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IIITH LAUNCHES INDUSTRY-SPONSORED PART-TIME MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS) BY RESEARCH – PR Newswire

Masters program with few courses and a jointly advised thesis project

Designed to foster advanced research skills and drive technology led innovations

Self-paced flexible modules to accommodate the schedules of working professionals

HYDERABAD, India, May 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- International Institute of Information TechnologyHyderabad (IIIT-H) announced the launch of a part-time industry sponsored Master of Science (MS) by research for working professionals to foster advanced research skills and empower individuals to drive tech led innovations.Applications are open and first batch will start August 2024.

The part-time Master of Science (MS) by research program is designed to cater to the evolving needs of working professionals and the technology companies. The part-time program is structured around a long thesis project advised jointly by the company and IIIT-H faculty, with few courses to be taken alongside the foundational knowledge needed for the thesis. With bulk registration, companies can choose tech areas and advisors, as well as co-create projects with IIIT-H focusing on specific solutions company may need.

Professionals with a Science/ Engineering degree and at least 1 year of tech industry experience may apply. Participants can choose the individual courses in each semester and enrol alongside full-time students at IIIT-H over 3 years, concurrent with the thesis project. Expert mentorship and hands-on learning will ensure success in emerging tech and upskilling efforts.

Director of IIIT-H, Prof. PJ Narayanan said, "In today's world, those with expertise in the deep-end of technology will have a big edge. IIIT Hyderabad wants to facilitate employees of IT companies in Hyderabad to acquire such expertise through this thesis-oriented program. This unique industry-academia collaboration will provide opportunities for companies to take advantage of IIITH's research strengths. It also allows the professionals to gain Masters level understanding of research by enrolling in same courses as IIIT's regular students and working with the same research groups as our regular students."

The self-paced MS by Research program offers a dynamic framework to accommodate the working professionals time and work constraints.

Applications for the Autumn 2024 batch, expected to begin in August 2024, are open now.Details at https://outreach.iiit.ac.in/industryms/

About IIIT Hyderabad

The International Institute of Information Technology,Hyderabad (IIIT-H) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research that has a greater social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Sciences, Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, Education Technologies, Power Systems, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.

Website:www.iiit.ac.in

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1900509/IIITH_Logo.jpg

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IIITH LAUNCHES INDUSTRY-SPONSORED PART-TIME MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS) BY RESEARCH - PR Newswire

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Well played Google! DeepMind shows off Project Astra watching the OpenAI ChatGPT Voice announcement – Tom’s Guide

OpenAI held its big unveiling earlier this week, showing off the much more human-sounding and emotive ChatGPT-4o model with a big push for its Voice Mode.

With Google following up with its I/O keynote, it appears the tech giant was keeping more than just an eye on its AI rivals. In fact, it held a little AI screening of the event.

Michael Chang from the Google DeepMind Gemini and Project Astra team shared a video showing that the company's Gemini chatbot was watching GPT-4o at work.

Taking to X, Chang said "Gemini and I also got a chance to watch the @OpenAI live announcement of gpt4o, using Project Astra!"

"Congrats to the OpenAI team, super impressive work!"

In the video Gemini is running transcription for the GPT-4o reveal event, attributing quotes to the correct speakers and providing a voice commentary.

Chang asks Gemini to give him a summary of "what just happened" as part of the demo, too, and Gemini explains what was shown on stage, even referencing the OpenAI team by name.

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At the point where GPT-4o works to solve an algebra equation, Gemini solves the equation while OpenAI's model works through the steps. Gemini even recounts the steps to solve and gives kudos to its counterpart for how it solved the equation. Impressive stuff.

Wondering which is best? Be sure to check out our rundown.

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Well played Google! DeepMind shows off Project Astra watching the OpenAI ChatGPT Voice announcement - Tom's Guide

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Nature earns ire over lack of code availability for Google DeepMind protein folding paper – Retraction Watch

A group of researchers is taking Nature to task for publishing a paper earlier this month about Google DeepMinds protein folding prediction program without requiring the authors publish the code behind the work.

Roland Dunbrack, of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, peer-reviewed the paper but was not given access to code during the review, the authors of a letter submitted today, May 14, to Nature including Dunbrack write, despite repeated requests.

A Nature podcast said AlphaFold3 unlike AlphaFold2 can accurately predict protein-molecule complexes containing DNA, RNA and more. Although the new version is restricted to non-commercial use, researchers are excited by its greater range of predictive abilities and the prospect of speedier drug discovery.

Not everyone was excited. The authors of the letter, which co-author Stephanie A. Wankowicz of the University of California, San Francisco told Retraction Watch was submitted today to Nature, write they were disappointed with the lack of code, or even executables accompanying the publication of AlphaFold3 in Nature. They continue:

Although AlphaFold3 expands AlphaFold2s capacities to include small molecules, nucleic acids, and chemical modifications, it was released without the means to test and use the software in a high-throughput manner. This does not align with the principles of scientific progress, which rely on the ability of the community to evaluate, use, and build upon existing work. The high-profile publication advertises capabilities that remain locked behind the doors of the parent company.

The authors, who are circulating the letter for additional signatures, write that the models limited availability on a hosted web server, capped at ten predictions per day, restricts the scientific communitys capacity to verify the broad claims of the findings or apply the predictions on a large scale. Specifically, the inability to make predictions on novel organic molecules akin to chemical probes and drugs, one of the central claims of the paper, makes it impossible to test or use this method.

A May 8 news story by the independent team of journalists at Nature noted the restrictions. Nature editor in chief Magdalena Skipper told Retraction Watch:

Nature has a long-standing policy designed to facilitate the availability of data, materials and code upon reasonable request. While seeking to enhance transparency at every opportunity, Nature accepts that there may be circumstances under which research data or code are not openly available. When making a decision on data and code availability, we reflect on many different factors, including the potential implications for biosecurity and the ethical challenges this presents. In such cases we work with the authors to provide alternatives that will support reproducibility, for example through the provision of pseudocode, which is made available to the reviewers during peer review.

As noted in the code availability statement in the paper: AlphaFold3 is available as a non-commercial usage only server at https://www.alphafoldserver.com, with restrictions on allowed ligands and covalent modifications. Pseudocode describing the algorithms is available in the Supplementary Information.

The pseudocode, however, will require months of effort to turn into workable code that approximates the performance, wasting valuable time and resources, the authors of the letter write. Even if such a reimplementation is attempted, restricted access raises questions about whether the results could be fully validated.

The authors of the letter continue:

When journals fail to enforce their written policies about making code available to reviewers and alongside publications, they demonstrate how these policies are applied inequitably and how editorial decisions do not align with the needs of the scientific community. While there is an ever-changing landscape of how science is performed and communicated, journals should uphold their role in the community by ensuring that science is reproducible upon dissemination, regardless of who the authors are.

Like Retraction Watch? You can make atax-deductible contribution to support our work,subscribe to our freedaily digestorpaid weekly update,follow uson Twitter, like uson Facebook, or add us to yourRSS reader. If you find a retraction thatsnot in The Retraction Watch Database, you canlet us know here. For comments or feedback, email us at [emailprotected].

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Google DeepMind to Use SynthID to Watermark Gemini and Veos AI-Generated Content – Gadgets 360

Google made a large number of artificial intelligence (AI)-based announcements late Tuesday during its I/O 2024 keynote session. These include new AI models, upgrades to existing foundation models, integration of AI features into Google's products, and more. The tech giant also focused on AI safety and expanded the usage of its native watermarking technology for AI-generated content, dubbed SynthID. This new toolkit will now be embedding watermarks for text generated by the Gemini app and web client, and videos generated by Veo.

SynthID was first unveiled by Google DeepMind in August 2023 as a beta project aimed at correctly labelling AI-generated content. The need for such a solution was felt due to the rise of instances where these synthetically created media were shared as real. These were used to spread misinformation and cybercrimes such as phishing. The tech giant first used this technology in November 2023, when it was used to watermark AI-generated audio created through its Lyria model. The toolkit added watermarks as a waveform to the audio to make it imperceptible yet detectable.

Now, Google is expanding the usage of SynthID to include text and video generation. It will now watermark the text generated using the Gemini app and the website. For this, the toolkit will target the generation process itself. Every text-based AI model uses tokens which can be words, syllables, or phrases to train. The training process also includes understanding the flow of using these tokens, or the order the tokens should follow to generate the most coherent response.

SynthID introduces additional information in the token distribution at the point of generation by modulating the likelihood of tokens being generated. This way it assigns a number to certain words in a block of generated text. When detecting whether AI was used to generate the text, it checks the score against its adjusted probability scores to determine whether the source could be an AI model. DeepMind highlighted in a post that this technique is useful when an AI generates long creative text as it is easier for probability models to check how it was created. However, for shorter factual responses, the detection may not be as accurate.

The company is also expanding SynthID to recently unveiled Veo's AI-generated videos. Google said the technology will embed watermarks directly into the pixels of every video frame which will be imperceptible to the human eye but will show up when a detection system is used.

In the coming months, Google plans to open-source SynthID text watermarking through its Responsible Generative AI toolkit. It will also publish a detailed research paper explaining the text watermarking technology.

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Google debuts new AI assistant that looks through cameras, glasses – Quartz

AI assistants are picking up more senses. On Monday, OpenAI showed off a new ChatGPT model that promises to see, hear, and speak through smartphones, among other new abilities. Now Google is announcing a rival assistant with similar capabilities.

Nvidia stock has all-time closing high in its crosshairs

At the companys I/O developer conference Tuesday, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis debuted a prototype of Googles new expert AI assistant that can see through a users phone and other objects like smart glasses. The assistant build[s] on Gemini, Googles existing chatbot, the company says, and some of its capabilities are coming to the Gemini app and web experience later this year.

The development is part of Google DeepMinds Project Astra, which aims to create a universal AI agent for users everyday lives. Its easy to envisage a future where you can have an expert assistant by your side, through your phone, or new exciting form factors like glasses, Hassabis told a crowd of a few thousand developers in Mountain View, California.

A demo video shows a person speaking with an AI agent through their phone while walking through an office. Through their camera, they show the AI assistant a container of crayons as if they were talking through FaceTime and ask it to make a creative alliteration.

Creative crayons color cheerfully, it said. They certainly craft colorful creations. The person continues interacting with the AI bot on their walk, then realize they forgot their glasses and ask for help finding them. Theyre on the desk near a red apple, the bot responds.

When the user puts on those glasses, the AI assistant can look through them, too and identifies an illustration representing Shrodingers cat on a whiteboard.

Its unclear if those glasses are a new product Google plans to launch. The augmented reality glasses on display in the demo didnt look like Google Glass, the companys existing smart glasses, nor did they resemble typical, bulkier headsets.

An agent like this has to understand and respond to our complex and dynamic world just like we do, said Hassabis at the conference. It would need to take in and remember what it sees so it can understand context and take action. And it would have to be proactive, teachable, and personal. So you can talk to it naturally without lag or delay.

Thats what Project Astra is aiming to do, he said, and its making great strides.

While Googles prototype AI assistant is available to demo for attendees of its Google I/O conference, it will probably be a while before the tech makes its way into the hands of everyday consumers.

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Google DeepMind Embarked On A Breathtaking Journey Through The Labyrinths Of Our Brains – Dataconomy

The human brain, the three-pound conductor of our thoughts, emotions, and actions, has long been shrouded in mystery. Scientists have tirelessly endeavored to unravel its intricate workings, but its sheer complexity has presented a formidable challenge.

However, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are offering a powerful new lens through which we can observe this remarkable organ.

In a groundbreaking collaboration between Google researchers and Harvard neuroscientists, AI has been instrumental in generating a series of incredibly detailed images of the human brain. These images provide unprecedented views into the brains structure, offering a glimpse into the labyrinthine network of neurons that underlies our very existence.

Imagine peering into a universe contained within a universe. This analogy aptly describes the challenge of studying the human brain. Its structure is mind-bogglingly intricate, composed of billions of neurons interconnected by trillions of synapses. To gain a deeper understanding, researchers require incredibly detailed information.

The research team used advanced AI tools to analyze a tiny sample of human brain tissue, specifically a section of the cortex from the anterior temporal lobe. This sample, though minuscule representing only about one-millionth of the entire brain contained a staggering amount of information. Astonishingly, processing this data required a mind-numbing 1.4 petabytes of storage, which is equivalent to over a million gigabytes.

The AI processed this data to construct a high-resolution, three-dimensional model of the brain tissue. This model allows scientists to virtually navigate the intricate folds and layers of the brain, examining individual neurons and their connections in unparalleled detail.

The outermost layer of the brain, the cortex, is responsible for our most complex cognitive functions, including language, memory, and sensory perception. This region is further divided into six distinct layers, each with a specialized role.

One of the most remarkable images generated by Googles AI offers a zoomed-out view of all the neurons within the sample tissue. By coloring the neurons based on their size and type, the image reveals the distinct layering of the cortex. This visualization allows scientists to study how different types of neurons are distributed throughout the cortex and how they might contribute to specific functions.

Further analysis of the individual layers can provide even more granular insights. By zooming in, researchers can examine the intricate connections between neurons within each layer. These connections, known as synapses, are the fundamental units of communication in the brain. Understanding the organization of these connections is crucial for deciphering how information flows through the brain and how different brain regions interact with each other.

The human brain is estimated to contain roughly 86 billion neurons, each with a unique role to play. These neurons come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and their specific characteristics influence how they transmit information.

Another image generated by Googles AI provides a detailed census of the different types of neurons present within the sample tissue. By classifying the neurons based on their morphology, the researchers can begin to understand the relative abundance of different neuronal types in this specific brain region. This information can be compared to data from other brain regions to identify potential variations in neuronal composition across different functional areas.

Furthermore, AI can be used to analyze the spatial distribution of these different neuronal types. Are certain types of neurons clustered together, or are they more evenly dispersed throughout the tissue? Understanding these spatial patterns can shed light on how different neuronal populations interact with each other to form functional circuits within the brain.

The magic of the brain lies in its ability to transmit information across vast networks of neurons. This communication occurs through specialized structures called dendrites and axons. Dendrites are like tiny antennae that receive signals from other neurons, while axons act as long, slender cables that transmit signals away from the cell body.

One of the most captivating images generated by Googles AI provides a close-up view of the intricate dance of dendrites and axons within the sample tissue. This image allows researchers to visualize the density of these structures and how they connect with each other. The complex branching patterns of dendrites and the long, winding paths of axons reveal the intricate web of communication that takes place within the brain.

By analyzing the connectivity patterns, scientists can begin to map the functional circuits that underlie specific brain functions. They can identify groups of neurons that are likely to be involved in processing similar types of information and trace the pathways through which information flows from one brain region to another.

The images generated by Googles AI are a huge step for our ability to study the human brain. The detailed visualizations offer a window into the brains intricate structure, providing a wealth of information about the organization of neurons, their connections, and the cellular diversity within specific brain regions.

This newfound ability to explore the brain at such a granular level has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders. We already know AIs potential for curing Alzheimers and by comparing brain tissue samples from healthy individuals to those with various conditions, researchers can identify potential abnormalities in neuronal structure or connectivity.

Furthermore, AI-generated images can be used to study the effects of aging, learning, and experience on the brain. By examining how the brains structure changes over time or in response to different stimuli, researchers can gain valuable insights into the mechanisms that underlie these processes.

The potential applications of this technology extend beyond the realm of basic research. The detailed models of brain tissue generated by AI could be used to develop more realistic simulations of brain function. These simulations could be used to test the effects of potential drugs or therapies before they are administered to human patients.

The vast majority of the brain remains uncharted territory, and many fundamental questions about its function continue to baffle scientists. However, these initial images offer a powerful glimpse into the brains hidden depths, and they pave the way for a future where we can finally begin to unravel the mysteries of this most complex organ.

Featured image credit: vecstock/Freepik

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ANN COULTER: Stormy Daniels – the Rosa Parks of porn stars – Indiana Gazette

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Watson: Republicans of color aren’t fighting racism – Longview News-Journal

Last week, right-wing commentator Ann Coulter told former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to his face she would not have voted for him because hes Indian.

There is a core national identity that is the identity of the WASP, Coulter said on Ramaswamys Truth podcast, using an acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. And that doesnt mean we cant take anyone else in a Sri Lankan or a Japanese, or an Indian. But the core around which the nations values are formed is the WASP.

Interestingly, Ramaswamy appeared unfazed by her insulting remarks and declared they shared an opposition to dual citizenship. He further stated, that a child of immigrants would have greater loyalty to the country than disgruntled seventh-generation WASPs. Despite such blatant, vulgar racism, Ramaswamy later praised her on social media, writing, I disagree with her but respect that she had the guts to speak her mind.

The truth is Ramaswamy is not alone in this regard. There are more than a few conservatives of color who have engaged in the art of self-debasement.

Back in 2021, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott claimed with a straight face woke supremacy was as bad as white supremacy. In response, former CNN anchor Don Lemon spoke truth to power, alerting the senator, in no uncertain terms, to the undeniable truth that there is no comparison between the two camps. As the days passed, a few other commentators took Scott to task for his wayward, untoward commentary.

A Black man who hails from humble beginnings, (as he has described his background and upbringing) and the inhabitant of a state that has had an ugly, intensive, brutal and oppressive history of mistreatment of Black people (even by southern state standards), Scott likely knew better than to utter such dishonest foolishness. To add insult to injury, he went to Fox News and tried (unconvincingly) to defend his disingenuous remarks.

More recently, Scott has come under not-so-friendly fire due to his lap dogging for Donald Trump, telling the former president that he just loves him.

Scott is a person of color in a party that has declared political war on people of color. Thus, in order to save face and remain in the good graces of his GOP colleagues, Scott has opted to engage in shameful acts of intellectual dishonesty.

We cant ignore Nikki Haley, who behaved manner similar to that of Vivek Ramaswamy. The former governor and U.N. ambassador initially tied herself into political pretzels by refusing to denounce the Confederate flag or criticize her former boss. She insulted many people when she argued that she disagrees with those who deny that the Confederate flag represents racism, yet nonetheless respects their point of view.

Seriously, ambassador Haley? How can you simultaneously be for and against racism? Taking such a position is not that much different from when Trump referred to white supremacists and anti-racist activists as very fine people. The latter group is commendable. The first group is anything but.

Trump went after Haleys birth name, Nimarata, in yet another example of the former president employing racially-coded dog whistles to attack his presidential rivals. Trump also falsely stating she is ineligible to become president because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born in 1972. Haley initially behaved as if nothing was wrong. It was only afterwards, under extreme criticism from never Trumpers and independent Republicans, that she finally took off the gloves and began swinging.

Haley, who commented that her father had to teach at a historically Black college and university because he was unable to secure employment at a white institution of higher learning, continues to espouse the notion that America was never a racist nation. She does this even as Trump continues to levy thinly-veiled racist attacks at her.

Throughout history, there have been many others who have embraced groups and movements that stand in direct opposition to their religious or cultural heritage. It is important to note that such individuals exist on the political left as well. Opportunism is a bipartisan enterprise.

Some of this can be chalked up to confusion, self-hatred or other psychological maladies. Regardless, such retrograde antics perpetrated by intensely deluded and disingenuous men and women are a sad commentary and says a lot more about them as opposed to the people or movements they have decided to fervently attack.

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University.

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Private cloud makes its comeback, thanks to AI – CIO

According to Forresters Infrastructure Cloud Survey in 2023, 79% of roughly 1,300 enterprise cloud decision-makers surveyed said their firms are implementing internal private clouds, which will use virtualization and private cloud management. Nearly a third (31%) of respondents said they are building internal private clouds using hybrid cloud management solutions such as software-defined storage and API-consistent hardware to make the private cloud more like public cloud, Forrester adds.

IDC forecasts that global spending on private, dedicated cloud services which includes hosted private cloud and dedicated cloud infrastructure as a service will hit $20.4 billion in 2024, and more than double by 2027. Global spending on enterprise private cloud infrastructure, including hardware, software, and support services, will be $51.8 billion in 2024 and grow to $66.4 billion in 2027, according to IDC.

While those numbers pale compared to public clouds expected $815.7 billion in 2024, IDCs McCarthy sees hybrid cloud infrastructure as the future for most enterprises in this area. The emergence of turnkey private cloud offerings from HPE and Dell, McCarthy says, gives customers a private cloud they can run on premises or in a co-location facility that provides managed services.

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Microsoft offers to relocate nearly 10% of China-based staffers to the US or allied nations AI and cloud engineering … – Tom’s Hardware

Microsoft is asking nearly 10% of its China-based workforce to move to the U.S., Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand. According to Reuters, most affected workers are Chinese engineers working in the companys machine learning and cloud computing divisions key battlegrounds that the U.S. and China are vying for in their bid to gain technological supremacy.

This announcement came soon after the White Houses press release announcing increased tariffs on high-tech Chinese goods and can be seen as Microsofts reaction to keep the U.S. government happy. However, a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters that this was just a routine business move.

Providing internal opportunities is a regular part of managing our global business. As part of this process, we shared an optional internal transfer opportunity with a subset of employees, Microsoft said in its email. The spokesperson also added that Microsoft remains committed to China and will continue to operate there and other markets.

Although the company did not confirm how many employees received the transfer opportunity, internal sources say it affects 700 to 800 people. This is a substantial number of Microsofts China-based workforce. The Global Times reported in 2022 that Microsoft already had more than 9,000 full-time workers and was expected to hire over a thousand more in the following year.

There is no telling how many offers will be accepted, especially as this is optional for the employees. But even if a small number only accepts Microsofts proposal, this is a potential brain drain of Chinas top talent, especially given their highly niche specialties. After all, many former Microsoft employees eventually became leaders in top Chinese tech firms, including Baidu and TikTok-owner ByteDance.

Microsofts heavy presence in China has invited scrutiny from American lawmakers. In a March 2024 letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Representative Pat Fallon said, What we seek to understand is if and how Microsofts broad usage across the U.S. federal government, close ties to [the Peoples Republic of China]s government and compliance with intrusive PRC laws threatens U.S. national and economic security.

He then adds, No U.S. company should be playing a role in supporting the Chinese government. It is critical that any such efforts be stopped, and that broader Chinese operations be carefully scrutinized. (via the New York Post)

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We cannot confirm whether the transfer offer is indeed a routine business decision or a move designed to keep American pressure off Microsofts China operations. However, with the emails coming so soon after the White Houses recent moves to up the ante in the Sino-American chip war, we cannot help but feel that Microsoft is taking steps to slowly move away from China and avoid U.S. sanctions.

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