Today's Odd News - Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Nepali villager, 72, declared world's shortest man
Sun,26 Feb 2012 08:06 AM PST
Reuters -  KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Home to Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, the scenic country of Nepal on Sunday added another height-related superlative - of having the world's shortest man. A Guinness World Records team measured Chandra Bahadur Dangi at 54.60 centimeters (21.5 inches), declaring the 72-year-old even shorter the previous title holder, Junrey Balawing, from the Philippines, who stood at 23.5 inches at the age of 18 last year. ...
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Spanish treasure lands after 200 years
Sat,25 Feb 2012 12:34 PM PST
Reuters -  MADRID (Reuters) - Coins worth nearly half a billion dollars finally arrived in Spain on Saturday after lying in a sunken warship for more than 200 years and following a five-year legal battle between the Spanish government and a salvage company. The Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a 49-gun navy frigate, set sail from the coast of Peru - then a colony of Spain - with coins to help replenish the Spanish treasury's coffers. In 1804, British warships attacked as the frigate was approaching the Spanish port of Cadiz and the ship went down, with 249 killed, a Spanish government website said. ...
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Maine's biggest lobster returned to Atlantic Ocean
Fri,24 Feb 2012 12:59 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The biggest lobster ever caught in Maine, a 27-pounder (12.25 kg) nicknamed "Rocky" with claws tough enough to snap a man's arm, was released back into the ocean on Thursday after being trapped in a shrimp net last week, marine officials said. The 40-inch (one-meter) male crustacean, about the size of a 3-year-old child, was freed in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, said Elaine Jones, education director for the state's Department of Marine Resources. "All the weight is in the claws," Jones said. "It would break your arm. ...
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Heartless thieves pick lovers' padlocks in Germany
Fri,24 Feb 2012 08:21 AM PST
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - German police caught two thieves breaking open "lovers' padlocks" attached to a bridge over the Rhine River in the city of Cologne. The pair were cutting padlocks, left by amorous couples to symbolize their eternal love, off a railing on the Hohenzollern Bridge presumably to sell as scrap metal, police said. "I spotted two men on the other side of the bridge tampering with the lovers' padlocks, so I called for back-up straight away," a police officer said. The men tried to escape with their loot after spotting police but were apprehended on the bridge. ... Full Story | Top |
Wine cache rescues those short of cash
Fri,24 Feb 2012 08:20 AM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some U.S. pawnbrokers are taking liquid assets - literally. Fine wines are among the items they will accept as collateral for loans, along with family jewels and fine art, as a practice common in Britain and France catches on across the Atlantic. Liquidity issues, or a cash shortage, can be found on most rungs of the economic ladder, the pawnbrokers said. "You'd be amazed by how many wealthy individuals have terrible credit ratings. And besides, if you go to a bank, it can take weeks or months to get a loan. ...
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Will Slovaks walk over Chuck Norris to Austria?
Thu,23 Feb 2012 09:46 AM PST
Reuters - BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovaks have been voting overwhelmingly in favor of naming a new pedestrian and cycling bridge near their capital for 1980s action film and TV star Chuck Norris. The two other top names in the running for the bridge, which will span the Morava river and cross the border to Austria, were Maria Theresa after an Austro-Hungarian empress and the Devinska cycling bridge in honour of the closest village. ... Full Story | Top |
Pawnshops for prosperous accept wine as collateral
Wed,22 Feb 2012 01:36 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some U.S. pawnbrokers are taking liquid assets - literally. Along with family jewels and fine art they will accept wines as collateral for loans to help ease cash shortages of businesses and people on all rungs of the economic ladder. "You'd be amazed by how many wealthy individuals have terrible credit ratings," said Jordan Tabach-Bank, head of Beverly Loan Co. in Beverly Hills, California. "And besides, if you go to a bank, it can take weeks or months to get a loan. ...
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Qatar would host 2020 Summer Games in October
Mon,20 Feb 2012 11:37 AM PST
Reuters - DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar is proposing to hold the 2020 Olympics in October to avoid the Gulf Arab state's searing summer heat, maintaining that the proposed October dates would "ensure ideal conditions for athletes and spectators." Details of the bid released Monday show that Doha would like to stage the Olympics from October 2-18 and the Paralympics from November 4-15. "October in Doha is not like July and August. I don't think heat will be an issue," Qatar Olympic Committee General Secretary Sheik Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters in the Qatari capital. ... Full Story | Top |
I don't like football, says Australian club owner
Sun,19 Feb 2012 04:15 PM PST
Reuters - SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fans often question whether wealthy club owners have a real passion for their teams but the followers of ailing A-league outfit Gold Coast United were left in no doubt at the weekend when Clive Palmer said he did not even like the sport. A billionaire mining magnate, Palmer launched the club to much hoopla as an expansion team in 2008 and they finished third and fourth in the regular season in their first two years, albeit in front of the smallest crowds in the league. ... Full Story | Top |
Swedish man survives for months in snowed-in car
Sat,18 Feb 2012 05:12 PM PST
Reuters - STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish man was dug out alive after being snowed in to his car on a forest track for two months with no food, police and local media reported on Saturday. The 45-year-old from southern Sweden was found on Friday, emaciated and too weak to utter more than a few words. He was found not far from the city of Umea in the north of Sweden by snowmobilers who thought they had come across a car wreck until they dug their way to a window and saw movement inside. The man, who was laying in the back seat in a sleeping bag, said he had been in the car since December 19. ... Full Story | Top |
Tightrope walker to attempt first crossing of Niagara Falls
Wed,15 Feb 2012 07:54 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canada agreed on Wednesday to allow a member of the Flying Wallenda family of daredevils to attempt a tightrope walk over Niagara Falls, clearing the way for the stunt some time during the summer. Nik Wallenda, 33, secured support on the American side of the falls last September when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill giving him one year to perform the feat, which Wallenda says will be the first attempt in more than a century. ...
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Tightrope walker to attempt first crossing of Niagara Falls
Wed,15 Feb 2012 03:54 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canada agreed on Wednesday to allow a member of the Flying Wallenda family of daredevils to attempt a tightrope walk over Niagara Falls, clearing the way for the stunt some time during the summer. Nik Wallenda, 33, secured support on the American side of the falls last September when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill giving him one year to perform the feat, which Wallenda says will be the first attempt in more than a century. ... Full Story | Top |
Mattel to issue William and Kate dolls for royal anniversary
Wed,15 Feb 2012 03:08 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are really getting dolled up for the first anniversary of their royal wedding. Mattel Inc, the U.S. maker of Barbie dolls, said this week it will release a special two-doll set in April to mark the one-year anniversary of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding at Westminster Abbey. The figures, part of Mattel's Barbie Collector series, will come dressed up in outfits duplicating those the couple wore in a ceremony that was viewed by an estimated 3 billion people worldwide. ...
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London Olympics triggers record rent for home
Wed,15 Feb 2012 06:06 AM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - A seven-bedroom house in London's upmarket Mayfair district will likely set a British record rent of 433,000 pounds per month as landlords cash in on demand for space during this summer's Olympic Games. The house has a floor space equivalent to three and a half tennis courts spread over three floors and includes a swimming pool, cinema and seven bathrooms. It can be also rented for 100,000 pounds a week. In addition to a six-bedroom flat near the Harrods store in Knightsbridge that is for rent at the same weekly sum, it is the most expensive home on the findaproperty. ...
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"Malachy" the Pekingese wins prestigious U.S. dog show
Wed,15 Feb 2012 03:29 AM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A placid Pekingese slowly trotted to victory on Tuesday at the 136th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, beating a Dalmatian, a German Shepherd, a Dachshund and three other canines to become the first of his breed to win the prestigious annual event since 1990. Malachy, a four-year-old dog formally known as Ch. Palacegarden Malachy, charmed the packed Madison Square Garden arena crowd, who roared their approval when his win was announced. ...
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Afghan govt asks for headscarves, less make-up on TV
Wed,15 Feb 2012 12:13 AM PST
Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan government request that female television presenters don headscarves and avoid heavy make-up angered journalists on Tuesday, who said the move was proof authorities expected the Taliban to regain a share of power. Afghan and U.S. officials have been seeking peace negotiations with the Islamist group ousted over a decade ago as a means to ensure stability after foreign combat troops leave, though the talks are in a very fragile state. ... Full Story | Top |
Dalmatian, Dachshund could make Westminster show history
Tue,14 Feb 2012 02:23 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A wire-haired Dachshund, Pekingese, Dalmatian and German Shepherd defeated thousands of other competitors to advance to the final round of the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. They will be joined by victors from the sporting, working and terrier groups to vie for the best of show prize on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden where more than 2,000 dogs representing 185 breeds have competed over two days. David Frei, the club's director of communications, said no wire-haired Dachshund had ever won Westminster, and had only won the best-in hound group twice. ...
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Partners main source of happiness around the globe: poll
Tue,14 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly two-thirds of married couples and people with a significant other say their partner is the most important source of happiness in their lives, according to a new global poll released on Valentine's Day. And nearly half of all singles yearn above all else to find a sweetheart, with about 45 percent saying finding a partner would bring them the greatest happiness. ...
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Russia's Putin gets a drink fit for dinosaurs
Fri,10 Feb 2012 08:28 AM PST
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin received a drink fit for dinosaurs on Friday when he was presented with a sample of ancient water from a sub-glacial Antarctic lake pierced by Russian scientists. Russian scientists said this week they had drilled through Antarctica's frozen crust to the vast Lake Vostok, which has lain untouched for at least 14 million years hiding what scientists believe may be unknown organisms and clues to life on other planets. ... Full Story | Top |
French min deletes "stay indoors" tip for homeless
Wed,8 Feb 2012 04:49 AM PST
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - A French health minister tried to tweet her way out of embarrassing blog advice that homeless people should not go outdoors during the ice-cold snap in Europe. Junior minister Nora Berra was ridiculed on the Internet for writing a blog at the weekend saying toddlers, old people, the sick and homeless were particularly vulnerable in times of extreme cold and should "avoid going outdoors." Her note sparked a flurry of Twitter messages and media reports that she was suggesting the homeless not leave home. ...
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Frozen sauerkraut causes German motorway chaos
Tue,7 Feb 2012 08:05 AM PST
Reuters - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Piles of sauerkraut tumbled out of a truck on a busy German motorway and quickly froze to the autobahn surface, causing a massive traffic jam near Frankfurt during Tuesday's morning rush hour, police said. A truck carrying hundreds of packages of the famous German pickled cabbage delicacy crashed into another vehicle before dawn near the western town of Friedberg near Frankfurt and scattered its contents across the motorway. ... Full Story | Top |
South African man escapes zombies but not police
Tue,7 Feb 2012 07:56 AM PST
Reuters - JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police have arrested a suspected fraudster for impersonating the award-winning traditional singer Khulekani Kwakhe "Mgqumeni" Khumalo, who died in 2009. The unnamed man, who appeared in court in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province on Tuesday, had said he had not died but was kidnapped by a witchdoctor who cast a spell on him and imprisoned him in a cave with zombies, local media reported. Thousands of people in Khumalo's rural eastern home village of Esiggumeni, turned out to see the man at the weekend. ... Full Story | Top |
Mum tells Westwood to say sorry for swearing
Tue,7 Feb 2012 05:27 AM PST
Reuters -  DUBAI (Reuters) - Lee Westwood was forced to apologize after his mum caught him swearing on live television at last week's Qatar Masters, the world number three said on Tuesday. The incident occurred during the 38-year-old Briton's closing 69 Sunday, a round that left him in a tie for 12th place behind tournament winner Paul Lawrie who finished on 15-under-par. "My mum was the first person on the phone and she said you might want to apologize," Westwood told reporters ahead of this week's Dubai Desert Classic. "I didn't think that down at four-under-par I would be on TV. ...
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Indonesia pilot grounded in pre-takeoff crystal meth check
Tue,7 Feb 2012 05:16 AM PST
Reuters - JAKARTA (Reuters) - Lion Air's slogan "We make you fly" came a bit too close to home this weekend when one of the Indonesian airline's pilots tested positive for crystal meth after being arrested just hours before he was due to take off. The 44-year-old pilot for Indonesia's largest domestic airline by passenger volume was arrested in a hotel on Saturday in Surabaya, Indonesia's second city, Sumirat Dwiyanto, spokesperson for the National Narcotics Agency, told Reuters. He was due to head to fly to Makassar on Sulawesi island, Balikpapan on Borneo and back to Surabaya, Dwiyanto said. ... Full Story | Top |
Anfield cat becomes internet hit
Tue,7 Feb 2012 02:40 AM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - A cat that invaded the famous Anfield turf for three minutes during Liverpool's 0-0 Premier League draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday has become an internet celebrity. Several Twitter sites claiming to be the real deal sprung up within hours of the moggy's Lionel Messi-like slalom across the pitch during the first half. One, @AnfieldCat, had already attracted 17,368 followers early on Tuesday while video footage of the feline's antics were proving popular on the internet. ...
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Mustache film festival to be held in Maine
Mon,6 Feb 2012 03:51 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Move over, Cannes. Maine will be playing host to its first-ever international mustache film festival, part of its annual pageant that celebrates the bristly facial hair. The festival set for March 30 in Portland will feature short films with storylines that involve mustaches or a main character who wears a mustache, said Nick Callanan, head of No Umbrella Media, a video production company organizing the event. ...
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Toledo hot dog chain made famous on "M*A*S*H" sold
Mon,6 Feb 2012 11:11 AM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - A troubled Ohio hot dog restaurant chain made famous in the TV series "M*A*S*H" has been sold after months of legal wrangling, allowing descendants of the eponymous Tony Packo's to keep running Cpl. Klinger's favorite frankfurter place. Ohio-based TP Foods LLC assumed control of Tony Packo's on Saturday when a bank restored previously agreed financing terms that it had rescinded, TP Foods President Bob Bennett said. Tony Packo Jr. and Tony Packo III have joined TP Foods and will run the restaurants for Bennett. ...
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Aww, man! Bart Simpson joins Barbie in Iran ban
Mon,6 Feb 2012 07:22 AM PST
Reuters -  TEHRAN (Reuters) - The Simpsons are corroding the morals of Iranian youth, an official said on Monday, as dolls based on Bart, Homer and the rest of the American cartoon family joined the shapely Barbie among Western toys targeted by a new crackdown in Tehran. "The Simpsons dolls are merchandise from an animated series, of which some episodes are even banned in Europe and America," Mohammad Hossein Farjoo, whose agency oversees what Iranian children can play with, told the Sharq newspaper. He did not elaborate on what episodes might have been censored elsewhere. ...
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Germany hunts out deer calling champion
Mon,6 Feb 2012 05:19 AM PST
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Hunting enthusiasts grunted, bawled and bellowed in the battle to be named Germany's champion deer caller. The 18 men and one woman used sea shells, ox horns and hollow plant stems to perfect their deer calls on Friday. This year's winner, Tasso Wolzenburg, said he was impressed with the competition. "Even if I were a real deer, I'd still have been amazed at today," he said. Competitors were scored on their ability to imitate red deer calls during the breeding season in three different categories: a young deer, a dominant rutting buck, and an older deer. ... Full Story | Top |
New record set at Wing Bowl eating extravaganza
Fri,3 Feb 2012 01:25 PM PST
Reuters -  PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - More than 17,000 mostly beer-fueled spectators packed a Philadelphia indoor arena on Friday for the city's annual early morning eating extravaganza in which competitors vie to eat the most chicken wings. Japanese champion Takeru Kobayashi, weighing just 127 pound (xx kilos) defeated his much larger opponents in the 20th annual Wing Bowl and walked away with a $20,000 prize after devouring a record-breaking 337 chicken wings during the 30-minute contest. ...
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Miami named most miserable U.S. city
Fri,3 Feb 2012 09:53 AM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warm sun, white beaches, and million-dollar mansions notwithstanding, Miami has captured the dubious distinction of being the most miserable city in the United States, according to a new poll. The playground of the rich and famous is home to a crippling housing crisis, one of the highest crime rates in the country, and lengthy daily commutes for workers, all of which have propelled it to the No. 1 position in the Forbes.com list. "Miami has sun and beautiful weather but other things make people miserable. ...
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U.S. border cops nab go-kart hauling Mexican pot
Thu,2 Feb 2012 07:08 AM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - U.S. border cops in far-west Arizona have seized an off-road go-kart and trailer packed with marijuana, in the latest bizarre attempt by Mexican smugglers to beat beefed up border security. The Border Patrol's Yuma sector said agents and officers from the Cocopah Tribal Police Department spotted the single-seater go-kart hauling a trailer through the desert near Yuma, Arizona on Tuesday night and gave chase. ...
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Big freeze stops famed Brussels statue from peeing
Wed,1 Feb 2012 09:47 AM PST
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Manneken-Pis, a bronze statue of a young boy urinating that is a symbol of Brussels and a major tourist attraction, has had to stop peeing because of sub-zero temperatures, Belgium's tourist office said on Wednesday. Officials turned off the flow of water through the statue, which has stood on a Brussels corner since the 1600s, out of concern the cold might damage its internal mechanism. Temperatures in the Belgian capital were set to fall to minus 10 Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) Wednesday night, far below the average minimum for February. ... Full Story | Top |
China bans toddler palm-reading assessments
Tue,31 Jan 2012 11:38 PM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China has banned kindergartens in a northern province from offering palm-reading tests that the schools had claimed could predict toddlers' intelligence level and potential, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. Although many parents in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, eagerly brought their children to be tested, some later complained about the high cost and raised questions about the testing method, which test-givers said could reveal the children's aptitude in music, mathematics and languages. ... Full Story | Top |
Italian shoemaker pays record rent at London store
Tue,31 Jan 2012 10:19 AM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Italian luxury shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo is close to agreeing a deal to pay a record UK rent at its Bond Street store that will break the 1,000 pounds per square foot mark for the first time, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. The deal would break the previous record of 965 pounds per square foot for the valuable Zone A front section of a store set by jeweler Piaget on the same glitzy central London shopping strip in December 2009. ...
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German city's parking fines are just the ticket
Tue,31 Jan 2012 07:03 AM PST
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities are giving parking violators in one city an unexpected break by issuing tickets without fines. The tickets, put on carelessly parked cars in Potsdam, include a fine of 0 euros and the cheerful message "Glueck gehabt!!!" (Lucky you!!!). The new approach is designed to admonish motorists without hitting them in the wallet. "The tickets serve as a warning to parking offenders," said Regina Thielemann, a city of Potsdam spokeswoman. "They're issued when the driver isn't around. So they're given written notice when they'd ordinarily only get a verbal warning. ... Full Story | Top |
Toddlers subjected to palm-reading assessments in China
Tue,31 Jan 2012 12:05 AM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Several kindergartens in a province in northern China are charging parents 1,200 yuan ($190) for a palm-reading test that they claim can predict their toddlers' intelligence and potential, state news agency Xinhua said. Many parents have flocked to palm readers for the test, used in kindergartens in northern Shanxi province and designed for children above the age of three months, the report said. ... Full Story | Top |
German beer drinking slide stopped by warm weather
Mon,30 Jan 2012 08:42 AM PST
Reuters -  BERLIN (Reuters) - A steady slide in beer consumption in Germany was stopped cold last year thanks to warmer weather, the federal statistics office said on Monday. German brewers sold 98.2 million hectoliters of beer last year, down by just 0.1 percent in 2011 after dropping by an average of two percent every year since 2006. Beer consumption in Germany had fallen in all but two of the last 10 years. Despite Germany's reputation as a nation of beer lovers, young people are turning away from the national beverage in favour of other non-alcoholic beverages, brewers say. ...
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School bans fuzzy boots used to hide cell phones
Mon,30 Jan 2012 07:32 AM PST
Reuters - PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Singer Nancy Sinatra may have had boots made for walking, but she never attended Pottstown Middle School. Starting Monday the Philadelphia suburban district is banning the wearing of fuzzy open-top boots, including the popular Ugg brand, to middle school classes because students have been stashing cell phones in the loose footwear, according to district director of community relations John Armato. "Cell phones are a problem for obvious reasons," Armato said. ... Full Story | Top |
Babette's errant email cripples German parliament
Thu,26 Jan 2012 06:31 AM PST
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - The German parliament's email system was hampered for several hours for more than 4,000 staffers and deputies when hundreds of workers responded to an errant email sent by one staffer named "Babette" to all 4,032 co-workers. The flood of emails began when "Babette" accidentally replied to "all" on the Bundestag email list with a short answer to a colleague: "Please bring me a copy of the new directory. ... Full Story | Top |
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