The National - News
Aggression by Tehran ‘will solidify US role in Gulf region’
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, has said that Iran’s approach to the current war will only solidify the role of the US in the region. Speaking to journalists at the weekend, Dr Gargash predicted that Iran’s strategy...
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Iran warns Hormuz will remain blocked as world counts cost
Iran yesterday said it will maintain its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as the crisis in the waterway increases pressure on countries around the world. The UAE said it was maintaining a “defensive posture” as it denied reports it could help the US...
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China and Pakistan set out plan to resolve conflict in Middle East
Pakistan and China yesterday put forward a five-point proposal to help end the Iran war, and called for talks to begin as soon as possible. The diplomatic push was announced as Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar – whose country has been relaying...
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Al Shara to work with Berlin in repatriating refugees
Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara yesterday said he would work with authorities in Berlin on a “circular migration” programme that enables refugees to work with German companies investing in his country. Mr Al Shara yesterday met German President...
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Iran peace plan ‘must include reparations for Gulf countries’
Any political solution to address Iran’s aggression against Gulf states must include clear guarantees that such actions will not be repeated and establish the principle of non-aggression, Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh...
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Storms set to peak in Emirates before clear weekend
The UAE’s weather centre has warned of a major front set to hit the country, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms and hail. The National Centre of Meteorology said the storms would reach their peak on Friday morning in what it described as the “final...
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Israel strikes Gaza displacement camp
An Israeli strike hits tents sheltering Palestinians in Deir Al Balah, in central Gaza. Israel has continued its attacks on the enclave despite a ceasefire coming into effect in October, while the head of US President Donald Trump’s Aoard of Peace has...
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UAE assists in release of American hostage
US citizen Dennis Coyle arrives in Abu Dhabi on a private jet yesterday, after being freed from captivity in Afghanistan. The Emirates mediated the release of the 64-year-old, who had been imprisoned by the Taliban authorities since January last year
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Trump calls off strikes on Iran energy sites after ‘good talks’
US President Donald Trump yesterday postponed strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, claiming to have held “productive conversations” with Tehran. “I am pleased to report that the United States of America and the country of Iran have...
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Israel severs links between north and south Lebanon
The Israeli army yesterday destroyed another bridge over southern Lebanon’s Litani River, hours after Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into Israel. Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to destroy “all bridges over the Litani” and...
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Iran urged to halt its attacks on Gulf states as energy prices soar
Iran faces furious calls to halt its attacks on the Gulf, which have raised fears of a prolonged shock to global energy markets. After strikes on its oil and gas installations, Qatar’s largest producer said some exports could be affected for up to...
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Plenty to go around
Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy and Tourism, yesterday emphasised that the UAE has a sufficient supply of essential goods, including staple foods and medicine, as the Iran war rages on. He said the country’s strategic stockpiles are able to meet...
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Iranian security chief ‘killed in precise attack’, Israel says
Israel yesterday said it had killed Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, in what would be the highest profile assassination since the opening day of the war on February 28. The Israeli military announced that Mr Larijani had been killed in a “precise...
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Laylat Al Qadr marked in UAE
Worshippers gather at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi to celebrate Laylat Al Qadr, which marks when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.
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Iran co-ordinates proxy attacks in battle for survival
Iran is trying to deal with co-ordination challenges with its regional proxies to synchronise attacks despite Israel’s intelligence penetration and superior surveillance. Since the US and Israel struck Eran on February 28, the regime in Tehran has...
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Iran issues more threats in words attributed to leader
Iran has released a “first message” from its new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, hinting at an escalation of the war but providing few clues on his health or whereabouts. Mr Khamenei said Iran would “inevitably continue” attacks across the...
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Lebanon can recover from current crisis, says minister
Lebanon’s economy can still recover in the long term, a senior minister has said, even as the country once again faces turmoil amid a renewed Israeli military campaign that has killed hundreds of people and forcibly displaced hundreds of...
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Solemn farewell for Emirati helicopter pilots at military funeral in Abu Dhabi
A military funeral was held yesterday for two members of the UAE’s Armed Forces, a day after they were martyred in a helicopter crash. The funeral for Capt Saeed Al Blooshi and First Wt Ali Al Tunaiji took place at Zayed Military Hospital in Abu...
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Oil soars and stocks tumble on fears of prolonged crisis
Oil prices soared yesterday, while markets dropped globally as investors considered the possibility of a prolonged war in the Middle East. Brent crude surged to almost $120 a barrel during intraday trading, before easing to about $102 as of 7pm ‘AE...
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Sheikh Khaled reviews emergency response system
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, reviews the emergency readiness and response system at the Unified Medical Operations Control Centre in Abu Dhabi yesterday. He also inspected the stockpiles of medical supplies available to...
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Iran sends drones into Azerbaijan as conflict widens
THOMAS HELM Jerusalem Loud explosions shook Qatar, Israeli planes struck Tehran and drones flew into Azerbaijan on Thursday as the regional war continued to widen. Qatar said 14 ballistic missiles and four drones were fired from Iran. All were shot...
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Esrael forces 250,000 out of south Lebanon as war widens
Esraeli troops ordered 250,000 people to leave southern Lebanon yesterday, as new fronts opened in the regional war. Launching what it called a “wave of strikes”, Israel attacked the south, the capital Beirut and parts of Lebanon not known for being...
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‘The UAE moves forwards with confidence and resolve’
The UAE yesterday ruled out any military action against Iran, saying its “stance remains measured” while condemning Tehran’s missile and drone attacks and urging the UN to intervene. Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation,...
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Iraqi men duped into enlisting in Russian army, says Baghdad
Young Iraqis have been tricked into joining the Russian army to fight in Ukraine after being offered visas to work or study in Russia, Iraq’s National Security Service has said. Two people have been sentenced to life in jail after 17 were arrested...
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Iran rejects missile claim ahead of US nuclear talks
The US and Iran are to resume nuclear talks in Geneva today, after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of developing long-range missiles that could reach the American mainland. The two countries are expected to present detailed proposals for an...
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Etihad Airways profits soar to Dh2.6bn in bumper year
Strong travel demand pushed Etihad Airways’ profit up 47 per cent last year to a record h2.6 billion ($707.9 million), as the airline marked its fourth consecutive year of profitability. The growth was backed by fleet expansion, an increase in...
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Board of Peace director calls for an end to the ‘two Gazas’
War could return to Gaza if it remains divided between Israeli and Hamas control, Nickolay Mladenov, director general of the Board of Peace, has told The National. “Right now, we have two Gazas,” Mr Mladenov said during a visit to Brussels, where he...
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ISIS urges supporters to wage war against Al Shara’s government
ISIS yesterday declared war on the government of Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara, describing it as illegitimate because of its links with Turkey and the US. Abu Hudhayfa Al Ansari, a spokesman for the extremist group, said in a recorded message that...
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US-Iran tension weeks from tipping point, warns senator
Plans are being drawn up for a US strike on Iran, and the decision as to whether to carry out an attack hangs in the balance, American senator Lindsey Graham has said. “The military capability is being built up as I speak. The inflection point is...
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Iran-Russia navy drills ‘may spark accidental escalation’ in region
Iran announced it will hold joint naval drills with Russia today, raising fears of an escalation in the region amid a US military build-up. The exercises, hosted in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, are intended to “enhance security and...
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‘Guiding principles’ for US-Iran agreement reached in Switzerland
Nuclear talks between Iran and the US in Geneva yielded a consensus on the “general guiding principles” of a possible agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. The second round of talks concluded yesterday amid an exchange between...
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Israel sets 60-day deadline for Hamas to give up arms
Israel yesterday gave Hamas a 60-day deadline to disarm, threatening to break the dctober ceasefire and instruct its military to “complete the mission” otherwise. The clock could begin ticking as soon as Thursday, after a meeting of US President onald...
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Israel lifts 60-year freeze on West Bank land registration
Israel’s government yesterday approved a plan to allow land registration in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967, in a move that critics say paves the way for annexation of the Palestinian territory. Allowing land registration would...
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EU citizens among ISIS detainees relocated from Syria to Iraqi jails
Iraq is expected to receive the last group of ISIS detainees who are being moved from Syria, with dozens of EU citizens among them. The transfers involve citizens of more than 27 countries, including EU members such as France and Germany, Iraqi...
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UAE leads Arab League talks on Israeli settlement plan
The UAE yesterday led an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo to discuss a response to Israel’s decision to expand settlements in Palestine. Hamad Al Zaabi, the Emirates’ ambassador to Egypt and permanent representative at the Arab League,...
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Senior UAE diplomat visits Iran as fears of US action persist
A UAE minister yesterday held talks on “peace and security” in Iran, amid calls for calm in the region and with the Israeli and US leaders set to meet to discuss options for nuclear talks. Lana Nusseibeh, Minister of State, held consultations in...
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Focus on industry bears fruit as non-oil exports surge 25%
UAE industrial exports rose 25 per cent last year to reach a record value of h262 billion ($71.3 billion), as the country boosted its manufacturing capacity to achieve its economic diversification targets. Export figures have more than doubled since...
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Israel mishandling Rafah reopening, says Egypt
Children in Khan Younis, Gaza, watch as patients prepare to leave for treatment through the Rafah crossing with Egypt yesterday. Cairo has complained to the US about Israel’s handling of the reopening of the border point.
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Summit’s success is ‘vote of confidence’ in Emirates
The success of the World Governments Summit in Dubai is a vote of confidence from countries around the globe, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has said. More than 150 governments, 500 ministers and 60 leaders took part in...
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Inside Muslim Brotherhood’s ‘secret London headquarters’
A London office block is the home of a web of companies that can be linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and operate under control of people placed under sanctions as extremists. Crown House on the North Circular Road lies not far from the imposing arch...
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Middle East needs talks, not conflict, senior UAE official tells key summit
The Middle East cannot afford another conflict, a Dubai summit heard yesterday, as regional tension continues to escalate. Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, told the World Governments Summit that Iran and the US must engage in...
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UAE leads Arab world in diversifying its economy
The UAE’s growing non-oil economy and its scale of investments in AI have put the country in the lead in diversification efforts across the region, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has said. “Diversification of economies in the...
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Trump issues threat to Iran: ‘Time running out for deal’
US President Donald Trump has called on Iran to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme, and threatened that the consequences for refusal would be “far worse” than the strikes in June last year. Writing on Truth Social yesterday, Mr Trump...
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Iraq fails to elect next president amid fears of US-Iran escalation
Iraq yesterday postponed its planned election of a new president, exposing division at a time when the US and Iran are trading threats of military force. Kurdish parties asked for “more time for understanding and agreement” after failing to agree on a...
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President attends military graduation ceremony
President Sheikh Mohamed attends a graduation ceremony at the Zayed II Military College in Al Ain yesterday. Also present were Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior,...
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UAE hosts US-Russia-Ukraine talks
An Iran-aligned alliance that holds the largest bloc in Iraq’s parliament has nominated former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki as its candidate to lead the next government. The Shiite-led Co-ordination Framework said its members met on Saturday and...
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Rafah crossing to reopen as Board of Peace inaugurated
US President Donald Trump yesterday unveiled the Board of Peace with a pledge to restore the Gaza Strip after two years of war. At a signing ceremony on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Trump stood on stage alongside...
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Trump issues Hamas warning as Board of Peace set to be finalised
US President Donald Trump yesterday warned that Hamas will be “blown away” unless it agrees to disarm during the second phase of the American peace plan for Gaza. After a largely unscripted speech to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos,...
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President accepts US invitation to take seat on Board of Peace
President Sheikh Mohamed has accepted an invitation from the US to join the Board of Peace, which will oversee Washington’s 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said...
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President meets Modi in New Delhi as UAE and India sign several agreements
President Sheikh Mohamed yesterday paid a working visit to New Delhi aimed at furthering long-standing ties between the UAE and India. Sheikh Mohamed was welcomed at Palam Airbase by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials. The...
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Kurdish-led fighters cede control of Syrian provinces
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militia has agreed to cede control of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa provinces to the Syrian government, state media reported yesterday, after the army made rapid advances into the two eastern areas. In another major...
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Gaza waits in hope as phase two of ceasefire begins to take shape
Gazans have been promised that their new Palestinian leaders will focus on their needs and “stay far away” from politics, as phase two of the US-led peace plan begins. Aed Abu Ramadan, who is expected to join a technocratic committee taking interim...
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Aleppo residents return to find homes devastated
The shattered windows and bullet-riddled walls of the Othman Hospital stand as a testament to the intense fighting that shook Ashrafieh and two adjacent Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Syria’s Aleppo last week. Residents began to return to the city...
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Truce lets displaced return to Aleppo
Thousands of civilians were waiting to return to their homes in Aleppo yesterday, with fighting between government troops and the Kurdish- led Syrian Democratic Forces having seemingly come to an end. Aleppo Governor Azzam Al Gharib said the security...
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Damascus intensifies bombing in Aleppo as US urges restraint
Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have clashed in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo, marking a sharp escalation in a long-running stand-off. The Syrian army on Thursday said it had launched...
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Death toll doubles in Iran as protesters clash with police
The death toll from protests across Iran has risen to at least 29, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said yesterday, as demonstrations over economic hardship show no signs of stopping. Rights groups on Sunday said that 15 people had been...
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‘Kidnapped’ Maduro pleads not guilty at New York court
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was abducted by US forces at the weekend, appeared at a federal court in New York yesterday to face charges including “narco-terrorism” and drug trafficking. Mr Maduro’s court appearance came as the UN Security...
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President hails Sheikh Mohammed on 20th anniversary as Ruler of Dubai
President Sheikh Mohamed was present yesterday as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister, met ministers past and present to mark his 20th anniversary as Ruler of Dubai. The President said that under Sheikh Mohammed’s leadership,...
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Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Mansour meet in Dubai
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, meets Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, at Al Marmoom Rest House in Dubai on Thursday. The two men...
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‘Our hopes and aspirations for a better tomorrow are renewed’
President Sheikh Mohamed yesterday shared his New Year greetings, wishing everyone a prosperous 2026. Sheikh Mohamed and other UAE leaders also sent well wishes to the leaders of countries around the world as 2025 came to an end. “Best wishes on the...
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UAE pulls counter-terrorist forces from Yemen mission
The UAE yesterday announced the withdrawal of all of its remaining counter-terrorism teams from Yemen, hours after a Saudi strike on armoured vehicles belonging to Emirati forces in the southern port of Mukalla. The Emirates ended its military...
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Pioneering drug given to patient at Abu Dhabi hospital in world first
A leading hospital in Abu Dhabi has become the first in the world to deliver a pioneering gene therapy treatment that is poised to offer a lifeline to children and adults suffering from spinal muscular atrophy. Sheikh Khalifa Medical City successfully...
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Deadly violence breaks out as Alawites protest in Syria over mosque bombing
There was violence in Syria yesterday as thousands of members of the Alawite religious minority took to the streets in protest, two days after a bombing killed eight people at a mosque. The demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite...
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Mass wedding in Abu Dhabi
A traditional dance is performed at a mass wedding reception at Qasr Al Hosn on Thursday, attended by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court
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‘It feels special again’: Gaza ceasefire returns Christmas spirit to Bethlehem
For the past two years, visitors could walk through the Church of the Nativity and enter the grotto with barely another soul in sight. But now, with a ceasefire in effect in Gaza, the crowds have returned, and Bethlehem is once again feeling the...
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President receives banking delegation backing debt relief plan
President Sheikh Mohamed receives Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, chairman of Mashreq Bank, at a Sea Palace barza yesterday. Mr Al Ghurair was part of a delegation representing financial institutions that contributed to an initiative to waive the debts of...
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Israel demolishes block of flats in East Jerusalem
Israeli troops yesterday used diggers to tear down a four-storey residential building in occupied East Jerusalem, displacing dozens of Palestinians in what activists called the largest demolition in the area this year. The building, in the Silwan...
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Sheikh Mohamed receives Macron for talks at new Zayed National Museum
President Sheikh Mohamed yesterday received French President Emmanuel Macron in Abu Dhabi. The two met for talks at the Zayed National Museum, and exchanged greetings before the approaching New Year, state news agency Wam reported. Sheikh Mohamed also...
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