The new chief of U.S.-funded international broadcasting on Wednesday fired the heads of at least three outlets he oversees and replaced their boards with allies, in a move likely to raise fears that he intends to turn the Voice of America and its sister outlets into Trump administration propaganda machines.U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack informed those he dismissed in email notices sent late Wednesday, just hours after he had sought to play down those concerns in an email to staff saying he is committed to ensuring the independence of the broadcasters who are charged with delivering independent news and information to audiences around the world.Two congressional aides said that among those removed from their positions were the head of Radio Free Asia, Bay Fang; the head of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, Jamie Fly; and the head of the Middle East Broadcasting Network, Alberto Fernandez. The director and deputy director of the Voice of America, Amanda Bennett and Sandy Sugawara, had resigned from their positions on Monday.Pack, a conservative filmmaker and one-time associate of President Donald Trump’s former political adviser Steve Bannon, said in notices to those fired that he was taking the step consistent with his authority as the new CEO of the overall agency. It gave no reason for his decision.He added in the notices that he expected the agency’s new board of directors, chaired by himself, to approve the decision. In a separate message, Pack also announced that he had removed all the current members of the broadcasters’ respective boards and installed his own team, with officials from various agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget and Department of Housing and Urban Development.USAGM CEO Nominee Michael Pack confirmation hearing, Sept. 19, 2019.The firings came after Pack had tried to allay mounting concerns about his intentions at the agency in an email to staff in which he said he is “committed to maintaining the agency’s independence and adhering to VOA’s charter and the principles.”The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, denounced the firings as an “egregious breach” of the agency’s mission. Menendez had led an unsuccessful fight to block or at least delay Pack’s confirmation.”As feared, Michael Pack has confirmed he is on a political mission to destroy the USAGM’s independence and undermine its historic role,” Menendez said. “The wholesale firing of the agency’s network heads and disbanding of corporate boards to install President Trump’s political allies is an egregious breach of this organization’s history and mission from which it may never recover.”VOA had come under severe criticism from Trump and his supporters for its reporting on China and the coronavirus pandemic, and the resignations came as Trump made clear he wanted a change in VOA’s leadership.Pack began his role just last week after a contentious Senate confirmation process during which Democrats questioned his fitness for the post.”I am fully committed to honoring VOA’s charter, the missions of the grantees, and the independence of our heroic journalists around the world,” Pack wrote in the email.”I think we all agree the agency has an important mission, and we are being called on to perform it at an historically important time,” he said. “My goal is to provide leadership that will help each of you further that mission.”That mission has been made more critical as “America’s adversaries have stepped up their propaganda and disinformation efforts. They are aggressively promoting their very different visions of the world,” he wrote.Pack had previously worked for the agency under earlier incarnations as well as the PBS parent Corporation for Public Broadcasting and reminded his new employees of those experiences during which he said he had “learned the importance of building a team that works toward a common purpose.”Pack said his first priority is to raise employee morale, which has taken a hit in recent months with attacks from the White House and came to a head on Monday when VOA Director Bennett and her deputy announced their resignations, saying that Pack is entitled to have people of his choice in important positions.Trump and his supporters have been sharply critical of coronavirus reporting by the outlet that ran counter to the administration narrative on China’s response to the outbreak. The White House went so far as to blast VOA in a press statement and directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to not cooperate with its journalists, an unusual attack on a venerable organization that has sought to be an objective source of news despite its government ties.While not unexpected, the departures of Bennett and Sugawara sparked fears of a significant purge of U.S. Agency for Global Media management. Late Tuesday, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., warned Pack publicly against targeting career officials.”My fear is that USAGM’s role as an unbiased news organization is in jeopardy under (Pack’s) leadership,” Engel said in a statement. “USAGM’s mission is ‘to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy’ — not to be a mouthpiece for the president in the run up to an election … And Mr. Pack needs to understand that USAGM is not the Ministry of Information.”   
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U.S. lawmakers are rushing to address the demands for police reform heard in the historic nationwide protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. Senate Republicans announced Wednesday they will vote on a proposal next week just as House Democrats are set to pass their own reform legislation. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on the chances both sides can reach an agreement in a tough election year. Produced by: Katherine Gypson 
 
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Uganda’s 2021 election candidates will have to campaign online and through the media to reach voters as part of new rules to stem the spread of COVID-19. Uganda’s electoral commission banned mass gatherings during campaigning, which critics say will disadvantage opposition parties and voters, and may be unconstitutional.Simon Byamukama, chairman of the electoral commission, says his team will meet with the minister of information, the Media Council and the Uganda Communications Commission about the guidelines. “We are going to take the matter up with security officers, RDCs, government at large and make sure that these measures are effected without any hindrance,” he said. The RDCs, or resident district commissioners, are representatives of President Yoweri Museveni stationed in every district. The RDCs, along with the police, have been known to deny members of the opposition access to the media – which has Uganda election observers worried. Question of accessSarah Birete, associate director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, a Ugandan NGO, says the new campaign rules put older and rural voters – who are less likely to be online or have access to electronic media – at a disadvantage during an election campaign. “So, what happens to a rural voter that does not have access to radio, does not have access to TV or internet?” she said. “And what happens to the usual characteristics of an election where people enjoy exchange of information, exchange of ideas and voters are required to make informed decisions?” Asuman Basalirwa, chairman of the Inter-party Organization for Dialogue that looks to bring together all political parties in the country, says the new regulations may run afoul of the constitution. “We want to task them to explain how they are going to implement the regulations without necessarily amending the electoral laws,” Basalirwa said. “In our constitution, there’s nothing like digitalized election. So, either we have the election the normal way or we don’t have the election.” Defending the changeHowever, the electoral commission says it is following guidelines set up by the Ministry of Health to ensure the safety of Ugandans, as the current law does not allow for a postponement or extension of elections to accommodate a normal electoral process. Uganda currently has 724 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and no reported deaths from the disease. Polling is to take place between January 10 and February 8 of next year, as the country holds local, parliamentary and presidential elections. Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is expected to have more than 20 challengers. In past elections, state media has covered Museveni and members of the ruling National Resistance Movement to the near-exclusion of other candidates. According to the Uganda Communications Commission, about 18 million Ugandans have access to the internet. However, Birete notes that many of those are teenagers, who are not eligible to vote. 
 
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When European Union leaders meet virtually for a summit Friday, a familiar duo will again grab the spotlight.COVID-19, which has battered European economies, is also giving a new boost to Europe’s traditional economic engines, France and Germany, and possibly the so-far underwhelming relationship between their leaders.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have found common cause in pushing for a massive coronavirus recovery plan for the 27-member bloc — one that flouts Germany’s traditional budgetary orthodoxy and puts Berlin at odds with other frugal states.But whether the newfound unity opens a new chapter for the two countries to power other joint European initiatives is less certain. Key hurdles still face the coronavirus rescue package, framed in an $843 billion proposal of grants and loans the European Commission unveiled last month.“I think we can look ahead to a big dogfight,” said Daniel Gros, director of the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies, or CEPS, of the opposition facing the package.Still, Gros added of member states, “They will have to come together — that’s quite clear.”FILE – Members of the European Council are seen on the screen during a video conference call at the Elysee Palace in Paris, March 26, 2020.Germany’s EU presidency: Brexit and budgetFriday’s summit is a key marker in other ways. Next month, Europe’s biggest economic power, Germany, takes over the rotating six-month EU presidency that will also tackle thorny Brexit negotiations. On the menu, too, will be discussions about the bloc’s next seven-year budget running through 2027.It comes as Merkel, the EU’s longest-serving leader, prepares to leave office next year.Tara Varma, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Paris office, believes Merkel is looking toward her legacy.”She knows she has a massive, critical role to play,” Varma said, particularly on establishing European health sovereignty, after the pandemic found the bloc heavily dependent on medical imports from China and India. “She sees the necessity for the EU to be able to protect itself and its citizens.”But the immediate task Friday may be finding consensus on money.Europe’s “Frugal Four,” who generally oppose big spending — Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria — have reiterated their concerns about the commission’s COVID-19 bailout plan, aimed primarily at helping more economically strapped southern countries.“How can it suddenly be responsible to spend €500billion [$562 billion] in borrowed money and to send the bill into the future?” they wrote in a letter published in the Financial Times this week, noting European taxpayers would have to shoulder the burden.The four have instead called for loans, rather than grants that would not have to be paid back.Germany has traditionally shared such spending concerns. But last month, Merkel joined Macron in proposing a $562 billion recovery plan for the bloc, which was rolled into the commission’s broader proposal.FILE – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a news conference after a videoconference with EU leaders at the European Council building in Brussels, April 23, 2020.Announcing it last month, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — Merkel’s former defense minister — called the plan “Europe’s moment,” that would see the bloc recovering from the pandemic together, rather than “accepting a union of haves and have-nots.”Visiting Germany earlier this month, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire offered a broader take.“We are seeing a turning point in Franco-German relations,” Le Maire told Der Spiegel in an interview, sketching other areas for potential joint initiatives, including industrial projects.Analyst Varma is also hopeful about a reboot.“At the beginning of the relationship, there were expectations on both sides that weren’t met,” Varma said of Merkel and Macron, who took office in 2017.Macron had big ideas for Europe; Merkel was weakened by a divided coalition.“He was expecting her to meet him halfway and build this Franco-German moment,” Varma added. “And from the German side, there were different expectations.”Old disagreementsBerlin has not shared Macron’s push for closer EU fiscal and defense integration. But this week, Bloomberg reported the two countries are now pushing for tighter European defense ties.The call is backdropped by U.S. President Donald Trump’s confirmation of plans to withdraw 9,500 American troops from Germany, which he has criticized for failing to spend enough on defense.FILE – A convoy of U.S. troops, a part of NATO’s reinforcement of its eastern flank, drive from Germany to Orzysz in northeast Poland, March 28, 2017.“Germany used to look at the U.S. and the transatlantic relationship for security issues,” Varma said. “And I think we’re seeing a shift here, too.”“Germany is now coming to terms that it will need the EU to protect not only its economic interests but its security interests,” she said “which is a position France has been holding for a long time.”But other analysts believe the current unity over the COVID-19 rescue package may be a one-off.  “Macron is overwhelmed by his domestic concerns,” said Gros of the CEPS policy center. “And Merkel knows there’s only so far she can take Germany along” in other EU areas.  John Springford, deputy director for the London-based Centre for European Reform policy institute, is similarly skeptical.“There’s a realization she’s nearing the end of her term and wants to have been a chancellor that has made Europe stronger,” Springford said of Merkel.“And so, there’s a kind of happy marriage of interests now between her and Macron,” he added of the rescue fund, “which is why we’ve ended up with something that’s actually pretty ambitious.”
 
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Which country spends the most on policing? The answer may surprise you. VOA explores.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Syria, tightening pressure on President Bashar al-Assad and his government, amid concerns the war-torn country’s population will suffer.The sanctions target Assad’s family, Syrian government officials and third-party entities aiding the Assad government.Under the FILE – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gestures during an interview in Damascus, Feb. 10, 2015. In Syria nowadays, there is an impending fear that all doors are closing.A White House statement about the Treasury and State departments’ sanctions says, “Since the 2011 start to the Syrian conflict, the Assad regime has committed innumerable atrocities against Syrians, including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence and murder. These despicable acts have devastated the country’s people, infrastructure and economy, displacing more than half of Syria’s population.“Today’s FILE – A woman carries bread on her head while she crosses a street in Damascus, July 24, 2019. After nearly a decade of war, Syria is crumbling under the weight of sanctions, government coruption and other problems.Saying it was committed to a lasting political solution, the White House said that ”the Assad regime and its patrons must recognize that a political resolution is the only viable mechanism to bring a peaceful end to the Syrian conflict.”Effect on civiliansCriticism has sprung up in recent weeks, raising concerns the sanctions will hurt Syria’s civilian population. U.N. statistics estimate that more than 80% of Syrians live below the poverty line, and half the country’s prewar population has fled. Many Syrians have been demonstrating recently, demanding the country’s collapsed economy be fixed.At a U.N. Security Council session Tuesday, China’s ambassador, Zhang Jun, said issuing sanctions during a global pandemic was “simply inhumane.” Syrian government officials have called the Caesar Act “economic terrorism.”Safwan Qurabi, a member of Syria’s parliament, said the sanctions were aimed at stirring internal unrest. “The [Caesar] Act aims at pitting the Syrian citizen against the government. The law is an invitation to inner discord and chaos,” he said.The Foreign Ministry said Syria had vowed to confront the limits, and it urged the international community to work on removing all “illegitimate unilateral sanctions.”Pompeo rejected the notion of unilateral action, writing in his press release the U.S. “will undertake our campaign of economic and political pressure in full cooperation with other like-minded nations.”
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Міністерство фінансів оприлюднило результати діяльності державних банків за перший квартал 2020 року. У пресслужбі відомства пояснили, що дані з’явилися із запізненням через карантинні обмеження.

«За підсумками І кварталу 2020 року банки державного сектору отримали прибуток у розмірі 11,1 млрд грн (на 37% більше, ніж за відповідний період минулого року (8,1 мільярда гривень), з нього 94%, або 10,4 мільярда гривень – прибуток акціонерного товариства комерційного банку «Приватбанк», – повідомляє міністерство.

Збільшення розміру активів державних банків Мінфін пояснює зростанням обсягу міжбанківських кредитів на 25% (тобто на 22 мільярда гривень), фінансових активів, що рефінансуються Нацбанком на 13%, або на 19 мільярдів, та обсягу кредитів і заборгованості клієнтів на 5% (12 мільярдів гривень).

Читайте також: Битва за «Приватбанк»: держава Україна отримала ще одну перемогу, але що далі?​

«Звітний квартал також характеризувався зростанням коштів клієнтів (на 6%, або на 35 мільярдів гривень), яке відбулось внаслідок збільшення обсягів коштів фізичних осіб – на 9%, або на 30 мільярдів гривень (зростання коштів юридичних осіб склало 0,5%, або 1,2 мільярда гривень)», – йдеться в заяві відомства.

2 червня Мінфін повідомив про розміщення номінованих у національній валюті облігації внутрішньої державної позики (ОВДП) зі строком погашення 3, 6, 9 місяців та 1 рік.
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With the coronavirus threat, the US is taking an urgent look at vote-by-mail in this presidential election year
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China raised its emergency warning to its second-highest level and canceled more than 60% of the flights to Beijing on Wednesday amid a new coronavirus outbreak in the capital. It was a sharp pullback for the nation that declared victory over COVID-19 in March and a message to the rest of the world about how tenacious the virus really is.
New infections spiked in India, Iran and U.S. states including Florida, Texas and Arizona as authorities struggled to balance restarting economic activity without accelerating the pandemic.  
European nations, which embarked on a wide-scale reopening this week, looked on with trepidation as the Americas struggled to contain the first wave of the pandemic and Asian nations like China and South Korea reported new outbreaks.
Chinese officials described the situation in Beijing as “extremely grave.”  
“This has truly rung an alarm bell for us,” Party Secretary Cai Qi told a meeting of Beijing’s Communist Party Standing Committee.  
After a push that began June 14, the city expects to have tested 700,000 people by the end of the day, said Zhang Qiang, a Beijing party official. About half of them were workers from the city’s food markets, nearby residents and close contacts.
The party’s Global Times said 1,255 flights to and from the capital’s two major airports were scrapped by Wednesday morning, about two-thirds of those scheduled.  
Since the virus emerged in China late last year and spread worldwide, there have been more than 8.1 million confirmed cases and at least 443,000 deaths, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say the true toll is much higher, due to the many who died without being tested and other factors.
The U.S. has the most infections and deaths in the world, with a toll that neared 117,000 on Wednesday, surpassing the number of Americans who died in World War I.
Arizona reported a daily high of nearly 2,400 new infections for a total of more than 39,000, while in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott insisted the state’s health care system could handle the fast-rising number of new cases and hospitalizations.  
Tuesday marked the eighth time in nine days that Texas set a new high for COVID-19 hospitalizations at 2,518. State health officials reported 2,622 new cases.
“It does raise concerns, but there is no reason right now to be alarmed,” Abbott said.  
Texas began aggressively reopening its economy May 1. Abbott noted that Texans may have become lax in wearing masks or practicing social distancing and urged people to stay home as much as possible.
Canada and the U.S. extended to July 21 a deal to keep their border closed to nonessential travel, with many Canadians fearing cases arriving from the U.S.
As the U.S. struggles with the first wave of the virus, other countries where it was widely thought to be under control faced disturbing developments.
In South Korea, authorities reported 43 new cases amid increased public activity. Authorities said 25 of them came from around Seoul, where hundreds of infections have been linked to nightclubs, church gatherings, e-commerce workers and door-to-door salespeople. Twelve of the new cases came from international arrivals.
Not long after declaring itself virus-free, New Zealand saw a reemergence of the virus. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern assigned a top military leader to oversee the border quarantines after what she described as an “unacceptable failure” by health officials.
Two New Zealand citizens who had returned from London to see a dying relative were allowed to leave quarantine before being tested. After the women tested positive, New Zealand began tracing their potential contacts to ensure the virus is contained.
Their cases raised the specter that international air travel could ignite a new surge of the virus just as countries seek to boost devastated tourism industries.
China also limited other travel around the capital, keying in on hot spots. Beijing had essentially eradicated local transmissions until recent days, with 137 new cases since last week.
On Wednesday, the city of 20 million raised its threat level from 3 to 2, canceling classes, suspending reopenings and strengthening requirements for social distancing. China had relaxed many lockdown controls after the Communist Party declared victory over the virus in March.
India, with the fourth-highest caseload after the U.S., Brazil and Russia, added more than 2,000 deaths to its tally after Delhi and Maharashtra states included 1,672 previously unreported fatalities. Its death toll of 11,903 is now eighth-highest in the world. India has reported 10,000 new infections and more than 300 deaths each day for the last two weeks.
Iran’s latest outbreak  comes after a major Muslim holiday last month and as travel and lockdown restrictions were relaxed. Health Minister Saeed Namaki said he realized the extent of the challenge when he took a domestic flight.  
“Many people have become careless, frustrated with wearing masks,” he said. “They did not observe (social) distancing in the flight’s seating and the airliner’s ventilation system was not working.”
In Europe, which has seen over 184,000 virus-related deaths, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the country will hold a ceremony July 16 to honor its more than 27,000 dead.  
German officials said 400 people at a large western meatpacking plant had tested positive for COVID-19. The industry has seen several outbreaks in recent weeks, prompting the government to impose stricter safety rules.
Denmark’s health minister urged anyone who joined a large racial injustice protest on June 7 to be tested “whether you have symptoms or not” after one person in the crowd was found to be infected.
“As long as we have the virus in Europe and in Denmark, it will flare up. We are dealing with a very, very contagious disease,” said Health Minister Magnus Heunicke.
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Addressing weeks of growing national outcry over police violence, U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday signed an executive order on policing. The order came alongside separate efforts from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress focused on police reforms, and the Supreme Court’s decision not to re-examine the legal doctrine that shields law enforcement officers accused of misconduct. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
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China’s capital imposed new coronavirus restrictions Wednesday to try to control a new outbreak, while Brazil reported a record daily increase in confirmed cases and the number of deaths in the United States surpassed those the country suffered in World War One. Among the steps taken in Beijing were canceling dozens of domestic flights, requiring stricter social distancing efforts and making those entering some residential areas undergo temperature checks and registration. There have been at least 137 new cases in Beijing since late last week linked to a wholesale food center. Brazilian health officials reported Tuesday 34,918 new confirmed cases during a 24-hour period.  The country now has more than 900,000 total cases, trailing only the United States. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has dismissed the severity of the virus while urging businesses to reopen. His Chief of Staff Walter Braga Netto said Tuesday, “There is a crisis, we sympathize with bereaved families, but it is managed.” “Brazil has 23% of all cases and 21% of all deaths in our region, and we are not seeing transmission slowing down,” Pan American Health Organization Director Carissa Etienne said in a briefing Tuesday.  “That is, the cases in almost all countries in Latin America, and a few in the Caribbean, are rising” Peru has also been hit hard by the coronavirus, reporting Tuesday its death toll had surpassed 7,000 people. And in Honduras, President Juan Orlando Hernandez announced late Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with COVID-19.FILE – Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez holds a news conference at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Oct. 3, 2019.The United States has more than 2.1 million confirmed cases and about 117,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Wednesday she assigned a top military leader to oversee “all quarantine and managed isolation facilities” after two citizens who arrived from Britain to visit a sick relative were allowed to leave quarantine without being tested, and later tested positive. The development came more than three weeks after the country’s previous positive test, and the prime minister said she could not allow New Zealand to squander the gains it has made in stopping the spread of the virus. “This case represents an unacceptable failure of the system,” Ardern told reporters.  “It should never have happened, and it cannot be repeated.” As work continues in numerous labs around the world toward the creation of a coronavirus vaccine, the World Health Organization on Tuesday welcomed initial clinical results that showed the drug dexamethasone can help treat those who are critically ill with COVID-19. A University of Oxford team gave the drug to more than 2,000 critically ill COVID-19 patients, and reported that among those who were so sick they needed a ventilator to breath the drug reduced deaths by 35 percent. Patients who needed less help, only oxygen to help them breathe better, the drug reduced deaths by about 20 percent. The researchers reported no benefit from the drug for patients who were mildly sick. 
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced the U.S. Open tennis tournament is on schedule to be held this year in Queens, N.Y. from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 without spectators due to health concerns associated with the coronavirus.  Cuomo said the United States Tennis Association (USTA) “will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space and dedicated housing and transportation.”  The USTA said they are “incredibly excited” by Cuomo’s approval to push ahead with the U.S. Open.  “We recognize the tremendous responsibility of hosting one of the first global sporting events in these challenging times, and we will do so in the safest manner possible, mitigating all potential risks,” said Mike Dowse, USTA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.Dowse also described “tennis as the ideal social distancing sport,” and “a boost for the City of New York and the entire tennis landscape.”  The green light for the U.S. Open makes it the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to be held after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.  The French Open, originally scheduled for May 2020, was moved to September and London’s famed Wimbledon tournament was cancelled.  
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