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☆ Sexual Assault of Migrants in Panama Rises to Level Rarely Seen Outside War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Julie Turkewitz | Federico Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The girl, 8, from Venezuela, had slept fitfully the night before, wailing in her dreams, her mother said, about the men trying to kill her. Days earlier, the family had entered the Darién Gap, the jungle straddling Colombia and Panama that in the last three years has become one of the world’s busiest migrant highways. After climbing mountains and crisscrossing rivers in their quest to reach the United States, their group was accosted by a half-dozen men in ski masks, holding long guns and issuing threats. “Women, take off your clothes!” the assailants shouted, the mother said, before they probed each woman’s intimate parts looking for cash. Then the men turned to the girl, her mother said, ordering her to undress for a search, too.

Locations: Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, United States

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☆ Digital firm Kevel raised $23 million to help brands stand up advertising businesses. Here's the pitch deck it used to take on giants like Criteo and Epsilon.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-21 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Earlier this month, the adtech firm Kevel announced that it had raised $23 million in a Series C round of funding to help retailers set up and run advertising businesses. Fourteen-year-old Kevel, formerly known as Adzerk, sells software that brands, including Klarna and Delivery Hero, pay a monthly fee for to manage advertising businesses on e-commerce websites. Kevel's products help retailers sell search ads on e-commerce websites, provide an ad server to manage and place ads, and give access to an audience tool that collects retailers' first-party data. Kevel competes with a growing number of adtech firms that help retailers stand up ad businesses, like Criteo, Epsilon, and Microsoft. Kevel doesn't sell ads, which Avery said the firm benefits from as more retailers like Target's Roundel take their ad businesses in-house.

Persons: Kevel, James Avery, Puja Rios, —, Avery, Morgan Stanley Organizations: Business, Walmart, Epsilon, Microsoft, Interactive, Fulcrum, Partners, Godwin Capital Group, Iberis, Dunnhumby Ventures, Commerce Ventures

Port-au-Prince, Haiti CNN —A container carrying essential items for newborn babies and their mothers – including resuscitators and other critical supplies – was looted in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, aid agency UNICEF said in a statement, as gang violence and a humanitarian crisis worsen in the Haitian capital. In addition to maternity and neonatal supplies, the looted container also held “early childhood development and education and water equipment,” UNICEF said. The theft of the supplies “occurs at a critical moment when children need them the most,” said UNICEF representative Bruno Maes in Haiti. Three out of four women and children in the Port-au-Prince area do not have access to basic public health and nutrition, according to UNICEF. Meanwhile, the first flights of a UN air bridge between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic have been completed, UN sources told CNN.

Persons: ”, Bruno Maes, ” Maes, Ariel Henry, Guerinault Louis, Jimmy “, Cherizier, Maes, “, – Organizations: Haiti CNN, UNICEF, Haitian, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Haitian National Police, Authorities, ” Police, CNN, CNN Haiti, National, UN Locations: Prince, Haiti, Port, Haitian, Lower Delmas, ”, Dominican Republic

☆ UK court orders Trump to pay legal fees of company he sued over controversial Russia dossier
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Kaanita Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A London judge has ordered former President Donald Trump to pay six figures in legal fees to a company he sued over a controversial dossier that made unverified and salacious allegations about him, according to court documents released Thursday. After dismissing the former president’s case last month against retired British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and his company, Orbis Business Intelligence, Judge Karen Steyn has ordered Trump to pay £300,000 ($385,000) to the company, according to court documents. Steyn ultimately ordered Trump to pay less than 50% of Orbis Business Intelligence’s stated costs. CNN has reached out to Orbis Business Intelligence and the Trump campaign for comment. Trump also faces his own legal fees in the 91 charges he faces in four criminal cases.

Persons: Donald Trump, Christopher Steele, Karen Steyn, Trump, Steyn, Orbis Business Intelligence’s, Steele, Jean Carroll, CNN’s Michael Rios, Jonny Hallam, Kristen Holmes, Marshall Cohen, Zahid Mahmood Organizations: CNN, Orbis Business Intelligence, Trump, Orbis Business, Kremlin Locations: British, Russia, York

CNN —Two police stations near Haiti’s National Palace were attacked by armed individuals Friday night, as gang violence in the Caribbean nation’s capital of Port-au-Prince continued to spiral. Armed groups have burned down police stations and released thousands of inmates from two prisons, and Cherizier has warned of “a civil war that will end in genocide” if the prime minister does not step down. A woman cries as she walks near her husband's shop that armed gang members set fire to in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 7, 2024. Haiti is a member state, but it is unclear if Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry will be at the meeting. CNN has reached out to the Haitian prime minister’s office for comment.

Persons: Prince, Jimmy Cherizier, Ariel Henry’s, Cherizier, Henry, Synapoha, ” Stephane Dujarric, Clarens Siffroy, Sophie Mealier, Pierre Espérance, Ariel Henry, Jim Rogers, Rafy Rivera, Michael Conte, Abel Alvarado Organizations: CNN, Kenya, Kenyan, Haitian, Port, Caribbean Port Services, UN, Getty, Haitian Human Rights Defense Network, CARICOM, Caribbean Locations: Haiti’s, Caribbean, Port, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Prince, Haiti, AFP, Region, Prince’s, Canada, Kingston

☆ Grenada charges prison escapees with murder of American couple missing since alleged yacht hijacking
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Michael Rios | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Three inmates who escaped from prison in Grenada have been charged with killing two Americans after allegedly hijacking their yacht last month to flee to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, police said Thursday. Hendry and Brandel, based in Virginia, were living out a long-held dream of cruising the Caribbean in their sailing yacht called Simplicity, to Antigua when they went missing, according to their yacht club, the Salty Dawg Sailing Association. Their vessel was found abandoned in neighboring St. Vincent and the Grenadines on February 21, with the husband and wife nowhere to be found, the yacht club said. Authorities in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines launched joint investigations to track down the suspects who allegedly left behind a violent scene on the missing couple’s yacht, including blood stains. Their alleged killers committed “several criminal acts including bodily harm to the couple” while sailing, the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said last week.

Persons: Vincent, Ron Mitchell, Atiba, Trevon Robertson, Ralph Hendry, Kathleen Brandel, Stanislaus, Hendry, Don McKenzie, George’s, ‘, Bryan Hendry, Nick Buro, “ Ralph, Kathy, that’s, Ralph, ” Buro, Buro, “, ”, “ Kathy Organizations: CNN, Royal Granada Police Force, Sailing Association, Authorities, Grenadines, Grenadines Police Force Locations: Grenada, St, Grenadines, Brandel, Virginia, Antigua, Royal, United States, Caribbean

☆ In Texas’ Largest Fire, a Race to Save Animals Big and Small
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | Desiree Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Horses with singed tails and bellies licked by flames. Cows whose hides are spotted with burns. These are the scenes that emergency veterinarians and volunteers are finding as they traverse the wide-open fields of the Texas Panhandle, trying to save what animals they can and ease the suffering of many others. “Lots of burns,” said Dr. Laurie Shelton, a veterinarian who is part of Texas A&M’s Veterinary Emergency Team and among those who sprang into action after the Smokehouse Creek fire ignited last week. It’s a rough deal.”The Smokehouse Creek blaze is one of several major wildfires burning across the Texas Panhandle that were still difficult to contain over the weekend as dry, windy weather led to warnings of increased fire risk across the region.

Persons: ”, Laurie Shelton, “ Organizations: Texas Panhandle Locations: Texas

☆ ‘Pretty Sickening’: Texas Ranchers Face Crippling Losses
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | Desiree Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Justin Homen kept driving across his vast Texas ranch, but he only found the same bleak scenes: blackened grassland, charred cow carcasses and smoldering debris turned almost entirely to ash. Then he arrived at the place he thinks of as a hidden oasis: a pond and small lake that, in better times, bask in the emerald glow of looping, leafy trees and tall grass. As he stepped out of the cab of his truck and onto the singed grass, his mutter was nearly drowned out by the wind. “Pretty sickening.”On a normal Friday afternoon, he might check on his herd and then come here with an old friend, pour a glass of whiskey and cast a line into the pond. Now, he was facing the realization that almost all of his family’s century-old ranch, a swath of land nearly the size of Manhattan, had been burned this week when the largest fire in state history tore through the Texas Panhandle.

Persons: Justin Homen, mutter Organizations: Texas Panhandle Locations: Texas, Manhattan

CNN —Heavy gunfire has forced flight cancellations at Haiti’s main airport and killed at least four at a police station, as the Caribbean nation grapples with surging gang violence and political instability. Haiti has been gripped by a wave of unrest and gang violence in recent years. A powerful Haitian gang leader said gun fights that broke out across Port-au-Prince on Thursday were aimed at overthrowing Henry’s government, multiple media outlets reported. An attack on Bon Repos Police Station, north of Port-au-Prince, on Thursday left at least four people dead and three wounded, a security source told CNN. The security mission, authorized by the UN, has been seen by the international community as key to contain a full-blow fallout in Haiti.

Persons: Toussaint, “, Laura Masvidal, Jovenel Moise, Ariel Henry, Henry, Jimmy Cherizier, ”, William Ruto, Antony Blinken Organizations: CNN, American Airlines, Toussaint Louverture, Haitian airline Sunrise Airways, ”, Sunrise Airways, United Nations, UN, Office, CARICOM, Bon Repos Police, Haitian National Police, Multinational, United Nations Security Council, Kenyan, United, Haitian, police Locations: Caribbean, Miami, Port, Haiti, United, Haitian, Kenya, United States

Smoke billows above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment on February 28. “We are operating in the assumption that an Israeli military operation is in the coming months,” one senior Biden administration official said. An Israeli military operation is a distinct possibility.”The leadership of Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed paramilitary group, has expressed support for Palestinians and condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza. There have been months of daily, deadly cross-border strikes by both Israel and Hezbollah that have displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents from their homes. That deal would likely postpone an Israeli incursion, US officials believe.

Persons: Bint Jbeil, Jalaa Marey, Biden, ”, “ Organizations: Getty, Biden, Hezbollah Locations: Lebanese, AFP, Israel, Lebanon, Israeli, Iran, Gaza

☆ The ‘Luxury Route’ to the U.S. for African Migrants
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Annie Correal | Federico Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As record numbers of people cross into the United States, the southern border is not the only place where the migration crisis is playing out. Nearly three thousand miles to the south, inside Colombia’s main international airport, hundreds of African migrants have been pouring in every day, paying traffickers roughly $10,000 for flight packages they hope will help them reach the United States. The surge of African migrants in the Bogotá airport, which began last year, is a vivid example of the impact of one of the largest global movements of people in decades and how it is shifting migration patterns. With some African countries confronting economic crisis and political upheaval, and Europe cracking down on immigration, many more Africans are making the far longer journey to the U.S.

Locations: United States, Bogotá, Europe

☆ Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro rejects coup allegations as thousands of supporters rally in Sao Paulo
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Michael Rios | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday led a large rally of his supporters in São Paulo as he denied allegations that he took part in a coup plot in an attempt to stay in power. Several former ministers who served in Bolsonaro’s government are also being investigated and some of his aides have been arrested, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil. Bolsonaro on Sunday insisted he is being persecuted, without directly mentioning the institutions handling the investigation, CNN Brasil reported. After Bolsonaro lost the election by a narrow margin to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his supporters rioted and broke into government buildings in Brasilia on January 8, 2023. Bolsonaro was also seen waving an Israel flag during the rally Sunday in opposition to Lula da Silva, who has compared Israel’s offensive on Gaza to the Holocaust.

Persons: Jair Bolsonaro, São Paulo, ”, Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Lula da Silva Organizations: CNN, Former, Sunday, thronged, Brazilian Federal Police, CNN Brasil, Bolsonaro Locations: São, Brasilia, Brasília, Israel, Gaza

☆ As Medicaid Shrinks, Clinics for the Poor Are Trying to Survive
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Noah Weiland | Desiree Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Appointment cancellations and financial distress have become a constant at Bethesda Pediatrics, a nonprofit medical clinic in East Texas that is heavily dependent on Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor. On a recent Monday, the mother of a toddler who had a primary care appointment broke down in tears after learning the child had just lost Medicaid coverage, wondering how she could pay the bill. Another mother told Dr. Danny Price, the clinic’s lead pediatrician, that she was afraid to get her child a flu shot because of the $8 fee she would have to pay now that the child had been dropped from Medicaid. A child with depression did not show up, most likely, Dr. Price presumed, because of having lost Medicaid coverage. The loss of coverage has not only affected families, but is also threatening the financial stability of vital components of the American safety net.

Persons: Danny Price, Price, ”, Kyu Rhee Organizations: Bethesda Pediatrics, Medicaid, National Association of Community Health Centers Locations: East Texas, Tyler , Texas, United States

☆ Trinidad and Tobago declares ‘national emergency’ as oil spill from mystery vessel pollutes beaches
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Abel Alvarado | Michael Rios | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An overturned vessel has caused a huge oil spill along Trinidad and Tobago’s coastline, in what the Caribbean country’s prime minister described as a “national emergency” on Sunday. The spill occurred on February 7 off the southern shores of the Tobago Island, according to the country’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM). Prime Minister Keith Rowley said in a news conference Sunday that “the situation is not under control.” The origins of the vessel have not yet been identified, he added. An oil spill in Tobago Island, Trinidad and Tobago, is seen in this handout photo released February 10, 2024 Office of the Chief Secretary/ReutersWorkers clean up an oil spill on Rockly Bay beach in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, on February 10, 2024. Akash Boodan/APThe oil spill, pictured on February 10, covered about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) of the coastline in black residue.

Persons: Keith Rowley, ” Rowley, Farley Augustine, –, ” Augustine, Akash Boodan, Clement Williams, Lambeau, Augustine Organizations: CNN, Caribbean country’s, country’s, Disaster Preparedness, Management, ” Authorities, Assembly, Officials, Reuters Workers, Getty, Residents Locations: Trinidad, Tobago’s, Tobago, Tobago Island, Trinidad and Tobago, Scarborough, AFP

☆ Terrorized by Gangs, Ecuador Embraces the Hard-Line ‘Noboa Way’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Annie Correal | Federico Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since Ecuador’s president declared war on gangs last month, soldiers with assault rifles have flooded the streets of Guayaquil, a sprawling Pacific Coast city that has been an epicenter of the nation’s yearslong descent into violence. They pull men from buses and cars looking for drugs, weapons and gang tattoos, and patrol roads enforcing a nighttime curfew. Yet when people see soldiers pass, many clap or give them a thumbs-up. “We applaud the iron fist, we celebrate it,” said Guayaquil’s mayor, Aquiles Álvarez. “It has helped bring peace.”In early January, Guayaquil was hit by a wave of violence that could prove to be a turning point in the country’s long-running security crisis: Gangs attacked the city after the authorities moved to take charge of Ecuador’s prisons, which gangs largely controlled.

Persons: “, ”, Aquiles Organizations: Guayaquil’s Locations: Guayaquil, Pacific Coast, Ecuador

Sebastián Piñera, a former president of Chile who helped strengthen the nation’s young democracy after becoming its first conservative leader since a military dictatorship, died in a helicopter crash in Chile on Tuesday, the government said. Three people survived and swam to shore, Ms. Toha said, but Mr. Piñera died and the Chilean Navy had recovered his body. It is unclear who was piloting the aircraft, but Mr. Piñera was known to fly his own helicopter. Mr. Piñera was a billionaire businessman and investor who served two terms as Chile’s president, from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. A conservative, Mr. Piñera ushered in pro-business policies that helped boost growth and make the nation of 19 million, in his words, “a true oasis” in Latin America.

Persons: Sebastián, Carolina Tohá, Toha, Piñera Organizations: Chilean Navy Locations: Chile, Ranco, Ríos, Latin America

☆ Sebastian Pinera: Former Chilean president has died in a helicopter crash, says his office
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Anneclaire Stapleton | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Former Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has died in a helicopter crash in Chile. At the time of the crash, there was widespread rainfall in the area, but it is unclear if the weather caused the crash. Pinera, who was 74 years old, was Chile’s president from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The unrest led then-outgoing President Pinera to agree to a popular vote about the need to change the constitution inherited from the dictatorship. “I met President Pinera several years ago.

Persons: CNN —, Sebastian Pinera, of Interior Carolina Tohá, Pinera, Gabriel Boric, “, ”, Pinera’s, Michelle Bachelet, ” Boric, Luis Lacalle Pou, Javier Milei Organizations: CNN, CNN — Former Chilean, Chilean, of Interior, Harvard University, Forbes, Banco Locations: Chile, Ríos, Chilean, United States, San Jose, Uruguay, Argentina

It may be just electioneering: López Obrador leaves office in September, and he really wants his party’s candidate, former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, to win the presidential elections. López Obrador has made other unfulfilled promises in the past, like pledging Mexico would have a health care system “better than in Denmark." But the cost of what López Obrador is proposing for pensions is striking. The other half of Mexicans, who work under the table in the ‘informal’ economy, have no pension program at all. It seems unlikely to be achieved, so why would López Obrador propose it?

Persons: —, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, López Obrador, Claudia Sheinbaum, “ It's, Morena, ”, Gabriela Siller, It's, he'll, “ López Obrador, Claudia, Sheinbaum, Viri Ríos Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mexico City, Morena, Nuevo Leon, Banco Base, López Obrador doesn’t, National Guard Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Denmark, Morena

CNN —Chile has declared a state of emergency as it battles raging forest fires throughout the country that have killed at least 51 people – and authorities say the death toll is likely to rise. He added that the defense ministry would deploy more military units to affected areas, with all necessary resources made available. The declaration was made for the provinces of Marga Marga and Valparaíso, the presidential delegate of Valparaíso Sofía González Cortés said. The wildfires in Valparaíso have also damaged an estimated 1,100 homes, authorities said. At least six of those who died did so while being treated in hospitals for burns, according to authorities.

Persons: “, Gabriel Boric, Marga Marga, Valparaíso, González Cortés, Carolina Tohá, Tohá, Esteban Felix, Javier Torres, Toha Organizations: CNN, Chile, Marga, Firefighters, AFP, Getty Locations: Valparaíso, Chile’s, El

CNN —Colombia declared a disaster situation on Thursday due to wildfires raging across several parts of the country, as the president warned the conditions could get worse. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro declared a “situation of disaster and calamity,” telling reporters that funds previously approved for other purposes are being redirected to deal with the crisis. The government is also seeking international help, he said, adding that the United States, Chile, Peru and Canada, “which has enormous experience [fighting fires],” have responded to the call. Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty ImagesAt least 25 active fires were reported on Thursday by the National Disaster Risk Management Unit. “We estimate that the phenomenon is composed of 70% fog and 30% smoke,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia said on X.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, ”, Petro, he’s, El Niño, Raul Arboleda Organizations: CNN —, United Nations, European Union, Getty, National Disaster Risk Management Unit, Civil Aviation Authority Locations: CNN — Colombia, United States, Chile, Peru, Canada, Bogota, AFP, El Dorado, Colombia

CNN —Argentina’s labor unions began a nationwide general strike on Wednesday against austerity measures and reforms by the country’s libertarian President Javier Milei. Thousands of people marched toward Congress in the capital of Buenos Aires on Wednesday amid the strike, which began at 10 a.m. “This is not the Argentina that I want for my grandchildren or for the future of Argentina. The strike has led to transport disruptions with flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas saying that it canceled all its operations on Wednesday. He famously brandished a chainsaw at several of his rallies as an illustration of his plans to slash public spending.

Persons: Javier Milei, Milei, ”, Español Organizations: CNN, of Labor, CGT, Milei, Ministry, Security Locations: Buenos Aires, Argentina

His sentence includes a 10-day suspended jail sentence, a mandatory evaluation and a victim impact panel. Rios' sentence is consistent with others for similar offenses, said criminal defense attorney Mark Friese, a long-time practitioner in DUI cases. He noted that Rios' driving privileges will be suspended automatically for 91 days. The House-Senate panel meets between legislative sessions for studies of topics related to law enforcement and the legal system for future or potential legislation. He also previously said he takes responsibility for his “disgusting actions," and apologized “to those I have hurt and disappointed," including law enforcement officers.

Persons: Nico Rios, Rios, Mark Friese, Friese, Mike Lefor, “ Organizations: N.D, North, Republican, Police, Republican Party, Committee, Representatives Locations: BISMARCK, North Dakota, Williston

CNN —Iceland’s National Commissioner of Police has ordered residents in the fishing town of Grindavík, first evacuated in November, to evacuate again by Monday night after volcanic fissures opened on roads in the area. The town is also home to Iceland’s famed Blue Lagoon, which draws tourists to its steaming geothermal water and is one of the country’s most visited attractions. The amount of magma had reached a level similar to when a previous eruption occurred in December, the agency said. But in the case of the latest eruption, magma could “migrate further south” – as compared to the previous eruption – and possibly reach Grindavík town. As such, the country is accustomed to volcanic eruptions, though they often occur in the wilderness, away from populated areas.

Persons: CNN — Organizations: CNN, CNN — Iceland’s, Police, Civil Protection Agency, “, Icelandic Meteorological, North Locations: Grindavík, Iceland’s, Reykjavík, Blue, –, Iceland, North America, Eurasia

DENVER (AP) — A former Colorado police officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of reckless endangerment for parking his patrol car on railroad tracks before a handcuffed woman was put inside and seriously injured when it was hit by a freight train. Pablo Vazquez had been charged with five misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment in connection with the crash that injured Yareni Rios last year but reached a plea deal with prosecutors. A judge sentenced Vazquez to 12 months of unsupervised probation. Another former officer who put the woman in the patrol car after a traffic stop, Jordan Steinke, was found guilty of reckless endangerment and assault for the crash near Platteville. Her attorney, Christopher Ponce, called Vazquez's sentence “disappointing”, adding that Rios wished there was more of a permanent conviction.

Persons: —, Pablo Vazquez, Yareni Rios, Vazquez, Jordan Steinke, Steinke, Rios, Christopher Ponce Organizations: DENVER Locations: Colorado, Platteville

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