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Injury heartache goes on for Fulham’s Johnson

Andy Johnson, Fulham’s former England striker, will be out of action for at least three weeks with a knee injury that is threatening to rule him out for the rest of the season.

Johnson, who has made only 13 appearances in the current campaign as a result of a dislocated collarbone and a groin strain, is to have exploratory surgery to determine the gravity of the injury.

“If they find that the problem is as major as it could possibly be, then he would need an operation that would keep him out for the rest of the season,” Fulham boss Roy Hodgson said, adding that the 28-year-old had been “shattered” by the latest setback.

“If we’re lucky and the major operation is not needed, and it’s something wrong with the cartilage, then he might be back earlier.

“At the moment we’re talking three to four weeks, and the worst-case scenario is the rest of the season and him being fit to join us in pre-season.”

Hodgson is already without Clint Dempsey and Zoltan Gera because of their knee injuries and he admitted he would not have let Diomansy Kamara go to Celtic on loan earlier this week if he had been aware of Johnson’s latest problem.

“One of the reasons why we let Diomansy go was because we didn’t think the problem with Andy was anywhere near as grave,” Hodgson said.

“I was concerned that I would not be able to give Diomansy regular games, so when a club of Celtic’s stature comes in for him, it is very difficult for me to say ‘you have to stay’.”

Hodgson added: “Andy is shattered. He’s devastated. If it’s as serious as it could turn out to be, it needs to be put right for the start of next season.”

Fulham were due to face the Premier League’s bottom side, Portsmouth, on Wednesday with the west London club aiming to end a run of five straight defeats.

“At the moment I can divorce performances from results, but if you keep losing you will get dragged down there and get into a relegation battle,” Hodgson warned.

“I’m hoping that won’t happen and in the not-too-distant future we will have a squad of players together who are more competitive than we currently are.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: Andy, Andy Johnson, bottom side, cartilage, Clint Dempsey, dislocated collarbone, distant future, England, exploratory surgery, fulham, groin strain, knee injuries, knee injury, latest setback, least three weeks, london, london club, Portsmouth, premier league, relegation battle, roy hodgson, stature, west london, worst case scenario, zoltan, zoltan gera

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Hull apply the brakes to Chelsea title charge

Didier Drogba celebrated his return to Premier League duty with a first half equaliser at the KC Stadium to cancel out Stephen Mouyokolo’s earlier effort on a frustrating night for Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea.

Drogba struck his 20th goal of the season on 43 minutes to haul the Premier League leaders level after Hull defender Mouyokolo had headed Phil Brown’s Hull City side into a surprise lead with his first ever goal for the top flight strugglers.

But despite Drogba coming to the rescue it wasn’t enough to help Chelsea secure the win they so badly needed to restore their four point advantage over Manchester United at the top of the table.

The London club now have a lead of just two points and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be thankful to Hull for holding his great rivals to a draw to blow the title race wide open.

Ancelotti had the luxury of recalling Drogba for the first time since he departed for the African Cup of Nations over four weeks ago, while England internationals Joe Cole and Ashley Cole had to be content with a place on the bench.

John Terry also maintained his place in the side despite the on-going pressure on him to resign as England captain following his off-field problems while Deco was recalled to the starting line-up.

Brown, meanwhile, made just one change to the side which was held to a disappointing draw with Wolves last weekend, recalling Craig Fagan on the right wing in place of Bernard Mendy. The Hull manager resisted the temptation to hand a full debut to new loan signing Amr Zaki.

Hull had gone nine games without a victory and found themselves entrenched in the relegation zone. Considering Manchester City were the next visitors to the KC Stadium then the immediate future looked bleak.

But Chelsea struggled to find their rhythm from the start and seemed to make Hull’s evening easier than expected.

Frank Lampard worried Boaz Myhill with a swerving drive inside nine minutes which the Hull goalkeeper could only palm straight to Nicolas Anelka but the French striker stubbed his shot badly wide with the goal at his mercy.

It wasn’t until the 24th minute that Chelsea threatened again when Branislav Ivanovic sent over an inch-perfect cross for the waiting Michael Ballack but all the German midfielder could do was power his diving header straight at Myhill from close range.

The longer the game went on the more Hull seemed to grow in confidence but it still came a surprise when they took the lead with their first real attack of the game.

Terry was nowhere to be seen as Stephen Hunt swung over a corner and Mouyokolo rose the highest to head past the helpless Petr Cech.

But Hull’s lead always looked fragile and it lasted just 13 minutes before Drogba levelled the scores with a powerful free kick into the bottom corner of Myhill’s goal.

Hull could have restored their lead on the stroke of half time when Tom Cairney’s free kick found the head of the unmarked Anthony Gardner, but the defender could only direct his effort over the crossbar.

Yet Chelsea always carried a threat and Myhill had to be at his best to keep the scores level with a fine double save just before the hour mark.

First he got down sharply to tip wide a skidding drive from Florent Malouda before producing an even better stop to keep out Drogba’s downward header from Malouda’s cross as Brown’s men hung on for a point that is of much more use to them than Chelsea.

HULL, England (AFP)

Tags: african cup of nations, alex ferguson, Anthony Gardner, ashley cole, bernard mendy, Boaz Myhill, Brown, carlo ancelotti, CHELSEA, Cole, Craig Fagan, didier drogba, England, england internationals, frank lampard, frustrating night, HULL, hull city, Joe Cole, john terry, kc stadium, london, london club, Manchester, manchester city, Michael Ballack, Nicolas Anelka, Petr Cech, phil brown, point advantage, premier league, relegation zone, sir alex ferguson, Stephen Hunt, Stephen Mouyokolo, Terry, Tom Cairney, Zaki

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Blackburn frustrate West Ham

Blackburn earned a gritty 0-0 draw against struggling West Ham on Saturday to frustrate the east London club’s hopes of kick-starting the new era at Upton Park.

Gianfranco Zola’s side were playing at home for the first time since co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold finally completed their takeover of the Hammers, but there was precious little for the watching duo to get excited about.

Blackburn, who have scored just eight times in 12 away league matches, would have won with better finishing and West Ham – in 15th place – remain precariously close to the relegation zone.

Sullivan and Gold are well aware of West Ham’s troubles and have been attempting to sign several new players before Monday’s transfer deadline.

A deal for Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy is still in the pipeline but Zola may need more than that to save his side from the drop.

Rovers started well and appealed for a penalty when Nikola Kalinic went down under pressure from Jonathan Spector, but referee Peter Walton waved away their protests.

After 35 minutes, an inswinging corner from Morten Gamst Pedersen forced West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green to tip over the crossbar at full-stretch.

Rovers came agonisingly close to taking the lead just before half-time when Pedersen’s free-kick flashed past Green and cannoned back off the bar.

Zola sent on England forward Carlton Cole, in action for the first time since November following a knee injury, with 30 minutes to play but even he couldn’t spark West Ham into life.

Green was called into action again to push Pedersen’s goal-bound drive away, then Cole cleared Gael Givet’s shot off the line after it appeared to hit Mark Noble on the arm.

Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson had barely been troubled all game but he was finally forced to save in the final minutes as he pushed Alessandro Diamanti’s free-kick over to preserve the draw.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: Alessandro Diamanti, benni mccarthy, Carlton, Cole, crossbar, david gold, david sullivan, diamanti, east london, England, free kick, gael givet, gianfranco zola, jonathan spector, knee injury, london, london club, Mark Noble, Morten Gamst, morten gamst pedersen, Nikola Kalinic, paul robinson, Peter Walton, playing at home, relegation zone, robert green, transfer deadline, upton park, west ham, Zola

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Ancelotti expects Anelka to stay

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insists Nicolas Anelka is 100 percent committed to the Blues despite reports that talks over a new contract for the France striker have broken down.

Anelka has 18 months left on his current deal and Chelsea have been unable to tie him to a new contract during several months of negotiations.

The 30-year-old has proved his value to Ancelotti’s team this season with 11 goals, including five in his last four appearances, and his fine form has ensured Didier Drogba has hardly been missed during his time at the African Nations Cup.

Reports on Tuesday that there was only a small chance of a positive contract resolution raised the unwanted possibility of Chelsea having to sell Anelka in the close-season or risk losing him on a free transfer in a year.

But Ancelotti is adamant the former Real Madrid and Arsenal star wants to remain at the west London club and he expects a compromise to be reached.

Asked if he believed Anelka wanted to stay, Ancelotti said: “Yes. The same for Nicolas. He’s happy to work with me and I’m very happy to work with him. That’s a wedding, no? We don’t want to break up!

“I think that they are speaking with his agent and they will try to find the right solution for both the club and for him.

“I’m confident he’ll sign. Anelka is a top player and this club needs to have a lot of top players. There will be a resolution.”

After dropping to third place in the Premier League while on FA Cup duty at the weekend, Ancelotti’s side have a chance to regain top spot with a win over Birmingham at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday if Arsenal fail to defeat Aston Villa the same day.

Ancelotti knows in-form Birmingham will pose a tough test for his team after extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 matches over the weekend.

But Chelsea have won 10 of their 11 home league games this season – scoring seven times in their last home match against Sunderland – and Ancelotti expects his players to rise to the challenge of ending Birmingham’s impressive streak.

“It’s not good (to be third). I think it is important to win on Wednesday because we need three more points. But it’ll be very difficult because everyone knows Birmingham’s quality,” he said.

“They haven’t lost for 15 games and are having an unbelievable season. They have done fantastically well.

“So it’s important for us to have a very good performance. The same as we did against Sunderland, we hope, because we play a very compact team.

“It’s important to move the ball quickly against them because they are able to stay compact for 90 minutes. If we do our best, I think we can win.”

Ancelotti expects United and Arsenal to push his side all the way in a title race shaping up to be a tense three-team scramble for the finish line.

“I think we have to keep in control of both teams. Both teams have enough quality to stay in the top until the end of the season,” he said.

“It’ll be a sprint to the final game. I think all three teams will be in it until the end.”

The Blues, who have two games in hand on current leaders United, will be bolstered by the return to training of Drogba and Salomon Kalou on Wednesday after Ivory Coast were knocked out of the African Nations Cup.

Neither will feature against Birmingham but the pair should be available for Saturday’s trip to Burnley.

“Drogba is an important player for us but we’ve played very well without him,” added Ancelotti.

“It’s important that he comes back here because we have a lot of games in this period and we need to have a lot of players able to play.”

However Juliano Belletti won’t be available for up to a month after a scan revealed the Brazilian defender suffered a knee injury during Saturday’s FA Cup win at Preston.

COBHAM, England (AFP)

Tags: african nations cup, arsenal, Birmingham, carlo ancelotti, CHELSEA, compromise, contract resolution, didier drogba, England, France, home match, impr, Ivory Coast, league games, london club, MADRID, negotiations, new contract, Nicolas, premier league, Preston, real madrid, right solution, Salomon Kalou, seven times, stamford bridge, Sunderland, west london

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Malaysia’s Fernandes rules out West Ham stake

Malaysian aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes on Tuesday ruled out becoming a minority stakeholder in West Ham, after he lost out in a bid to take control of the English Premier League club.

Former Birmingham City owners David Sullivan and David Gold on January 19 said they had won full control of the east London club after acquiring a 50-percent stake in a move they admitted only made sense to them as lifelong supporters.

Sullivan secured an option to buy the remaining 50 percent at any time in the next four years but said he would prefer to attract other wealthy West Ham fans, including Fernandes, to join him in investing in the club.

Asked whether he was interested, Fernandes replied: “No”.

“My main concern is I went for 100 percent of the ownership because I think you need to have one leader. And I’m not sure two leaders is the right thing right now,” he told reporters.

Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia and the boss of the Lotus Formula One team, said he had strong support from the club’s fans, and would have brought “a new marketing and branding perspective”.

“I’ve received close to about 8,000 emails from West Ham fans and if you look at all the fan websites I was a very popular choice,” he said.

“Why I didn’t go for their bid was because I didn’t think it was the right thing for the club at the time.”

West Ham has been financially crippled by the fallout from the credit crunch and its impact on its former Icelandic owners.

Sullivan and Gold’s acquisition of a 50 percent stake values the club at 105 million pounds (171 million dollars), only fractionally more than its outstanding debts which Sullivan said now stood at 102 million pounds.

That includes 50 million pounds owed to banks and 40 million owed to other clubs for transfers.

The centrepiece of the new owners’ strategy for reviving the club is a move from their current 35,000-capacity home at Upton Park to the nearby Olympic Stadium.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP)

Tags: 50 million pounds, airasia, birmingham city, centrepiece, credit crunch, david gold, david sullivan, east london, English Premier League, fallout, fan websites, formula one, kuala lumpur, london club, new marketing, olympic stadium, premier league, stakeholder, tony fernandes, upton park, west ham, west ham fans

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Anelka fires Chelsea into 5th round

France striker Nicolas Anelka took the plaudits after his goal inspired a 2-0 win at Preston keeping Chelsea on course to land the FA Cup for the third time in four seasons.

Anelka set the platform for the Premier League club’s fourth round success at Deepdale on Saturday with his fifth goal in four games.

Young strike partner Daniel Sturridge doubled the holders’ lead in the second half as Carlo Ancelotti’s team saw off Darren Ferguson’s Championship outfit.

But it was Anelka’s performance which caught the eye of Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins and he was keen to salute the former Arsenal and Real Madrid star.

“He’s playing some outstanding football at the minute,” Wilkins said. “He’s clearly enjoying his football and training.

“He’s an outstanding player and hopefully he will carry in this rich vein of scoring form.”

Wilkins insisted Chelsea’s professional performance against Preston is proof that the west London club are determined to retain the FA Cup they won last May after beating Everton 2-1 in the final.

“I thought our lads were extremely professional,” he added. “This is not an easy place to come and the Preston fans really got behind their team.

“But we are the holders and we want to retain it. This is not an easy place to come and the fact that Carlo picked a strong team shows how seriously we are treating the competition.”

Wilkins refused to blame referee Mike Dean for disallowing a goal by substitute Florent Malouda when the tie was goalless.

Malouda found the net soon after coming on in the first half for the injured Juliano Belletti. With the scores locked at 0-0, the goal was ruled out as the referee had blown for a foul committed on Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.

“In our eyes it was the wrong decision,” added Wilkins. “But I’m not going to have a go at the referee. We got a free kick out of it and didn’t make the most out of it.”

Lampard was substituted in the second half after suffering a calf problem, but Wilkins is hopeful he will be available for Wednesday’s home game with Birmingham City.

The tie might have had a different ending had Preston midfielder Darren Carter not missed from three yards towards the end of the first half, when the score was 1-0.

Ferguson, son of Manchester United manager Sir Alex, refused to criticise Carter for his astonishing blunder, which came after Portuguese keeper Hilario had failed to hold a header by Chris Brown.

“At half time I said to him to keep getting stuck in,” said Ferguson, taking charge of his first home game since replacing Alan Irvine as Preston manager earlier this month.

“I didn’t want him hiding in the second half. The lad needed a bit of a lift, but that’s football.

“A few minutes before half time we miss a great chance and two minutes in the second half we concede a goal.

“But I can’t have any complaints about my players. We played some great football.”

Ferguson revealed Celtic had made an inquiry for Republic of Ireland international defender Sean St Ledger, but said: “Celtic have no chance of getting him on what they are offering.”

PRESTON, England (AFP)

Tags: Alan Irvine, birmingham city, Carlo, carlo ancelotti, CHELSEA, chris brown, Daniel Sturridge, Darren Carter, Darren Ferguson, deepdale, England, FA Cup, fifth goal, florent malouda, four games, France, frank lampard, free kick, juliano belletti, london club, MADRID, Manchester, Mike Dean, Nicolas Anelka, plaudits, premier league, Preston, professional performance, ray wilkins, real madrid, republic of ireland, rich vein, Sean St, Sir Alex, west london, wrong decision

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QPR set to sign Hull City’s Folan

Championship side Queens Park Rangers appeared to have agreed a loan deal to sign Hull City forward Caleb Folan.

Folan, who recently returned from a loan spell at Middlesbrough, is being loaned again by Premier League strugglers Hull.

Republic of Ireland international saw his time at Middlesbrough interrupted by injury with the powerful frontman making just one appearance for the Teesside outfit.

But Folan is now back to full fitness and QPR boss Paul Hart is keen to lure him to Loftus Road as he looks to bolster his attacking options.

Folan’s agent Hayden Evans has confirmed Hull are happy to loan out the 27-year-old and a deal has been agreed between both clubs.

“Hull have advised us they are happy to loan out Caleb,” Evans told skysports.com

“The two clubs have agreed a loan deal and now just a few details need to be finalised.

“Caleb was unfortunate with injury at Middlesbrough, but he is now fully fit again.”

Folan could be joined by Hull team-mate Daniel Cousin at Loftus Road with Hart also keen on bringing the Gabon international to the West London club on loan.

Tigers’ boss Phil Brown has admitted that both strikers, Caleb Folan and Daniel Cousin, are likely to leave the club in the transfer window, as he is under pressure to trim about £9m from the wage bill.

“Caleb has expressed a desire to leave and we have agreed to it,” said Brown.

“Daniel’s on African Nations duty and it’s hard for him to come back and sign papers. Until that happens then there won’t be a deal on the table.”

Brown said chairman Adam Pearson’s financial constraints meant departures were inevitable.

“I can’t do anything else but accept it,” said Brown.

“He is the man in charge and if that is the deal I will try to get on with it.

“We have got some good players here. Every manager wants a big squad that can compete at this level and cope with two or three games in a week.

“You need a big squad but there has been interest in a number of players at our football club and we are considering each interest on its merits.”

Tags: Adam Pearson, african nations, Caleb, caleb folan, Daniel, daniel cousin, finalised, football club, Gabon, Hayden Evans, HULL, hull city, Loftus Road, london club, middlesbrough, paul hart, phil brown, premier league, QPR, queens park, queens park rangers, republic of ireland, team mate, Teesside, three games, week, west london

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Arsenal may swap Fabregas for Higuain: report

Arsenal may be ready to sell Cesc Fabregas to Real Madrid — if they get Argentine star Gonzalo Higuain in return, a Spanish sports newspaper said Thursday.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger “is only willing to part with his captain if Real includes Gonzalo Higuain in the deal,” said Marca, which did not indicate its sources.

It said Real would prefer to offer Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart to the London club, and would only release Higuain for 35 million euros, 10 million less than they would pay the Gunners for Fabregas, Marca said.

But competition for the 22-year-old Spanish international from bitter rivals Barcelona may force their hand, it said.

In comments on the UEFA website, Higuain said he would like to end his career at Real Madrid, “the team and the city are my second home, and it would be fantastic.”

Fabregas, Arsenal’s top scorer with 12 goals, is under contract with the Gunners until 2014 but his future has been the subject of much speculation this season.

The player himself last month played down talk of a move back to his native Spain, saying that his future lies in the English Premier League.

Fabregas began his career with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003.

The following month he became Arsenal’s youngest ever player in any competition when he appeared in a League Cup tie against Rotherham aged just 16 years and 177 days.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: 10 million, Argentine, Barcelona, bitter rivals, coach, cup tie, English Premier League, euros 10, fabregas arsenal, gunners, london, london club, MADRID, marca, midfielder, premier league, Rafael van der, real madrid, Spain, spanish sports, speculation, top scorer, uefa, Wenger

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Abramovich makes Chelsea almost debt free

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has erased virtually all of the Premier League club’s 340 million pounds (375.75 million euros) debt, according to the 2009 financial figures released on Wednesday.

Russian billionaire Abramovich, who reduced the club’s debts by half last year, was reported to be owed the money as an interest-free loan, but that has now been turned into shares to make Chelsea all but debt free.

Chelsea claim Abramovich’s move “demonstrates the continuing commitment from the shareholder to the group” and it removes any fears of a financial meltdown if the tycoon, who bought the west London club in 2003, ever decided to walk away.

During his six-year reign, Abramovich had bankrolled massive spending in the transfer market which helped Chelsea win the Premier League in 2005 and 2006, but he has kept a tighter hold on the Stamford Bridge cheque book over the last year.

A statement from Chelsea read: “Following previous conversions of half of the debt, the remainder of the interest-free loans from the parent company, whose ultimate controlling party is Roman Abramovich, have been converted into equity making the group effectively debt free.”

The club’s chairman Bruce Buck said: “The club’s debt load has been reduced almost to nil in order to provide more long-term stability for the club.

“The reduction will also enable the club to comply with any regulations on debt levels which are being discussed by the football community.”

The Blues’ financial results revealed losses down to 44.4 million pounds (48.6 million euros), which included a compensation payment of 12.6 million pounds (13.9 million euros) to sacked former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari and three of his staff.

The losses announced by the club are down from 65.7 million pounds (72.6 million euros) last year and Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said: “It is still our aim to be self-sufficient and we will achieve this by increasing our revenues as we continue to leverage off our brand.

“We are reducing our costs by controlling expenses, including salaries and wages.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: billionaire, bruce buck, CHELSEA, chelsea owner roman abramovich, cheque book, compensation payment, debt levels, debt load, felipe scolari, financial meltdown, football community, gourlay, interest free loan, interest free loans, london, london club, Luiz Felipe, owner roman abramovich, parent company, premier league, Ron Gourlay, stamford bridge, term stability, west london

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Pulis tells Wenger to stop fixture moans

Stoke manager Tony Pulis has told Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger to stop “moaning like a drain” about fixture congestion, saying the Gunners ought to be able to play three games in a week.

Wenger was also unhappy with Wolves manager Mick McCarthy’s decision to field a second-string side in a 3-0 defeat by the London club’s top four rivals Manchester United on Tuesday.

The Frenchman, speaking after Arsenal’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Burnley on Wednesday, slammed a fixture list which saw Wenger’s club playing three games in a week while Hull, their opponents on Saturday, had no midweek match.

“Wenger is moaning like a drain because it doesn’t suit Arsenal. He ain’t moaning because it doesn’t suit Stoke,” said Pulis. “He is saying it because it doesn’t suit him and that was what Mick has done.

“I don’t think it was the walk in the park (for United) that people are suggesting.

“The players Mick played, most of them are seasoned professionals – he hasn’t played the youth team – who he has spent decent money on.

“There is one important point here and that is that Mick McCarthy will do whatever he thinks is best for Wolves.”

Stoke had their match on Tuesday against Fulham postponed as the Cottagers were involved in Europa League action the following day.

Pulis argued that worked against his side as, having hosted Wigan last weekend, he would have liked to have had back-to-back home games.

Instead Stoke now face successive away trips to Aston Villa on Saturday and then Manchester City.

“We would have preferred to have got that game in – it was a home game – because it would have been advantageous,” Pulis said.

“We are a little bit disappointed we have not played but the success Fulham have had getting caught up in Europa Cup games is no fault of theirs.

“We have now got two very tough games, Villa and Manchester City away, and then we play the form team Birmingham on Monday week so it is a tough test for us.

“No disrespect to Wenger or any foreign manager but I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking professional athletes to perform twice in three or four days.

“We have had to take it on the chin because I’d have preferred to have played Fulham on Tuesday.

“That is the way it crumbles. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you.”

LONDON (AFP)

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