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tv   BBC News  BBC News  January 30, 2021 12:00pm-12:31pm GMT

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this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the eu backs down from using emergency brexit measures to restrict the movement of vaccines to northern ireland. the plan sparked outrage in london and belfast. but the eu's vaccine shortfall sees the bloc force pharmaceutical firms to get permission before exporting european—madejabs. the world health organization again warns against vaccine nationalism over the row about eu export controls. it is morally wrong in terms of arresting the pandemic and want help, and it won't also bring livelihoods back. the prime minister publishes an open letter to parents, saying he's "in awe" of the way they're coping with home schooling.
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confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards — midwives warn a lack of clarity means some staff are being abused. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the european union has reversed its decision to override part of the brexit withdrawal treaty following an uproar over measures that could have placed limits on the supply of coronavirus vaccines into northern ireland. the eu is giving member states the power to block the export of vaccines — to address a major shortage — and was concerned the irish border could be used as a "back door"
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to bring vaccines manufactured in the eu into the uk. prime minister borisjohnson had expressed "grave concerns" about the move in a phone call with the european commission president late friday. paul hawkins reports. no hard border between ireland and northern ireland. that point was made time and time again by the eu during the brexit negotiations. so, when the eu announced late on friday that it was triggering article 16 of the northern ireland protocol, which is part of the brexit treaty, many were shocked because that meant border checks for vaccines on the island of ireland. in other words, to stop the vaccine getting to the uk via a back door route through northern ireland. triggering article 16 was only meant to be for serious reasons, the nuclear option.
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butjust a few hours later, the eu announced it would not invoke article 16, but it added... the threat of invoking article 16 was still there. many were left wondering what was going on. i understand, and this is what i hearfrom the european commission, that there was an accident. the accident or the mishap has been repaired and i think this is important. but, again, this is not a hostile act against third countries or territories. despite backtracking on northern ireland, the eu is still introducing new controls, giving member states the power to block exports of the vaccines to countries, including the uk, should they want to. it is the latest twist in a deepening dispute over the vaccine producer astrazeneca's delivery commitments to the eu.
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the bloc agreeing to buy 400 million doses of its vaccine last year, only be told that supplies would be reduced by 60% in the first quarter of this year because of production problems at one of its eu factories. this approach is built on trust, transparency and responsibility. commitment needs to be kept and contracts are binding. advance purchase agreements need to be respected. the european union, meanwhile, has been criticised by its own member states for taking too long to agree contracts with suppliers and to approve the vaccines themselves. it means scenes like this in madrid are rare with thousand of cancellations from vaccine shortages. some may be wishing their own countries were looking after their own vaccine programmes. the european commission's decision to trigger what's known as article 16 of the northern ireland protocol
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prompted an angry reaction from politicians of all parties across the island of ireland. the stormont first minister arlene foster — who leads the democratic unionist party — told radio 4's the today that the move was a hostile act by the eu. since the 2016 brexit referendum, we have been treated to hyperbole about the border on the island of ireland, and how the addition of even an extra camera on the road between belfast and dublin would have caused great difficulty. and yet 20 90s since a protocol was put in place, they threatened to actually let the protocol breach happen, to invoke article 16, despite the fact that we in northern ireland had been dealing with trade disruption, with an unfair and unworkable protocol which
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was put in place to deal with demands from the european union site. so, it's an absolutely incredible act of hostility towards those of us in northern ireland. it was nothing to do with making sure that northern ireland was in a peaceful state. and it was all to do with the european union's faxing embarrassment and mismanagement. it is absolutely disgraceful. 0ur europe correspondent, kevin connolly, is in brussels and he explains why the european commission has now backtracked on the plan. the eu's original decision to threaten the imposition of a border controls to stop any potential flow of vaccine from the republic into northern ireland was extraordinary, because it flew in the face of years of brexit diplomacy in which the avoidance of exactly that type of hard border was the primary aim of european union diplomacy. so, it was
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an extraordinary decision. i think it was a bit of shock in brussels at the degree of anger felt in dublin, belfast and london. so, the issue fairly quickly went away. the european commission spoke of a mishap, on a mistake. buti european commission spoke of a mishap, on a mistake. but i think it will truly in fairly serious political misjudgement, but an indication of the depth of anger and frustration there is all for the vaccine issue, over why more people are being vaccinated within the united kingdom, for example, orthe united kingdom, for example, orthe united states, than within the european union. member states are angry, and the politics of this is both interesting and very difficult, i think, potentially for the european commission. the commission effectively insisted on taking over this issue of vaccine supply from the governments of individual member states. so, it cannot afford to look as though it has failed to
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demonstrate the scientific or commercial nimbleness and securing vaccine supplies. in effect, it cannot afford to look as if it has been outmanoeuvred because it took those responsibilities by choice. the last thing the european commission wants is for the government of individual member states to be left feeling that they might, left to their own devices, have done a betterjob themselves. so, the stakes for the commission are extremely high, and it is competence in this matter is now very much an issue a public debate. and there is irritation within europe at the idea that the uk has somehow moved ahead in what is it vaccine arose, but there is also an anxiety about the possibility of a vaccine more, and will have tojudge any axioms the european commission might take in the coming days or weeks in the context of its ability to do better in a day race, but to
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avoid, if possible, the war. let's speak to liam fox mp, former international trade secretary. what you make of this? the very abrupt screeching u—turn that brussels had to execute? i abrupt screeching u-turn that brussels had to execute? i think the first thing is — brussels had to execute? i think the first thing is a _ brussels had to execute? i think the first thing is a great _ brussels had to execute? i think the first thing is a great contrast - first thing is a great contrast between a very measured and proportionate by the british government dealt with is just a day compared to the confusion and the commission, and i think that rather statesman—like way that the prime minister dealt with it in his conversation with the european commission president was in stark contract with some of the behaviour from people like president macron in recent days. i think the real issue here is about both the eu's decision making process and what the auc as a wider role. for example, who thought it was a good idea to invoke article 16. the buck has to stop somewhere, where does it stop? why did they not think it was a good idea to tell the
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irish government, who are a member of the union, after all. i don't say that had a major impact on them. and what does this tell us about the bar thatis what does this tell us about the bar that is set by the european union about any future application? remember, all the time and detail that it was going and two with the withdrawal agreement and the pre—trade agreement with the european union about how precious they northern ireland agreement was, why there must not be a hard border, and yet at very little requirement and yet at very little requirement and not notice, the european union were willing to impose such a hard border on northern ireland. i mean, it was like an episode of carry on “p it was like an episode of carry on up the commission, except that it wasn't funny, and it means there are a lot of question for the european union to answer about its internal workings before we get to the wider role and the criticism of the who and of developing countries about the eu's general attitude. i
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and of developing countries about the eu's general attitude.- and of developing countries about the eu's general attitude. i want to ask ou the eu's general attitude. i want to ask you about _ the eu's general attitude. i want to ask you about that _ the eu's general attitude. i want to ask you about that question - the eu's general attitude. i want to ask you about that question of - ask you about that question of access, because you are, as people may not know, you are a gp, a trained doctor. you obviously have serious knowledge on concern about the medical side of this question, of dealing with the pandemic. just on the politics, though, you heard what arlene foster said. she is unhappy anyway about the protocol, you know that, the dup felt they had been promised one thing and the uk government, borisjohnson, did a dealwith government, borisjohnson, did a deal with the european commission that effectively created a border in the irish sea as opposed to a border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. and she is saying that some products are not coming from great britain because of the biggest protocol is being applied. the biggest protocol is being a- lied. ., the biggest protocol is being a- lied. . , ., , the biggest protocol is being aulied. . , ., , ., applied. there are questions that we have to ask about _ applied. there are questions that we have to ask about the _ applied. there are questions that we have to ask about the application - applied. there are questions that we have to ask about the application of| have to ask about the application of that, and those details will need to be ironed out, but i think there is a bigger question here, which is about the northern ireland irish border itself, because this was the central element, if you remember,
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when those discussions about withdrawal agreement during all those turbulent times in parliament, and of course we made concessions as and of course we made concessions as a uk parliament to the european union on the basis that, yes, we wanted to ensure that they northern ireland agreement, the belfast agreement, was fully implemented, that there was no threat of a hard border, and after all those concessions at united came to me to try to ensure that that was the case, we get the european almost on a firm introducing that hard border. now, it was corrected with stewart yesterday, but what we have seen as a potential upside of intent, and i think that the government, the british government and all those parties in northern ireland, and for good reason. you parties in northern ireland, and for good reason-— good reason. you had the concerns bein: good reason. you had the concerns being exoressed — good reason. you had the concerns being expressed again _ good reason. you had the concerns being expressed again this - good reason. you had the concerns| being expressed again this weekend by the who about the risk of vaccine and nationalism, as it puts it. but from a humanitarian point of view, from a humanitarian point of view, from a humanitarian point of view, from a medical point of view, how concerned are you about achieving
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vaccine supply around the world, particularly to countries that cannot actually afford, or don't want to pay for the vaccination of their own people? the want to pay for the vaccination of their own people?— want to pay for the vaccination of their own people? the uk has already ut a lot of their own people? the uk has already put a lot of money _ their own people? the uk has already put a lot of money into _ their own people? the uk has already put a lot of money into the _ put a lot of money into the international front, put a lot of money into the internationalfront, it has been put a lot of money into the international front, it has been a world leader. we have also been at the forefront of developing a in 2016, the uk has been all out to improve our ability to produce vaccines and to develop new ones. so, we are in a good position. part of the problem of the european union, to be very frank, they have been hind behind the game. the slot where they do things means that they are behind the curve, as the chief executive of astrazeneca said. the three months behind the uk, and having teething problems getting their supplies. the wider issue, the bottom line is that we are not safe in a global pandemic until the whole of the world gets access to vaccines. and that has to be a major
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role of both the world health organization and the world trade organization and the world trade organization in ensuring that countries get access to it, and it is up to those countries, the likely united kingdom who have given early to ensure that they are able to afford to buy them, and i hope that as a lead that is followed by others, because the consequences if we cannot make such a policy work is that a lot of people in the developing world will not have reduced rates of covid infection, and that will have an implication for all of us in a world where we travel more and where widespread tread requires us to move people. doctor liam fox, general practitioner and also from international trade secretary, thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. a man has been charged after a suspicious package was sent to a coronavirus vaccine production site in north wales. the factory in wrexham was evacuated and production of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine stopped on wednesday. police say the item was not a viable device. anthony collins from chatham in kent, was arrested on thursday.
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germany and france have tightened their border controls, over fears new coronavirus variants might spread in europe. berlin says most visitors from britain, ireland, portugal, brazil and south africa will be banned from saturday. most non—eu nationals will be excluded from france from sunday. the european union remains opposed to a blanket travel ban. today is the anniversary of the world health organization first declaring the covid—19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. its director—general, tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, has warned countries against �*vaccine nationalism', saying drugs should be prioritised for use for those most in need around the globe. vaccines are giving us another window of opportunity to bring the pandemic under control. we must not squander it. the pandemic has exposed and exploited the inequalities of our world.
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there is now a real danger that the very tools that could help to end the pandemic, vaccines, may exacerbate those same inequalities. vaccine nationalism might serve short—term political goals, but it's ultimately short—sighted and self—defeating. we will not end the pandemic anywhere until we end it everywhere. margaret harris of the world health organization, spoke earlier. forgive me, we do not have that clip, but she was arguing that the proposal being made by the who was that health workers and vulnerable
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groups, once it had been immunised in their countries, should deposit their programmes to ensure that there were enough vaccines for the same process to be conducted in other countries around the world. a world health organization team investigating the origins of the pandemic have visited a hospital in the chinese city of wuhan where some of the earliest confirmed cases were treated. the scientists are interviewing people from various research institutes and hospitals, and are also visiting the seafood market thought to be linked to the initial outbreak. covid—19 was first detected in wuhan in late 2019, but china disputes that the virus originated there. here in the uk, the prime minister has published an open letter to parents, saying he is "in awe" of how they are coping. he also promises "hundreds of millions of pounds" will be spent on a national education catch—up programme after the pandemic. here's our education editor branwen jeffreys. it's tough for millions of parents right now, trying to help children
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learn at home. schools in england are mainly closed until march. today, borisjohnson said he couldn't thank parents enough. he said they are buying time for vaccination and that is saving lives. only a few children are still learning in school. parents and teachers are worried about lost learning. there is a promise in the letter of hundreds of millions of pounds for catch up, but it's going to be a big job. one of the schools i have responsibility for, fantastic place, serves a very deprived community — only 30% of those families have access to broadband in that area. only 30%. this is digital poverty in a really extreme way and it means that many children, despite the very best efforts of schools and teachers, still cannot connect with that learning. this warehouse is getting laptops to kids, more than 800,000 so far. but not every child will have somewhere quiet to work or parents
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able to give them lots of time. leading to fears that children could pay a heavy price in this pandemic. midwives are warning that confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards is upsetting families, and in some cases staff are being verbally abused. last month, nhs england changed its guidance to say pregnant women should be able to choose someone to be with them at all stages of the maternityjourney. but an investigation by bbc news has found that isn't always possible. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. gemma, this is jacqui and jacqui, this is gemma. can i have a look at your bump? yep. aw! these two women both know what it is like to be pregnant in lockdown. gemma is due in two months. she has hardly left home since november and has gone to most appointments alone.
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the biggest feeling is probably anxiety at the minute. jacqui gave birth to evie last year and hopes her experiences will help gemma. you can't control it, but then there is this huge reward at the end that is just so completely worth it. how are you doing? throughout the pandemic, the priority has always been for a woman to have a partner, relative or friend present during labour and birth. but last month, nhs england updated its guidance to say a support person is an integral part of care and should also be able to attend scans, appointments, if the woman feels it is important, and antenatal and postnatal wards. we've spoken to more than 20 trusts and found this is not always happening, and depends on where you live. take london as an example. one trust in the east of the city allows support people on the postnatal and antenatal ward, but only at certain times.
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if you travel a few miles north to a second trust, they allow visiting and overnight stays. now, that is in stark contrast to a third trust we spoke to, which has currently suspended visiting because of safety concerns. midwives say stricter rules may be in place because of local infection rates and limited space on the wards. you might have four or six beds in a bay and so, - you can imagine if you then have, l on top of the six women in the bay, the six babies, you know, - you have then got to think is it safe, is it possible for us to have all six partners l there as well at the same time, - and to be able to socially distance? we've been told by some trusts that families have been confused and in some cases, it has led to staff being abused. what is your reaction to that? that isjust hugely. distressing to hear. you know, these are peoplel who have worked throughout the pandemic night and day, trying to provide the highestj quality maternity care in a really frightening situation. _
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jacqui's husband tom had to leave shortly after she gave birth. it's what gemma is most worried about. if you're on your own, you miss out on that time as a family. yeah. and itjust, yeah, worries me how i would cope with all of those emotions, as well, and not knowing what i'm doing with the baby. yeah, i completely understand. there's so much support for you, be it in the form of the midwives, the nhs staff, but also the other mums that are going to be there going through it with you. in terms of tom missing out on that time as a family, as soon as i came home, he took the reins and he was like "you go have a shower, go to sleep," you know, "i am fully rested and i have got this and i can take care of the baby" so that he got some one—on—one time with her as well. so this is evie. there she is. say hello. oh, look! hi! i cannot wait to have my baby and cuddle it.
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i suppose that is what i have to keep in mind with everything going on, just at some point, we will be home with the baby, so... do enjoy, like, the rest of your pregnancy but enjoy the birth as well, because, you know, when they get handed to you, it is literally the best feeling in the world. say bye—bye then. say bye—bye! bye! anna collinson, bbc news. crowds of up to 30,000 people a day will be able to watch the australian open tennis, which starts in melbourne injust over a week. local officials say strict coronavirus infection control measures will be in place. in the last few days, players have started to leave hotel quarantine after completing their mandatory 14—day isolation period. one of the stars still enduring her hotel lockdown is australian tennis player ellen perez — seen here training in her rather limiting surroundings! and she told me how she was feeling ahead of the open.
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it is very exciting, i think all the players have been living for this moment. it is really exciting to have this opportunity coming up. have you and the other players, have you all been about bit worried about this? because a lot of people in the sporting world, thinking ahead to the tokyo olympics, there is a lot of anxiety about how you protect athletes and also have spectators. and a lot of sports have just said, we cannot do both. it is and a lot of sports have 'ust said, we cannot do both._ we cannot do both. it is obviously been worrying — we cannot do both. it is obviously been worrying going _ we cannot do both. it is obviously been worrying going to _ we cannot do both. it is obviously been worrying going to all - we cannot do both. it is obviously been worrying going to all these l been worrying going to all these different tournaments and not being sure that you will be able to go ahead, and how many fans will be there, and of the procedures and protocols will hold up throughout the whole event. but it is quite reassuring to know that we are in as judge and we have got no covid cases, and that at most extremely precautionary measures are being taken. ifeel like we
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precautionary measures are being taken. i feel like we are all pretty confident going forward into the australian open, and really excited to be playing in front of people like that. �* , ., ~ to be playing in front of people like that. �*, ., ~ ., like that. let's talk about practicalities. _ like that. let's talk about practicalities. it - like that. let's talk about practicalities. it must - like that. let's talk about practicalities. it must be| like that. let's talk about - practicalities. it must be quite challenging to maintain your fitness and also mimic the kind of activity you would normally be performing when you were preparing for a major tournament like this. hagar when you were preparing for a ma'or tournament like this.�* tournament like this. how have you done it? yeah. _ tournament like this. how have you done it? yeah, it _ tournament like this. how have you done it? yeah, it is _ tournament like this. how have you done it? yeah, it is a _ tournament like this. how have you done it? yeah, it is a balance. - done it? yeah, it is a balance. obviously, you can't get the same repetition of things you normally would, but it is just maintaining positivity, doing a little bit of something. i try to do a bicycle session in the morning, and something in the afternoon, fit work, some groundstrokes, some strands are caught rehab. i'm always mixing it up, trying to do something a little bit different to keep it entertaining. but there is nothing like match fitness and being out on court actually hitting the ball. you cannot really replicated. as much as i try, it is probably not the same. you haven't done any damage to the hotel room in the process that you want to own up to? ida.
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hotel room in the process that you want to own up to?— hotel room in the process that you want to own up to? no, no damage et. i am want to own up to? no, no damage yet- i am very — want to own up to? no, no damage yet. i am very cautious _ want to own up to? no, no damage yet. i am very cautious of— want to own up to? no, no damage yet. i am very cautious of the - yet. i am very cautious of the guests and the neighbours next to me, i don't have the luxury of having tennis players next to me, so i kinda feel like that is the last thing they want to hear in their 1a daysis thing they want to hear in their 1a days is some noise from me. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello there. we have got a big mixture of weather to come through the rest of today. conditions varying a lot from place to place. satellite pictures there shows an area of low pressure, this cloud pushing slowly northwards, and these weather fronts, as they move their way northwards, are starting to bump into colder air. so we have seen the rain turn to snow across parts of wales, we have seen a bit of snow in the midlands, as well for a time, so we could see some localised disruption for these areas through the rest of today. some settling snow has already fallen across parts of flintshire, denbighshire and we have also seen snow in the west midlands, but it's across higher parts of wales that we have the greatest risk of transport disruption today.
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to the north of this, for most of northern england and northern ireland and scotland, the weather is bright, with some sunny spells around this afternoon, a few showers around eastern areas, but it's cold. temperatures at best around five or so. so the main risk of seeing any disruptive snow today is mainly across parts of wales, where we could see 15 centimetres across some higher elevation areas, bringing a significant risk of transport disruption, but there could be snow for a time in the midlands, causing a few problems as well. overnight, that rain and snow mixture clears southwards with clearing skies following, it's going to be a cold night, with a widespread frost around, and the risk of some icy patches then to take things on into sunday. sunday, i think broadly speaking, many areas of the uk will have a bright day, with spells of sunshine. but we do have this weather system trying to push in off the atlantic and that will tend to threaten thicker cloud and some rain across parts of wales and south—west england, perhaps some of that turning to snow for a time as well as the day progresses. the rain band not far away
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from northern ireland, might just about stay dry until later in the day and most of scotland, for much of england, it's bright with some sunshine, but after that, colder start, those temperatures are more slow to rise, a colder day overall, with temperatures typically around 2—4. the cold weather with us again on monday, and again we have got these weather fronts trying to push in off the atlantic and they could bring some rain, perhaps with the risk of some snow across central portions of the uk. the weather is going to be driest in scotland but here it is still cold and after that frosty and icy start temperatures again really struggling. highs of four so. turns milder across southern parts of england and wales as we head towards the middle part of the week.
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hello, this is bbc news, with shaun ley. the headlines... the eu backs down from using emergency brexit measures to restrict the movement of vaccines to northern ireland. the plan sparked outrage in london and belfast.
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but the eu's vaccine shortfall sees the bloc force pharmaceutical firms to get permission, before exporting european—madejabs. the world health organization again warns against vaccine nationalism over the row about eu export controls. it is morally wrong. in terms of arresting the pandemic it won't help, and it won't also bring livelihoods back. the prime minister publishes an open letter to parents, saying he's "in awe" of the way they're coping with home schooling. confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards — midwives warn a lack of clarity means some staff are being abused. now, on bbc news, as remote medicine becomes more commonplace, click looks at easy
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to use, medical grade diagnostic devices that are becoming more widely available.

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