estimated price range to between \$85 and \$95 per share, down from its earlier prediction of \$108 and \$135 per share.	2	Business
Oil hits new record on fresh Iraq threat LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices have surged to a new high of \$47 a barrel after a new threat by rebel militia against Iraqi oil facilities, and as the United States says inflation has stayed in check despite rising energy costs.	2	Business
Halliburton gets more time to justify bills to US Army NEW YORK, August 18 (New Ratings) The Halliburton Company (HAL.NYS) has reportedly gained more time to justify its bills to the US Army, regarding the company #39;s contract to provide logistic services to the US troops in Iraq.	2	Business
Swisscom Confirms Possible Merger Talks Telecommunications companies Swisscom AG and Telekom Austria AG are in talks over a possible merger, Swisscom said in a statement late Tuesday.	2	Business
AOL releases Netscape browser update Version 7.2 is the first update since mid-2003. The new release is based on version 1.7 of Mozilla, the most recent version of the Mozilla internet application suite.	3	Sci/Tech
Attachmate Heightens Security, Centralises Management and Brings Microsoft Usability to Host Access with EXTRA! ... Specialist in productivity-enhancing host access, Attachmate, today announces the launch of #39;next generation #39; emulation with EXTRA! Mainframe Server Edition version 8.0 for Windows XP. EXTRA! Mainframe Server Edition offers: 1) complete security framework ...	3	Sci/Tech
Save The Whales! Then What? AP DE BON DESIR, Quebec, Aug. 11 - A few miles from this spit along the pink granite coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, there is a sheltered cove that has witnessed the full span of the human relationship with whales.	3	Sci/Tech
Sprinters #39; Withdrawals Lift Cloud Over Games ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece #39;s top two sprinters pulled out of the Olympics on Wednesday after inflicting six days of embarrassment on their country over a hide-and-seek contest with anti-doping enforcers.	1	Sports
Shot put history in Olympia ANCIENT OLYMPIA (Reuters) - American Kristin Heaston launched the shot 16.41 metres to become the first woman to compete at Olympia in the first athletics meeting in the tree-lined grove since the ancient Games were abolished in AD 393.	1	Sports
Bomb found near Berlusconi villa POLICE defused a bomb near Premier Silvio Berlusconi #39;s villa on the island of Sardinia early today following a tip-off from a radical leftist group, shortly after a visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.	0	World
Three Georgian servicemen killed in South Ossetia MOSCOW, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Three Georgian servicemen were killed while five others were wounded in overnight fighting in Georgia #39;s breakaway province of South Ossetia, Russian news agencies reported, citing Georgian officials.	0	World
OPEC: 'Very Small' Impact from Surge LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC producers have said they see little impact on economic growth so far from oil's relentless price surge, which Wednesday racked up yet another record high.	2	Business
Pakistan Mobile Phone Firms Vie for Pent-Up Demand (Reuters) Reuters - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis\endured hours of stifling heat this week to accept an offer of\free mobile phone connections, a sign of the pent-up demand in\a country where cell phone usage has remained low.	3	Sci/Tech
Pakistan Mobile Phone Firms Vie for Pent-Up Demand ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis endured hours of stifling heat this week to accept an offer of free mobile phone connections, a sign of the pent-up demand in a country where cell phone usage has remained low.	3	Sci/Tech
Huge waves erode British coast Waves over 20m high are getting bigger, more frequent and are eroding Britain's Atlantic coast, experts say.	3	Sci/Tech
Chinese Official Sentenced to Death (AP) AP - An official once in charge of guarding cultural relics has been sentenced to death in China's biggest antiquities theft case since the start of communist rule in 1949.	0	World
Iraq Won't Send New Delegation to Najaf Iraq's National Conference refused today to send a second delegation to negotiate an end to fighting between U.S. troops and loyalists of Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.	0	World
Google Sharply Reduces IPO Share Price Google, Inc. significantly cut the expected share price for its initial public stock offering this morning, signaling lower-than-anticipated demand for the most highly publicized new stock since the late 1990s.	2	Business
Stocks Are Seen Off a Touch at Open US stocks are seen off a touch at the open Wednesday as the price of oil continues to plague investor sentiment.	2	Business
Bank Of America Announced Layoffs BOSTON (AP) -- The layoffs are a result of Bank America #39;s merger with FleetBoston Financial Corporation.	2	Business
Cassini finds two little Saturn moons The two newly spotted, faint moons are about 3 miles and 4 miles across, and roughly 200,000 kilometres from Saturn #39;s centre.	3	Sci/Tech
IBM #39;s New Midrange Server Allows Multiple OS Environments IBM #39;s new eServer allows users to run multiple OS environments at the same time to increase efficiency. Customers can purchase the machine based on the processing power they need. The server comes in configurations from one to four-way and ...	3	Sci/Tech
Phelps Advances in 200-Meter Medley ATHENS, Greece - Michael Phelps, seeking his sixth medal of the Athens Olympics, advanced in the 200-meter individual medley Wednesday with a conservative swim.	1	Sports
Ump says Ozzie threw spitter According to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, umpire Hunter Wendelstedt filed a claim that said Guillen spat on him during an Aug. 9 argument, a big reason Guillen was dealt with so severely by Major League Baseball.	1	Sports
Najaf truce offer rejected Militia fighters loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr today continued to battle US soldiers in Najaf, hours after a delegation from Iraq #39;s national conference had left the city empty-handed when its truce offer was turned down.	0	World
Bomb Found on Island Hours after Blair Visit Police defused a bomb near Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi #39;s villa in Sardinia early today shortly after Tony and Cherie Blair ended a visit to the Italian leader.	0	World
Don #39;t use Pearl as electoral pawn, family tells politicians The family of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl has appealed to American politicians not to use his name in their election campaigns.	0	World
Mortgage Applications Jump in Aug 13 Week (Reuters) Reuters - New applications for U.S. home loans\rose last week while refinancings surged, as 30-year mortgage\interest rates fell to their lowest level in over four months,\an industry group said on Wednesday.	2	Business
Mortgage Applications Jump in Aug 13 Week NEW YORK (Reuters) - New applications for U.S. home loans rose last week while refinancings surged, as 30-year mortgage interest rates fell to their lowest level in over four months, an industry group said on Wednesday.	2	Business
High oil prices not hurting German economy: Schroeder (AFP) AFP - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that the hike in oil prices was not currently hurting the eurozone's biggest economy but that he was closely watching the cost of crude.	0	World
Rocket Slams Into Iraqi Market, Killing 5 (AP) AP - A rocket slammed into a busy market in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, killing at least five civilians, a U.S. military spokeswoman said.	0	World
Google Sharply Reduces IPO Share Price Google, Inc. significantly cut the expected share price this morning for its initial public stock offering, signaling lower-than-anticipated demand for the most highly publicized new stock since the late 1990s.	3	Sci/Tech
E-passports to put new face on old documents Countries begin test programs--get ready for a facial scan the next time you take an overseas flight.	3	Sci/Tech
Eight to appear in London court on terror plot charges (AFP) AFP - Eight men arrested in anti-terrorist raids two weeks ago were set to appear in a high-security court in London on charges of conspiracy to murder and plotting radioactive, chemical or explosive attacks.	0	World
Arafat admits 'mistakes' to MPs Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat makes a rare admission that "unacceptable mistakes" have been made under him.	0	World
Stocks Are Seen Off a Touch at Open NEW YORK - U.S. stocks are seen off a touch at the open Wednesday as the price of oil continues to plague investor sentiment...	0	World
Arafat Admits Palestinians Made Mistakes RAMALLAH, West Bank - Yasser Arafat acknowledged Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority had made mistakes, but the rare admission appeared to be aimed more at deflecting criticism about his corrupt government than making real changes. In a decade at the helm of the Palestinian Authority, Arafat has resisted attempts to get him to fight official corruption, reform the security services and relinquish some of his near-absolute powers...	0	World
Google Slashes IPO Price Range NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc., the world #39;s most popular Web search engine, slashed the price of its share offering Wednesday, as what had been touted as the hottest dot-com listing in years fell prey to worry about a slump in ...	2	Business
Nortel shares down on news of criminal probe News of an RCMP criminal investigation of Nortel Networks and its financial accounting practices sent the company #39;s shares down slightly on Tuesday.	2	Business
Florida may be insurance bellwether The palm trees that narrowly missed Leo Berard #39;s pondside condominium in Naples, Fla., when they toppled Friday spared him from major repairs on his second home.	2	Business
Taxing bodies must approve lawsuit GALESBURG - Knox County State #39;s Attorney Paul Mangieri, discussing a lawsuit he plans to file against Maytag Corp., said Tuesday he was shocked when the company announced in October 2002 it was closing the Galesburg Refrigeration Products ...	2	Business
Spammers in bed with virus carriers The majority of viruses intercepted by MessageLabs since January have the potential for spam distribution, according to a report by the e-mail security firm. It suggests that the virus authors are now making money by collaborating with spammers.	3	Sci/Tech
Microsoft unveils mainframe integration tool Microsoft has unveiled Host Integration Server (HIS) 2004, claiming that the legacy integration application will lower the cost of integrating existing IBM mainframe and midrange systems with Windows.	3	Sci/Tech
Sewage waters a tenth of world #39;s irrigated crops A tenth of the world #39;s irrigated crops - everything from lettuce and tomatoes to mangoes and coconuts - are watered by sewage. And much of that sewage is raw and untreated, gushing direct from sewer pipes into fields at the fringes of the developing ...	3	Sci/Tech
Ford scraps Oracle-based purchasing system Car giant Ford is reportedly abandoning a \$200m web-based purchasing project because it can #39;t get the software to work properly.	3	Sci/Tech
Sprinters Withdraw from Olympics Amid Swirling Controversies Two of Greeks most adored athletes have pulled themselves out of their host country #39;s Olympics. Sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou missed an International Olympic Committee mandatory drug test last week. Thanou and Kenteris were then involved ...	1	Sports
Tarnished silver for US women ATHENS, Greece -- The American women #39;s gymnasts were in contention for the team gold medal Tuesday night, needing a big finish to beat the Romanians. Courtney Kupets, who had to be replaced on the balance beam because of a pulled hamstring, decided to ...	1	Sports
Preview: England-Ukraine With 17 days to go before their World Cup qualifying campaign begins, England are back in action with plenty to prove after the disappointment of Euro 2004 elimination.	1	Sports
USA gets silver in kayak singles Athens, Greece (Sports Network) - American Rebecca Giddens captured the silver medal today in the Women #39;s K1 kayak singles competition at the Summer Olympics in Athens.	1	Sports
Bomb defused after Blair #39;s Italy visit ROME (Reuters) - A bomb has been defused overnight near the Sardinian holiday villa of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hours after a visit by Tony Blair, Italian police say.	0	World
Downer upbeat after North Korea meetings MARK COLVIN: The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has met North Korea #39;s Foreign Minister and the President of the Supreme Peoples #39; Assembly in Pyongyang. As one of the few Western nations with diplomatic relations with the isolated totalitarian state, ...	0	World
Nepal #39;s Maoist Rebels Blockade Paralyzes Kathmandu Nepal #39;s capital, Kathmandu, has been paralyzed by Maoist rebels, who have imposed a virtual blockade of the city.	0	World
Pakistan Offers Bounties on Six Wanted Terror Suspects Pakistan has announced bounties and published photographs of six wanted terrorist suspects, including a senior al-Qaida operative accused of masterminding two attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf.	0	World
Home users get key Windows update Microsoft is making its important security update for Windows XP available on auto-update servers today.	3	Sci/Tech
BioVeris Still May Lose Its Investment BioVeris Corp. stands to lose most or all of its \$41.2 million investment in a joint venture with its chief executive's son if he doesn't raise money to keep it operating, the company said yesterday in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.	3	Sci/Tech
3 Georgian Soldiers Slain in South Ossetia (AP) AP - Three Georgian peacekeepers were killed in overnight shooting in South Ossetia, officials said Wednesday, while Russia scoffed at Georgia's appeal for foreign mediation in the breakaway region where daily exchanges of gunfire have stoked fears of war.	0	World
Slavery's Harsh History Is Portrayed in Promised Land At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, slavery's evil becomes palpable; so does a sense of progressive enlightenment.	0	World
Brookstone Posts a Narrower Loss (Reuters) Reuters - Brookstone Inc. (BKST.O), a retailer\specializing in gadgets and personal electronics, on Wednesday\posted a narrower quarterly loss on strong Father's Day sales\and raised its profit forecast for the full year.	2	Business
Stocks to Watch on Wednesday, August 18 APPLIED MATERIALS INC. <A HREF="http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=AMAT.O target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote">AMAT.O</A>:	2	Business
U.S. Men Qualify for Final in Shot Put (AP) AP - Two U.S. men advanced to the final of the shot put Wednesday, hoping to make even more history at the ancient site that gave birth to the Olympics 2,780 years ago.	1	Sports
Garda quiz two over African death Police in Ireland question two men arrested in Dublin in connection with the murder of the daughter of Malawi's chief justice.	0	World
Complaints follow Haiti acquittal The US and rights groups condemn the acquittal in Haiti of an ex-paramilitary leader accused of murder.	0	World
Unanimous vote to raise British interest rates: official minutes (AFP) AFP - The Bank of England's nine-member monetary policy committee voted unanimously to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent earlier this month, official records showed.	2	Business
Talbots Profit Meets Lowered Forecast (Reuters) Reuters - Clothing retailer Talbots Inc. (TLB.N)\on Wednesday posted a slight increase in quarterly profit,\meeting its lowered forecast, as it sold more merchandise at\full price and recorded a tax benefit.	2	Business
High oil costs hit more airlines Air France becomes the latest major airline to raise ticket prices in response to higher fuel costs.	2	Business
Million more in broadband's reach BT is lifting distance limits on broadband enabled exchanges, so that 1m more can get high-speed net.	3	Sci/Tech
Google Lowers Price Range The search-engine giant, which was expected to go public as early as Wednesday, instead has slashed the deal #39;s expected price range and cut the number of shares being sold by existing shareholder in half. The new parameters suggest a newly public Google ...	2	Business
Pentagon flipflops, will pay Halliburton fully WASHINGTON - The US army said it had suspended its decision to partially withhold payments to Halliburton, the biggest US contractor in Iraq.	2	Business
Report: Bank of America to lay off Fleet workers BOSTON A published report reveals that Bank of America plans to lay off hundreds of tellers and other branch employees at Fleet banks today.	2	Business
Applied doubles revenue Applied Materials, the world #39;s largest manufacturer of chip-making tools, said on Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue doubled, leading to \$441 million in profit.	2	Business
Sony Develops New Chip for More Real and Refined High Definition Video quot;DRC quot; was developed in 1997 as a technology that changed a standard television signal format to a high-definition signal format, based on the concept of establishing a higher definition signal format from scratch. The foundation of this technology was ...	3	Sci/Tech
Athletes Return to Olympia Home After 1,611 Years (Update3) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Olympia, home of the Olympics for more than 12 centuries, hosted a track and field event for the first time in 1,611 years when the shot-putters of the Athens Games arrived at Greece #39;s most sacred sporting site.	1	Sports
Dampier headed to Mavericks? Longtime Warriors center Erick Dampier could be on the verge of finding a new home, 2 1/2 months after becoming a free agent.	1	Sports
SI.com LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Wilson Alvarez continues to pitch his best when the Los Angeles Dodgers need it most.	1	Sports
Rwanda, Burundi threaten with Congo invasion afrol News, 18 August - The governments of Rwanda and Burundi may again send troops into Congo Kinshasa (DRC) if Kinshasa does not finally take action against the militias still slaughtering Tutsis. Both claim Friday #39;s massacre was masterminded by ...	0	World
Soldier Killed in Action Named A British soldier killed after clashes with militia forces in the southern Iraqi city of Basra was today named as Lance Corporal Paul David Trevor Thomas.	0	World
Seiyu posts first half net loss on slower sales, higher costs (AFP) AFP - Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu, controlled by US retail giant Wal-Mart, said it incurred a net loss in the first half to June on the back of slow sales and early retirement costs.	2	Business
Dollar Fights to Keep Off August Lows LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar struggled to pull away from August lows on Wednesday as investors wondered whether the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates next month after another round of weak U.S. data in the previous session.	2	Business

Burundi Urges Sanctions on Rebels Over Massacre DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Burundi will urge regional leaders at a summit on Wednesday to impose sanctions against the rebel Hutu Forces for National Liberation (FNL), blamed for the slaughter of more than 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees in ...

0

World

Australian foreign minister ends #39;productive #39; North Korea talks Australia #39;s foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has wrapped up talks in North Korea on the stand-off over the country #39;s efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

0

World

Australian terrorist seeks deal to testify in foreign trials SYDNEY : Australia #39;s first convicted terrorist, who confessed to conspiring with Al-Qaeda to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra, wants a deal in exchange for testifying against terror suspects in foreign courts.

0

World

Wall Street Set to Open Down LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. shares were expected to open lower on Wednesday after crude oil pushed to a fresh high overnight, while Web search engine Google Inc. dented sentiment as it slashed the price range on its initial public offering.

2

Business

Google reduces IPO price range; SEC approval awaited NEW YORK, August 18 (New Ratings) Google Inc has reportedly reduced its expected IPO price range to \$85-\$95 per share, from the previously expected price range of \$108-\$135 per share. The company is unlikely to price its shares until the market closes ...

2

Business

Crude Oil Prices Climb to Record Before US Inventory Report Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices rose to a record in New York before a government report that #39;s expected to show the third straight weekly drop in US crude oil inventories.

2

Business

Phelps #39; gold rush ATHENS, Greece - The night before, Michael Phelps had stood by the pool with a strained smile and a bronze medal, his quest for Olympic immortality dashed, his million-dollar bonus lost, his gold medal count stuck on one.

1

Sports

Games go eons back in time today ATHENS, Greece The slogan for these Olympics is, quot;Welcome Home. quot; But the Games really go home today, when the men #39;s and women #39;s shot put are held in the excavated stadium of ancient Olympia, which started all this madness in 776 BC ...

1

Sports

NHL: No progress in talks With less than a month remaining before the current collective bargaining agreement expires, representatives for the NHL and the Players #39; Association met for nearly 4 1/2 hours yesterday without making any progress on a new CBA.

1

Sports

Fighting Rages in Najaf After Peace Bid Fails NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Heavy fighting broke out between US troops and Shi #39;ite militiamen in the Iraqi city of Najaf, where Iraq #39;s interim defense minister said he expected a quot;decisive battle quot; to take place on Wednesday.

0

World

Internet pharmacies get go-ahead The government gives the green-light to internet-only pharmacies in England.

3

Sci/Tech

Karzai urges neighbours to stop militants crossing borders (AFP) AFP - President Hamid Karzai has called on neighbouring countries to prevent militants crossing into Afghanistan through poorly monitored borders and cooperate in the "fight against terror."

0

World

Poll: Kerry Continues to Hold Edge in Pa. (AP) AP - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is maintaining a slight lead over President Bush in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with crucial support from veterans and military families, according to a poll released Wednesday.

0

World

Najaf clashes as truce talks fail Fighting resumes in the Iraqi city of Najaf between US troops and Shia militias after an abortive peace bid.

0

World

N Korea food prices 'rocket' Changes in North Korea's economy have led to spiralling food prices many people cannot afford, the UN says.

0

World

Two die in South Ossetia fighting Clashes with separatists in the breakaway region of South Ossetia kill two Georgian soldiers.

0

World

Iraq Won't Send New Delegation to Najaf BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's National Conference refused Wednesday to send a second delegation to the holy city of Najaf to negotiate an end to fighting between U.S. troops and loyalists of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a day after he rebuffed their demand for a meeting...

0

World

A DIFFERENT SPIN (SiliconValley.com) SiliconValley.com - As surely as CDs followed vinyl, there was bound to be a successor to the DVD spinning around in research labs.

3

Sci/Tech

Sex spam clogs summer in-boxes Summer is associated with romance and spammers are trying to cash in by bombarding inboxes with porn.

3

Sci/Tech

US children 'abandoned in Africa' Texas authorities are investigating claims that a US mother left her seven adopted children in Nigeria and went to work in Iraq.

0

World

Pakistan issues \$1m al-Qaeda list Pakistan offers rewards totalling more than \$1m for the capture of six top al-Qaeda suspects.

0

World

Sex spam clogs summer in-boxes Summer is traditionally associated with romance and spammers are trying to cash in by bombarding inboxes with porn.

0

World

Update 14: Google Lowers Its IPO Price Range In a sign that Google Inc. #39;s initial public offering isn #39;t as popular as expected, the Internet search giant lowered its estimated price range to between \$85 and \$95 per share, down from its earlier prediction of \$108 and \$135 per share.

2

Business

Oil hits new record on fresh Iraq threat LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices have surged to a new high of \$47 a barrel after a new threat by rebel militia against Iraqi oil facilities, and as the United States says inflation has stayed in check despite rising energy costs.

2

Business

Halliburton gets more time to justify bills to US Army NEW YORK, August 18 (New Ratings) The Halliburton Company (HAL.NYS) has reportedly gained more time to justify its bills to the US Army, regarding the company #39;s contract to provide logistic services to the US troops in Iraq.

2

Business

Swisscom Confirms Possible Merger Talks Telecommunications companies Swisscom AG and Telekom Austria AG are in talks over a possible merger, Swisscom said in a statement late Tuesday.

2

Business

AOL releases Netscape browser update Version 7.2 is the first update since mid-2003. The new release is based on version 1.7 of Mozilla, the most recent version of the Mozilla internet application suite.

3

Sci/Tech

Attachmate Heightens Security, Centralises Management and Brings Microsoft Usability to Host Access with EXTRA! ... Specialist in productivity-enhancing host access, Attachmate, today announces the launch of #39;next generation #39; emulation with EXTRA! Mainframe Server Edition version 8.0 for Windows XP. EXTRA! Mainframe Server Edition offers: 1) complete security framework ...

3

Sci/Tech

Save The Whales! Then What? AP DE BON DESIR, Quebec, Aug. 11 - A few miles from this spit along the pink granite coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, there is a sheltered cove that has witnessed the full span of the human relationship with whales.

3

Sci/Tech

Sprinters #39; Withdrawals Lift Cloud Over Games ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece #39;s top two sprinters pulled out of the Olympics on Wednesday after inflicting six days of embarrassment on their country over a hide-and-seek contest with anti-doping enforcers.

1

Sports

Shot put history in Olympia ANCIENT OLYMPIA (Reuters) - American Kristin Heaston launched the shot 16.41 metres to become the first woman to compete at Olympia in the first athletics meeting in the tree-lined grove since the ancient Games were abolished in AD 393.

1

Sports

Bomb found near Berlusconi villa POLICE defused a bomb near Premier Silvio Berlusconi #39;s villa on the island of Sardinia early today following a tip-off from a radical leftist group, shortly after a visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

0

World

Three Georgian servicemen killed in South Ossetia MOSCOW, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Three Georgian servicemen were killed while five others were wounded in overnight fighting in Georgia #39;s breakaway province of South Ossetia, Russian news agencies reported, citing Georgian officials.

0

World

OPEC: 'Very Small' Impact from Surge LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC producers have said they see little impact on economic growth so far from oil's relentless price surge, which Wednesday racked up yet another record high.

2

Business

Pakistan Mobile Phone Firms Vie for Pent-Up Demand (Reuters) Reuters - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis\endured hours of stifling heat this week to accept an offer of\free mobile phone connections, a sign of the pent-up demand in\a country where cell phone usage has remained low.

3

Sci/Tech

Pakistan Mobile Phone Firms Vie for Pent-Up Demand ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis endured hours of stifling heat this week to accept an offer of free mobile phone connections, a sign of the pent-up demand in a country where cell phone usage has remained low.

3

Sci/Tech

Huge waves erode British coast Waves over 20m high are getting bigger, more frequent and are eroding Britain's Atlantic coast, experts say.

3

Sci/Tech

Chinese Official Sentenced to Death (AP) AP - An official once in charge of guarding cultural relics has been sentenced to death in China's biggest antiquities theft case since the start of communist rule in 1949.

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Iraq Won't Send New Delegation to Najaf Iraq's National Conference refused today to send a second delegation to negotiate an end to fighting between U.S. troops and loyalists of Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.

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Google Sharply Reduces IPO Share Price Google, Inc. significantly cut the expected share price for its initial public stock offering this morning, signaling lower-than-anticipated demand for the most highly publicized new stock since the late 1990s.

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Stocks Are Seen Off a Touch at Open US stocks are seen off a touch at the open Wednesday as the price of oil continues to plague investor sentiment.

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Bank Of America Announced Layoffs BOSTON (AP) -- The layoffs are a result of Bank America #39;s merger with FleetBoston Financial Corporation.

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Business

Cassini finds two little Saturn moons The two newly spotted, faint moons are about 3 miles and 4 miles across, and roughly 200,000 kilometres from Saturn #39;s centre.

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Sci/Tech

IBM #39;s New Midrange Server Allows Multiple OS Environments IBM #39;s new eServer allows users to run multiple OS environments at the same time to increase efficiency. Customers can purchase the machine based on the processing power they need. The server comes in configurations from one to four-way and ...

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Sci/Tech

Phelps Advances in 200-Meter Medley ATHENS, Greece - Michael Phelps, seeking his sixth medal of the Athens Olympics, advanced in the 200-meter individual medley Wednesday with a conservative swim.

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Ump says Ozzie threw spitter According to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, umpire Hunter Wendelstedt filed a claim that said Guillen spat on him during an Aug. 9 argument, a big reason Guillen was dealt with so severely by Major League Baseball.

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Najaf truce offer rejected Militia fighters loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr today continued to battle US soldiers in Najaf, hours after a delegation from Iraq #39;s national conference had left the city empty-handed when its truce offer was turned down.

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Bomb Found on Island Hours after Blair Visit Police defused a bomb near Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi #39;s villa in Sardinia early today shortly after Tony and Cherie Blair ended a visit to the Italian leader.

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Don #39;t use Pearl as electoral pawn, family tells politicians The family of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl has appealed to American politicians not to use his name in their election campaigns.

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Mortgage Applications Jump in Aug 13 Week (Reuters) Reuters - New applications for U.S. home loans\rose last week while refinancings surged, as 30-year mortgage\interest rates fell to their lowest level in over four months,\an industry group said on Wednesday.

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Mortgage Applications Jump in Aug 13 Week NEW YORK (Reuters) - New applications for U.S. home loans rose last week while refinancings surged, as 30-year mortgage interest rates fell to their lowest level in over four months, an industry group said on Wednesday.

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High oil prices not hurting German economy: Schroeder (AFP) AFP - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that the hike in oil prices was not currently hurting the eurozone's biggest economy but that he was closely watching the cost of crude.

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Rocket Slams Into Iraqi Market, Killing 5 (AP) AP - A rocket slammed into a busy market in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, killing at least five civilians, a U.S. military spokeswoman said.

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Google Sharply Reduces IPO Share Price Google, Inc. significantly cut the expected share price this morning for its initial public stock offering, signaling lower-than-anticipated demand for the most highly publicized new stock since the late 1990s.

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Sci/Tech

E-passports to put new face on old documents Countries begin test programs--get ready for a facial scan the next time you take an overseas flight.

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Sci/Tech

Eight to appear in London court on terror plot charges (AFP) AFP - Eight men arrested in anti-terrorist raids two weeks ago were set to appear in a high-security court in London on charges of conspiracy to murder and plotting radioactive, chemical or explosive attacks.

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Arafat admits 'mistakes' to MPs Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat makes a rare admission that "unacceptable mistakes" have been made under him.

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Stocks Are Seen Off a Touch at Open NEW YORK - U.S. stocks are seen off a touch at the open Wednesday as the price of oil continues to plague investor sentiment...

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Arafat Admits Palestinians Made Mistakes RAMALLAH, West Bank - Yasser Arafat acknowledged Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority had made mistakes, but the rare admission appeared to be aimed more at deflecting criticism about his corrupt government than making real changes. In a decade at the helm of the Palestinian Authority, Arafat has resisted attempts to get him to fight official corruption, reform the security services and relinquish some of his near-absolute powers...

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Google Slashes IPO Price Range NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc., the world #39;s most popular Web search engine, slashed the price of its share offering Wednesday, as what had been touted as the hottest dot-com listing in years fell prey to worry about a slump in ...

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Nortel shares down on news of criminal probe News of an RCMP criminal investigation of Nortel Networks and its financial accounting practices sent the company #39;s shares down slightly on Tuesday.

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Florida may be insurance bellwether The palm trees that narrowly missed Leo Berard #39;s pondside condominium in Naples, Fla., when they toppled Friday spared him from major repairs on his second home.

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Taxing bodies must approve lawsuit GALESBURG - Knox County State #39;s Attorney Paul Mangieri, discussing a lawsuit he plans to file against Maytag Corp., said Tuesday he was shocked when the company announced in October 2002 it was closing the Galesburg Refrigeration Products ...

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Business

Spammers in bed with virus carriers The majority of viruses intercepted by MessageLabs since January have the potential for spam distribution, according to a report by the e-mail security firm. It suggests that the virus authors are now making money by collaborating with spammers.

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Sci/Tech

Microsoft unveils mainframe integration tool Microsoft has unveiled Host Integration Server (HIS) 2004, claiming that the legacy integration application will lower the cost of integrating existing IBM mainframe and midrange systems with Windows.

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Sci/Tech

Sewage waters a tenth of world #39;s irrigated crops A tenth of the world #39;s irrigated crops - everything from lettuce and tomatoes to mangoes and coconuts - are watered by sewage. And much of that sewage is raw and untreated, gushing direct from sewer pipes into fields at the fringes of the developing ...

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Sci/Tech

Ford scraps Oracle-based purchasing system Car giant Ford is reportedly abandoning a \$200m web-based purchasing project because it can #39;t get the software to work properly.

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Sci/Tech

Sprinters Withdraw from Olympics Amid Swirling Controversies Two of Greeks most adored athletes have pulled themselves out of their host country #39;s Olympics. Sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou missed an International Olympic Committee mandatory drug test last week. Thanou and Kenteris were then involved ...

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Tarnished silver for US women ATHENS, Greece -- The American women #39;s gymnasts were in contention for the team gold medal Tuesday night, needing a big finish to beat the Romanians. Courtney Kupets, who had to be replaced on the balance beam because of a pulled hamstring, decided to ...

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Preview: England-Ukraine With 17 days to go before their World Cup qualifying campaign begins, England are back in action with plenty to prove after the disappointment of Euro 2004 elimination.

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USA gets silver in kayak singles Athens, Greece (Sports Network) - American Rebecca Giddens captured the silver medal today in the Women #39;s K1 kayak singles competition at the Summer Olympics in Athens.

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Bomb defused after Blair #39;s Italy visit ROME (Reuters) - A bomb has been defused overnight near the Sardinian holiday villa of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hours after a visit by Tony Blair, Italian police say.

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Downer upbeat after North Korea meetings MARK COLVIN: The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has met North Korea #39;s Foreign Minister and the President of the Supreme Peoples #39; Assembly in Pyongyang. As one of the few Western nations with diplomatic relations with the isolated totalitarian state, ...

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Nepal #39;s Maoist Rebels Blockade Paralyzes Kathmandu Nepal #39;s capital, Kathmandu, has been paralyzed by Maoist rebels, who have imposed a virtual blockade of the city.

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Pakistan Offers Bounties on Six Wanted Terror Suspects Pakistan has announced bounties and published photographs of six wanted terrorist suspects, including a senior al-Qaida operative accused of masterminding two attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf.

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Home users get key Windows update Microsoft is making its important security update for Windows XP available on auto-update servers today.

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Sci/Tech

BioVeris Still May Lose Its Investment BioVeris Corp. stands to lose most or all of its \$41.2 million investment in a joint venture with its chief executive's son if he doesn't raise money to keep it operating, the company said yesterday in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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3 Georgian Soldiers Slain in South Ossetia (AP) AP - Three Georgian peacekeepers were killed in overnight shooting in South Ossetia, officials said Wednesday, while Russia scoffed at Georgia's appeal for foreign mediation in the breakaway region where daily exchanges of gunfire have stoked fears of war.

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Slavery's Harsh History Is Portrayed in Promised Land At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, slavery's evil becomes palpable; so does a sense of progressive enlightenment.

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Brookstone Posts a Narrower Loss (Reuters) Reuters - Brookstone Inc. (BKST.O), a retailer\specializing in gadgets and personal electronics, on Wednesday\posted a narrower quarterly loss on strong Father's Day sales\and raised its profit forecast for the full year.

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Stocks to Watch on Wednesday, August 18 APPLIED MATERIALS INC. <A HREF="http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=AMAT.O target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote">AMAT.O</A>:

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U.S. Men Qualify for Final in Shot Put (AP) AP - Two U.S. men advanced to the final of the shot put Wednesday, hoping to make even more history at the ancient site that gave birth to the Olympics 2,780 years ago.

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Garda quiz two over African death Police in Ireland question two men arrested in Dublin in connection with the murder of the daughter of Malawi's chief justice.

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Complaints follow Haiti acquittal The US and rights groups condemn the acquittal in Haiti of an ex-paramilitary leader accused of murder.

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Unanimous vote to raise British interest rates: official minutes (AFP) AFP - The Bank of England's nine-member monetary policy committee voted unanimously to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent earlier this month, official records showed.

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Talbots Profit Meets Lowered Forecast (Reuters) Reuters - Clothing retailer Talbots Inc. (TLB.N)\on Wednesday posted a slight increase in quarterly profit,\meeting its lowered forecast, as it sold more merchandise at\full price and recorded a tax benefit.

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High oil costs hit more airlines Air France becomes the latest major airline to raise ticket prices in response to higher fuel costs.

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Million more in broadband's reach BT is lifting distance limits on broadband enabled exchanges, so that 1m more can get high-speed net.

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Google Lowers Price Range The search-engine giant, which was expected to go public as early as Wednesday, instead has slashed the deal #39;s expected price range and cut the number of shares being sold by existing shareholder in half. The new parameters suggest a newly public Google ...

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Business

Pentagon flipflops, will pay Halliburton fully WASHINGTON - The US army said it had suspended its decision to partially withhold payments to Halliburton, the biggest US contractor in Iraq.

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Business

Report: Bank of America to lay off Fleet workers BOSTON A published report reveals that Bank of America plans to lay off hundreds of tellers and other branch employees at Fleet banks today.

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Business

Applied doubles revenue Applied Materials, the world #39;s largest manufacturer of chip-making tools, said on Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue doubled, leading to \$441 million in profit.

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Sony Develops New Chip for More Real and Refined High Definition Video quot;DRC quot; was developed in 1997 as a technology that changed a standard television signal format to a high-definition signal format, based on the concept of establishing a higher definition signal format from scratch. The foundation of this technology was ...

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Athletes Return to Olympia Home After 1,611 Years (Update3) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Olympia, home of the Olympics for more than 12 centuries, hosted a track and field event for the first time in 1,611 years when the shot-putters of the Athens Games arrived at Greece #39;s most sacred sporting site.

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Dampier headed to Mavericks? Longtime Warriors center Erick Dampier could be on the verge of finding a new home, 2 1/2 months after becoming a free agent.

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SI.com LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Wilson Alvarez continues to pitch his best when the Los Angeles Dodgers need it most.

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Rwanda, Burundi threaten with Congo invasion afrol News, 18 August - The governments of Rwanda and Burundi may again send troops into Congo Kinshasa (DRC) if Kinshasa does not finally take action against the militias still slaughtering Tutsis. Both claim Friday #39;s massacre was masterminded by ...

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Soldier Killed in Action Named A British soldier killed after clashes with militia forces in the southern Iraqi city of Basra was today named as Lance Corporal Paul David Trevor Thomas.

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Seiyu posts first half net loss on slower sales, higher costs (AFP) AFP - Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu, controlled by US retail giant Wal-Mart, said it incurred a net loss in the first half to June on the back of slow sales and early retirement costs.

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Dollar Fights to Keep Off August Lows LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar struggled to pull away from August lows on Wednesday as investors wondered whether the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates next month after another round of weak U.S. data in the previous session.

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