Friday, October 16, 2015

India at Japan Open Super Series Badminton 2015

Japan Open Badminton Tournament 2015. India's Performance.
From amongst Indian Men and Women, only Parupalli Kashyap made it as far as the Quarter Finals (Last 8) of the $275,000 Japan Open Super Series Badminton Tournament.
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"... Kashyap was the lone Indian who entered the quarter-finals after Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and H.S. Prannoy and lost their respective second round matches here ..."

Parupalli Kashyap Indian Badminton Player
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Find this at http://www.firstpost.com/sports/japan-open-badminton-kashyap-knocked-out-indias-campaign-ends-2429968.html.

Delhi Chief Minister says "Make India" before or rather than 'Make In India'.

Arvind Kejriwal Targets 'Make in India'.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal aimed at 'Make in India' of PM Narendra Modi, a national program to make India into a global manufacturing hub. He asked to invest in people, the best assets. Earlier Rahul Gandhi also said that it is 'Take in (From) India'. He said that there is no place for labourers and farmers in Make in India.
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"... Arvind Kejriwal
@ArvindKejriwal
Yest, I said- "Make in India" wud automatically happen if we first "Make India". Many friends asking me what I mean by "Make India"(1/2)
9:30 AM - 27 Sep 2015

    1,380 1,380 Retweets ..."
"... Arvind Kejriwal
@ArvindKejriwal
'Make India' is 2 invest in Health,Edu, Water, Safety, Justice n infra. People are our best asset. Invest in them n world will follow us(2/2
9:31 AM - 27 Sep 2015

    1,773 1,773 Retweets ..."

Arvind Kejriwal Delhi Chief Minister asks to
'Make India' before 'Make In India'.
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Find this at http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/arvind-kejriwal-takes-a-dig-at-pm-modis-make-in-india-campaign-1223474.

Digital India Support. Changing Facebook Profile Pictures.

Mark Z. and Narendra M. change their Facebook Profile Photos urging others to show support.
Many people changed their profile pictures to show their support for the Digital India campaign. Mark Zuckerberg appreciated the Indian Government's 'efforts to connect rural communities to the internet'. Both Mark and the Indian PM Narendra Modi changed their Facebook Profile Pictures. Visit fb.com/supportdigitalindia to do the same, says Modi. You can show your support here, says Mark Z, Facebook CEO.
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Zuckerberg, Modi change their Facebook profile pictures to support Digital India campaign
"... Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday expressed his support to the Digital India campaign and changed his profile picture to convey his appreciation for the Narendra Modi government's effort to connect rural communities to internet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also changed his Facebook profile picture thanking Zuckerberg for his support. ..."


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Find this at http://indiatoday.intoday.in/technology/story/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-changes-his-profile-picture-to-support-digital-india-campaign/1/484366.html

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Meizu Technology will manufacture smartphones in India

Confident of replicating China success, Chinese smartphone company Meizu to start production in Chennai with Foxconn.
MX5 for Twenty Thousand Rupees was launched in India. Alibaba is credited with making Meizu enter India. Vice President says that after-service and product are the services. They may start production in Chennai. Every product may be launched in China and India at the same time. They will integrate the local apps and web service platform being planned by Alibaba, who is also working with Snapdeal. They say they have good supply chain around the world and they want to communicate with customers every day via e-communication. They researched and found that customer service centres were the most important thing in India. Meizu will provide both offline and online.
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"... What brings you to India?
India in some ways similar to China market, the foundation is the same—it prefers high speed, high performance products over high price products. We have done this in China, so we can do this in India because it is what we do best—balance quality and price. In India, people are shifting from feature phones to smartphones. In doing that, first they go for low-end smartphones, but 12 months later they shift to better, higher priced and higher performance smartphones. We have seen that happen in China. Next 12 months they switch to third smartphones not for high performance, but for good design and some kind of user experience function, so the third smartphone will be that kind of phone—and we sell that kind of phone. We are putting together 15 people team in India. In China, we are one of the best smartphones in this price range. In India, we can do the same thing. ..."
...
"... What are challenges that you see in India market?
Most challenging is to find our early adopters. At present, we have about 4,000 customers through our sale on Amazon.com in May. We sold 4,000 phones in four minutes. ..."
...
"... What kind of operating system (OS) are you running?
Our OS is name Flyme OS—it is modified from Android Lollipop. Android is a very good operating system, but we know, we match our customers better than Google. ... we can offer highly customised and optimised OS based on latest Android features that matches our customers very well. ... true need of Indian customer. So, we are putting together a team specially for India.

Will you look at smartphones with Alibaba’s OS YunOS?
Alibaba developed its own Android-based OS, YunOS, and was working with Taiwan personal computer giant Acer to develop a phone with the system to promote its e-commerce services in 2012. ... no major manufacturer has dared to defy Google and make phones using the YunOS, ...
Alibaba has a big presence in India. ... we can consider bringing smartphones with Alibaba’s OS YunOS with localised content. ..."
 
Li Nan,Vice President, Meizu Technology,
Chinese Smartphone Manufacturer.
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Find this at http://www.livemint.com/Companies/93j5yxzKpOL4S18ek1kgXL/Meizu-Technology-plans-to-manufacture-smartphones-in-India.html.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Sachin Tendulkar as Brand Ambassador did not promote tobacco and alcohol

Sachin Tendulkar says there are no shortcuts.
Sachin Tendulkar did not promote tobacco and alcohol as Brand Ambassador in his three decades as an inspiring ad icon. He says that he tried to find solutions to challenges with the help of people he trusted, and he would advise the same. 'Take that extra step, don't give up.' 'There are no shortcuts.'
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"... "One thing my father told me... Try not to promote tobacco and alcohol. So those are the two things I stayed away from," he said at the final day of a three-day summit organised by International Advertising Association (India chapter) here as part of its silver jubilee celebrations. ..."
"... The three-day summit --held under the theme of 'What's Coming Next' --brought together the best minds in marketing and advertising, as well as icons who have been part of the growth of many brands."

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Find this at http://zeenews.india.com/sports/cricket/never-tried-to-promote-tobacco-and-alcohol-sachin-tendulkar_1667693.html.

India at World Athletics Champioships 2015

 India's performance at the World Athletics Championships
Indian athletes set two national records, but ended medal-less at the end of the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
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"Seventeen athletes, nine events - two national records, two personal bests, three season bests and zero medals. These are India's stats at the end of the 2015 IAAF World Athletics Championships. It was yet another medal-less world championships for Indian athletes in Beijing, which concluded on Sunday with Kenya topping the medal tally ahead of powerhouses Jamaica and USA.
And the sad part was that it was one of the best results Indian athletes have produced in a long time at the highest level of the 'track and fields competitions. Compare them with the last three world championships: 2013 in Moscow - 15 athletes, seven events, one national record; 2011 in Daegu (South Korea) - eight athletes, eight events, two finalists; and 2009 in Berlin - six athletes, five events, one nation record, one season best. ..."

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Find this at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/athletics/Indian-athletes-set-two-national-records-at-World-Athletics-Championships/articleshow/48740209.cms .

Monday, October 12, 2015

Phishing Attack on India and South East Asia - Cyber Attack

Cyber attack campaign targets India, SEA nations
Seemingly from China, a hacker group has been targeting India and Southeast Asian nations in a bid to extract information about ongoing border disputes and other diplomatic issues.
The hacker group would send spearphishing emails attached with Microsoft Word documents containing a script called "Watermain" and embed it into Microsoft Word documents to create backdoors into infected machines, as per cyber security vendor FireEye. Describing the hackers as part of an APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) group, the attack campaign had been ongoing since 2011 and targeted victims mostly in India.
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"... According to FireEye, the hackers had used Watermain to attack Tibetan activists and other targets in Southeast Asia, focusing on organizations across the government, science, and education sectors. Its Asia-Pacific CTO Bryce Boland said: "Collecting intelligence on India remains a key strategic goal for China-based APT groups, and these attacks on India and its neighbouring countries reflect growing interest in its foreign affairs."
The FireEye spokesperson added: "To defend against such targeted attacks, organisations should be patching their systems and need to be able to detect advanced attacks not seen before. When intrusions do occur, they need to be able to detect them and respond quickly to prevent data breaches. This takes a combination of technology, expertise and threat intelligence. These kinds of attacks aren't detected by legacy security systems." "
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Find this at http://www.zdnet.com/article/cyberattack-campaign-targets-india-sea-nations .

Friday, October 9, 2015

Germany suspends marketing of 54 drugs tested by India's Pharmaceuticals Research Company

 European Medicines Agency alleged that results of clinical trials conducted or tested by GVK Biosciences were manipulated.
The Federal Institute for Medicines and Medical Products (BfArM) in Bonn has suspended the marketing of, and has taken out of the supply chain, 54 medicines clinically tested by India's pharmaceuticals research company GVK Biosciences in compliance with the European Union's ban on around 700 generic drugs. The European Commission had ordered the suspension of sales and distribution of generic medicines.
The European Medicines Agency, the EU drug regulator had recommended that the marketing authorisation of these drugs should be suspended on the grounds that they were based on clinical trials allegedly manipulated by the Hyderabad-based company. There had been investigations into bio-equivalence studies conducted by GVK Bio during the period between 2004 and 2014.
There were revelations of "data manipulation of electrocardiograms during the conduct of studies of some generic medicines" over at least five years period.
However, the ban on certain medicines could be lifted.

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... Pharmaceutical companies affected by the suspension of marketing authorisation have the possibility to challenge it only in a European court as the agency's decision is based on the European Commission's order, the spokesman said.
BfArM had offered them the possibility to reverse its decision if they provide new clinical trial data. Drugs manufacturers have one year to furnish the results of fresh bio-equivalence studies of their medicines, according to the spokesman.
Medicines affected by the commission's marketing ban have lost their validity for use in the EU . . . and they should no longer be sold or distributed by pharmaceutical companies, wholesale dealers, drugs stores or other outlets, the agency said in a press statement. ..."
"... London-based EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) had examined the marketing authorisation given to over 1,000 generic medicines from EU member nations on the basis of clinical trials conducted by GVK Bio during the period between 2008 and 2014 after an inspection of the company's facility in Hyderabad by the French Medicines Agency (ANSM) in May, 2014 showed "systematic manipulation of clinical trial data," according to the agency.
EMA later extended its investigation to cover the clinical trials conducted by GVK Bio during 2004-2008. ..."
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Find this at http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-germany-suspends-marketing-of-54-drugs-tested-by-india-s-gvk-biosciences-2117135.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

HCL Technologies ties up with Manchester United - Digital Transformation Partner

HCL Technologies will create for Manchester United followers an Enterprise Digital Ecosystem Platform.
HCL is in partnership with Manchester United Football Club. HCL will utilise work being done in their own global network of co-innovation labs and Manchester United’s experience in interacting with its followers.
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"... HCL will work with Manchester United to offer the team’s global followers a unified digital experience by creating an enterprise digital ecosystem platform. ..."
"... a proof-of-concept testing ground for the development and delivery of digital solutions that can create a unified customer experience at other companies ..."

Unified Customer Experience.
HCL Technologies partners with manchester United Football Club.
Screenshot of Video playing at url provided below.
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Find this and watch video at http://www.campaignindia.in/Article/397247,hcl-technologies-is-man-utds-digital-transformation-partner.aspx.

Against sex toys and dolls impregnated with artificial intelligence

 Robotics and ethics researchers against sex robots

There are attempts to make sex toys and sex dolls more like humans by adding artificial intelligence and thereby more attractive for customers. Campaigners say that such moves are unethical because they harm humanity and make it more unequal. The robots also suggest prostitution which is harmful for women. Some suggest that sex robots will aid or encourage people abetting or trading in prostitution and sexual exploitation and violence, since those people will now have and use robots. The counterpoint as per some researchers is that "technology and the sex trade coexist and reinforce each other creating more demand for human bodies".
The campaign leaders, 'robotics and ethics researchers' Kathleen Richardson and Erik Brilling, propose that engineers instead work on technology that "reflect human principles of dignity, mutuality and freedom".

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"... The Campaign Against Sex Robots says that the "increasing effort" that has gone into producing sex robots — "machines in the form of women or children for use as sex objects, substitutes for human partners or prostitutes" — is harmful and makes society more unequal.
The researchers say that such robots contribute towards the objectification of women and children. The robots reduce human empathy, since they will take people away from relationships with real humans, they argue. ..."
"... The idea behind the robots "show the immense horrors still present in the world of prostitution which is built on the 'perceived' inferiority of women and children and therefore justifies their uses as sex objects", the researchers say. ..."
"... so that it can "encourage computer scientists and roboticists to refuse to contribute to the development of sex robots as a field by refusing to provide code, hardware or ideas" as well as working with campaigns against the sexual exploitation ..."

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Find this and read comments at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/computing/Campaign-launched-against-sex-robots/articleshow/48981461.cms.

Maggi Noodles on damage control mode make comeback attempts.

 Nestle seeks a clean chit after ban, and reaches out.
Nestle released videos on its YouTube for the consumers as part of attempts to retain its customers. This follows the setting aside of a ban by the Bombay High Court on August 13, 2015 which the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had imposed on June 5. The Court asked for testing at three separate laboratories certified by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The FSSAI had asked Nestle to immediately withdraw all nine variants of Maggi noodles, calling them “unsafe and hazardous” for human consumption.
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"... three short videos on its official YouTube channel Meri Maggi as it tries to keep the brand alive ..."
"... did not say how much Nestle plans to spend. Typically, Nestle India is a low spender on advertising, with just about 4-5% of revenue allocated for advertising and promotions since 2010, according to its annual reports.
Now, it could increase advertising and promotions spending to about 7%, according to ..."
"... In the minimalistic and simple advertisements, all three protagonists articulate their longing with the key message: “kab wapas aayega yaar? (When will it be back, mate?)”.
The videos from Nestle’s stable with the hashtag #WeMissYouToo is in response to Maggi’s fans who have released numerous short videos with hashtags such as #MaggiInaSoup, #MaggiKeSideEffects, #WeMissYouMaggi. ..."

Nestle's Maggi Noodles attempt a comeback after FSSAI ban
- - Twitter handle @MaggiIndia - - McCann WorldGroup India - - advertising - - marketing - - promotions - -
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Find this at http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/jSHDjbb67GLN1TALLebtCN/Comeback-campaign-Nestle-reaches-out-to-consumers-over-Magg.html.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Signature Campaign in support of reserved status demand for Patidars - OBC quota

 Patidar agitation leader goes on a signature campaign demanding to be labelled as OBC.
Hardik Patel, the Convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti said that he would present signatures collected in support of proposed reservation labelling of the Patidar Community as 'Other Backward Class' to the PM. He has claimed support from community groups like Gujjar Vikas Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha, Akhil Bharatiya Chaudhary Anjana Samaj, Loh Purush Yuva Sangthan (Gujarat), Yuva Gujjar Manch and Rashtriya Gujjar Manch (Madhya Pradesh). The agitation would continue from Gujarat.
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"... Hardik Patel, the face of the Patidar agitation, on Monday announced a campaign to gather “27 crore signatures” from the Gujjars and the Kurmis on a plea that would be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press the demand for quota.
The 22-year-old convener of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti announced the campaign after returning from New Delhi, where on Sunday he laid out a nation-wide plan for the Patidar agitation and addressed a gathering of Kurmis and Gujjars, calling for a united front. ..."
- - Mehsana - - Violence - - Gujarat High Court - - CID - - internet services - - Vadodara - - Ahmedabad - - Saurashtra - -

Hardik Patel, leader of Patidar agitation for OBC Quota demand
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Find this at http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/patidar-agitation-hardik-patel-says-signature-campaign-next-step-to-press-obc-demand.

For Clean Air, Against Coal Mining In Protected Forests - Greenpeace India To Continue Campaign

 Greenpeace India Says It Will Continue Environmental Campaign Despite Indian Government Not Allowing Foreign Donations
Greenpeace India said that it would continue campaigning for clean air and against coal mining in protected forests in the country even though the government had revoked its permission to receive foreign donations. The India government has declared economic development a priority. Other NGOs whose work runs contrary to Government's priorities have also been affected by India's actions. Some say that the dissent has been against a number of NGOs. Greenpeace India has had to cut its budget by about 30 percent and cut staff by about 20 percent. It has tried to increase its domestic contributions from about 75,000 donors. It has disputed various Government's charges and calls the actions arbitrary.
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"... In an order canceling the group’s registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that Greenpeace had “prejudicially affected the economic interest of the state.” Greenpeace India learned of the cancellation on Thursday. ..."
"... Particularly affected, Mr. Kothari said, will be the organization’s high-profile efforts, exemplified last year by activists who scaled the Mumbai office building of an energy company involved in mining and hung a banner that read, “We Kill Forests.” ..."
"... The group’s public troubles with the government began in January, when one of its campaigners was barred from flying to Britain to brief members of Parliament about the harmful environmental effects of possible coal mining projects in central India. The government later said that the woman’s actions were prejudicial to the national interest and could have led to economic sanctions against India. ..."
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Find this at www.nytimes.com/2015/09/05/world/asia/greenpeace-india-environmental-campaign-crack-down.html.

Economic Handling is most approved from amongst Unemployment, Pro Poor, Tackling Terrorism

 Clean India campaign is the most popular of all moves by Modi India's PM.
There has been an overall satisfaction in Modi's handling of the Economy. But there is a worry about the country's air quality, healthcare and education, and the persistent crime. Sending people to the toilets has found takers. This is the most popular move from amongst Unemployment, Terrorism, Pro Poor, Price Rise, Corruption, Communal Relations.
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"... Modi had launched an ambitious Clean India campaign on October 2 last year, which includes providing access to a toilet at every school and house in the country by 2019. It will entail building around 60 million toilets nationwide.
In the 2015 financial year, the government built 5.8 million toilets, according to data from the ministry of drinking water & sanitation. This fiscal, up to September 17, another 3.4 million toilets were built.
Such is the allure of Modi’s toilet crusade, among other issues, that even those who support the opposition Congress party can’t help but back the prime minister on this mission. ..."

Indian Public's Approval Index Of Indian PM Narendra Modi's Programmes.
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Find this at http://scroll.in/article/756471/narendra-modis-most-popular-move-so-far-clean-india-campaign.
See charts here on the approval quotient or approval index of Modi's initiatives.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

PM Modi's America Visit - Digital India resentment and counter support.

 Hate Modi is the same as Hurt India, say some.
Some Indian origin Americans amongst others are seemingly tentative and uncertain about the intent of the Digital India initiative. A counter group to this sprung up which backed the PM's campaign. There was resentment to PM Modi's visit to the US of a few days ago.
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"... Earlier this month, about 100 US-based academics, many of Indian origin, had argued the Digital India programme would be used for “dubious” purposes such as curbing civil liberties in India. They had asked Silicon Valley tech companies, one of the scheduled stops of the PM during his coming visit to the US, to boycott the Indian PM and backed an economic boycott of India.
Activist Madhu Kishwar said many of those academics were “usual leftists” and the “hate Modi brigade”, which was the force behind the US denying Modi a visa when he was chief minister of Gujarat.
Kishwar said endorsements to the counter-petition hadn’t come from admirers of Modi alone. “They have come even from those who are fairly critical of the functioning of the Modi government. I include myself in this category. We are supporting the PM because their (US-based academics) hate-Modi campaign has clear ‘Hurt-India’ overtones,’ said Kishwar, who edits the journal Manushi. ..."

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Find this at http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/hate-modi-campaign-has-hurt-india-overtones-115091501235_1.html

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Support Digital India Page by Facebook had a code. Clandestine pitch for Internet.org?

 Facebook used Digital India to promote Internet.org, true that is? If not, what's that "code"?
Internet.org is a Facebook project which supposedly subsidises internet data for people in places where data access is expensive and relatively not affordable. This, however, contradicts the principles of net neutrality. According to Net neutrality equal treatment should be accorded to all internet traffic and no priority should be given to an entity or company based on payment to content or service providers such as telecom companies. Did Facebook use the Digital India Campaign to clandestinely pitch for or promote its Internet.org Project? Internet.org is in clash or contradiction with net neutrality. Look at the code in the image.
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"... with many users changing their profile pictures to support the cause.
It was all going well. Our tri-coloured flag. A cause to support. A feel good profile picture. Until a small ‘code-block’ in Facebook’s ‘support Digital India page’ showed these words -- ‘Internet.org’. Once that was spotted, users went berserk.
People posted questions, drew conclusions, developed conspiracy theories around those few lines of code on many social media platforms, including Facebook. All those discussions revolved around one question - ‘Is Facebook using Digital India campaign as a mask for promoting Internet.org?’
Facebook, however, rejected the allegations, saying ..."

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Find this at http://www.hindustantimes.com/social-media/did-fb-use-digital-india-campaign-to-promote-internet-org/story-7L4E3EcX69XO3IjMny6ATN.html.
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