By Leon Watson
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Police are hunting a gunman who shot dead a 32-year-old man in broad daylight today.
A woman in her late 20s was also injured in the incident which happened in Ealing, west London.
Officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime within London's black community, are investigating.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We were called at about 2.50pm this afternoon to reports of shots fired in Felix Road, W13. Ourselves and the ambulance service attended.
Residential: Police are hunting a gunman who shot dead a 32-year-old man in this road in Ealing, west London
'A 32-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A woman in her late 20s has gone to a west London hospital where she remains in a critical condition.'
The woman was thought to be suffering gunshot wounds. No arrests have been made in connection with the incident and inquiries are ongoing, the Met spokesman said.
London Ambulance Service said the woman was suffering from a shoulder injury.
A spokeswoman said: 'We were called at 2.43pm to reports of a shooting on Felix Road, Ealing.
The scene on Felix Road, Ealing, where a man was killed in a shooting in Glenpark Court. Another woman suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital
Searching for clues: A police officer carries an evidence bag from the scene
'We sent two ambulance crews, a single responder in a car, London’s air ambulance and one duty manager to the scene.
'Sadly, despite our best efforts, one patient died at the scene. A second patient, who is a female with a shoulder injury, was taken to hospital as a priority.'
Felix Road, a quiet terraced street where flats go for around 170,000, was immediately cordoned off and parents were taken by police escort to pick up their children from St John's Primary School, near where the shooting took place.
A parent described how she walked past the scene with her three-year-old son minutes before the incident happened.
She said: 'I was on my way to Waitrose and I walked down Felix Road. As soon as I was in Waitrose that's when the police arrived, so I must just have missed it.
'The police stopped right outside the school. All of the kids were looking out of the window.
'It was just before the end of the school day so when the parents came to pick their children up they couldn't get to them because of the police cordon.
'They were going to start escorting parents into the school to collect their children.'
She added: 'It's really scary. I was on that side of the road with my young son just moments before. It really is shocking.'
London bombing survivor Martine Wiltshire selected for Paralympics - ITV
A survivor of the July 7 suicide bombings spoke of her joy today at being picked to compete at the London 2012 Paralympics.
Martine Wiltshire, who took up sitting volleyball after losing her legs in the 2005 terror attacks, described her ParalympicsGB selection as "amazing".
"It's a dream, and something that I never, ever thought I'd be doing, and a journey that I never thought I'd be on."
Video report by Lewis Vaughan Jones
"This has been a long journey but it does not stop here, as we now enter our final training phase.
Wiltshire was one of the last people to be pulled from the wreckage of the tube train at Aldgate. She spent 10 days in a coma, and lost both her legs.
She is among the 21 players who make up Britain's first ever men's and women's sitting volleyball teams to compete at a Paralympics.
In July 2005, Wiltshire had been celebrating London winning the right to host the 2012 Games the night before and was running late for work as a marketing manager when she got caught up in the bombings.
"The last thing I was reading on the tube that morning before the bomb went off was about the Olympics," she told ITV News reporter Lewis Vaughan Jones.
Wiltshire feels she is lucky to be alive because she was only 3ft away from one of the bombers and 52 people were killed that day.
Wiltshire tried a taster Paralympic day and fell in love with the team sport of sitting volleyball.
The sport is in its infancy in Britain, potentially putting them at a disadvantage in comparison to their rivals, but with London 2012 on the horizon the team has made a determined push to try and prove they are worth their home nation spot.
ParalympicsGB had only sent a standing volleyball team to compete at the Games before London 2012.
It has meant that an extra focus by the British Paralympic Association and Volleyball England governing bodies so the teams could meet their "credible performance" requirement before being rubber-stamped for a home nation slot.
London trader and wife jailed for insider dealing - Reuters UK
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - A British trader and his wife who helped fund a lavish lifestyle from illegal share dealing, were jailed on Wednesday in a landmark case pursued by prosecutors on both sides of the Atlantic.
James Sanders, who owned and was a director of now-defunct brokerage Blue Index, his wife Miranda and James Swallow, a Blue Index co-director, had last month pleaded guilty to a combined 18 counts of insider dealing between October 2006 and February 2008.
James Sanders, dubbed by Judge Peregrine Simon as "the driving force behind the criminality", was jailed for a record four years. Miranda Sanders - who was tipped off about imminent U.S. takeovers by her sister in America - was jailed for 10 months, as was Swallow.
The striking, sharply-dressed couple, who are both in their mid thirties and have two young children, saw their sentences cut by 25 percent after pleading guilty, although James initially argued his trades were legitimate stock picks.
They held hands while judge Peregrine Simon read out the case against them and kissed after sentencing. Miranda turned to smile and nod encouragingly at a woman in the court room's public gallery, who burst into tears on sentencing.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which brought the UK prosecution, said the three scooped almost 2.0 million pounds in profits from illegal share dealings, while Blue Index clients made around 10.2 million - a precursor to the Sanders' couple selling the business for around 8.0 million.
The FSA, which only started prosecuting notoriously tricky insider dealing cases in 2007 after being criticised for its "light touch" approach to regulation, had pushed for three custodial sentences despite the couple's young family.
"This was a case of systematic abuse by approved people of their privileged position in the market - we are determined to stamp out such abuse," said Tracey McDermott, acting head of enforcement at the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
"No doubt as they prepare to spend their first night behind bars, they will be reflecting on the consequences of their greed. Others, who might be tempted to do the same, should be in no doubt about our continued commitment to use all of the tools at our disposal to tackle those who abuse the market."
NAILED
The FSA was first alerted to possible insider dealing after spotting unusually heavy trade in U.S.-listed staffing services company Kronos ahead of its takeover by private equity house Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners in 2007.
Calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its U.S. peer, the regulator eventually pieced together the links between the Sanders couple and Miranda's San Francisco-based sister and brother-in-law, an M&A partner at accountancy firm Deloitte, "Annie and Arnie" McClellan.
In a tortuous case that involved trawling through 26 million emails and 800,000 phone calls recorded on Blue Index's office lines, regulators focused on dealings in five takeover targets: Kronos, Per Se, aQuantive, ChoicePoint and Getty Images.
McDermott told a journalist briefing there were "whoops of joy" in the FSA's offices when in one recorded telephone call, James Sanders' father Tim asks: "Is this not insider dealing?" James answers: "No, not really. Well ...". When his father laughs and says: "Try proving it", James says: "Yes, exactly".
A consummate trader, James Sanders told a newspaper in 2008 his mantra was: "Buy at the point of maximum fear" after snapping up a 5 million pound property in London's exclusive Kensington district for a 22 percent discount at the height of the credit crunch.
The FSA found what they called his "life plan" in his kitchen, in which he documented his plans to pay off his mortgages and luxury cars and resign from Blue Index by placing one 200,000 pound tip a year.
In a scribbled account, he put aside 100,000 pounds for a "car fund" and 50,000 for a watch, clothes, holidays and wine.
Blue Index was a specialist brokerage of contracts for differences (CFD), a tax-efficient trade that allows dealers to speculate on short-term price fluctuations of assets such as stocks by buying a percentage of their value, or "margin".
The FSA said the insider in the case was Miranda's brother-in-law Arnold McClellan, a senior partner at the San Francisco branch of Deloitte. It said Miranda's sister Annabel or Arnold leaked privileged, price-sensitive information to the British couple about U.S. securities listed in New York.
James Sanders then disclosed information to James Swallow and encouraged Blue Index clients to trade in those stocks.
Annabel McClellan has already been jailed for 11 months without parole and fined $1.0 million after being pursued by the SEC, Department of Justice (DoJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). No charges were brought against Arnold, who has now retired.
James Sanders, meanwhile, has been forced to park the Ferrari and has been disqualified as a director for five years. The court will decide on confiscation orders at a later date.
The FSA, which said it spent "millions" on pursuing the Blue Index case, is prosecuting 11 others for insider dealing - an offence that carries a maximum jail term of 7 years in the UK.
"This case really does demonstrate the FSA's determination to deliver criminal prosecutions for insider dealing," said Tim Dolan, a lawyer at Pinsent Masons.
"While the FSA have still brought relatively few criminal actions, and have not always been successful, results like this should go some way to deterring insider dealing in the future."
(Editing by Douwe Miedema and Jon Loades-Carter)
London stung by U.S. attack on bank regulation record - Reuters UK
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - Calling London a haven of regulatory loopholes that spawns financial trading disasters could make it harder to align new transatlantic rules, figures in London's financial and legal circles said on Wednesday.
Responding to attacks in Congress on London's regulatory record, European policymakers, analysts and industry officials called the American comments ill-advised and politically driven.
"As the old saying goes, it is like the pot calling the kettle black," analysts at Mediobanca said.
A hearing in Congress - on how supervisors failed to spot the buildup of $2 billion (1.27 billion pounds) in derivatives losses at a London unit of U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase & Co - heard a top regulator and MPs describe London as offering a loophole American banks eagerly exploit.
"It seems to be that every big trading disaster happens in London," Carolyn Maloney, a Democratic lawmaker told Tuesday's hearing.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates derivatives, added that U.S. firms, such as the JPMorgan branch in London, were set up abroad to find "lower regulatory regimes".
AIG, the U.S. insurer rescued by U.S. taxpayers, and CitiGroup's special purpose investment vehicle, which kept huge holdings of debt off the bank's balance sheet, were both in London and could put American taxpayers on the hook, Gensler said.
"So often it comes right back here, crashing to our shores," Gensler said, putting London on a par with other offshore centres like the Cayman Islands, a home to some hedge funds.
Yet Britain's Financial Services Authority has repeatedly said JPMorgan operates as a branch in London that is mainly regulated by the U.S. authorities, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency having five of its examiners based in JPMorgan's London building.
The FSA has long admitted its "light touch" pre-crisis regime failed and says it has become one of the toughest regulators in the world. Its top banking supervisor has seen no UK regulatory breaches for now at JPMorgan.
The UK watchdog declined to comment on Tuesday's remarks in Congress.
Mark Boleat, policy committee chairman at the City of London, home to a big chunk of the UK financial services sector, said the comments bring heat but no light and that each country needed to put its regulatory house in order.
"What we need to do, however, is avoid political jousting and to work together to ensure that international regulation is congruent," Boleat said.
NO TOUCH
Anthony Belchambers, chief executive of the Futures and Options Association, said the outburst was extraordinary after the financial crisis was sparked by a "no touch" U.S. regulatory regime towards derivatives and mortgage selling.
Defaults on U.S. home loans in 2007 triggered a global market meltdown, fuelled by the collapse of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers the following year.
"It is simply not helpful to wag fingers at other jurisdictions at a time when we must be thinking of how to establish a coherent framework for regulations across borders," Belchambers said.
The accusations came on the day world leaders met in neighbouring Mexico to congratulate themselves on how well their globally coordinated financial reforms were falling into place.
JPMorgan's losses not only embarrassed the bank but also regulators like the CFTC, which was already under the gun for failing to spot the financial crisis and faces a Congress-inspired budget cut.
The bank's losses coincide with a shift to implementing new rules at a time when there are already suspicions that some countries may try to row back on the detail.
"You would hope that regulators would be working in a more cooperative spirit and that is difficult where there is any lack of trust," said Richard Reid, director of research at the International Centre for Financial Regulation.
This lack of trust has already prompted the financial industry to call on the G20 to redouble efforts to mesh their national rules to avoid extra costs.
Some regulatory over-reach beyond local borders looks unavoidable, as Gensler openly linked concerns about London with his commission's push to get approval for new derivatives rules.
Leaving out the London branches of U.S. banks from the rules would be another loophole and a retreat from reform, Gensler said.
"I hope that the commission will vote ... to get public comment this Thursday so that we don't in essence create another London loophole," Gensler said.
The European Union has been slammed for doing likewise with its new markets and derivatives rules, saying that U.S. firms who want to do business in the 27-country bloc should be complying with "equivalent" rules back home.
"This is just another manifestation of the iron curtain which financial services regulators are raising across the Atlantic," said Simon Gleeson, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance.
(Editing by David Holmes)
London 2012 Festival: An Olympian feat? - BBC News
The London 2012 Festival launches on 21 June. The 12-week Festival is billed as an "explosion of arts and creativity" that runs alongside the London 2012 Olympics.
This Q&A asks why it's happening and looks at what's coming up.
What is the London 2012 Festival?The London 2012 Festival is the grand finale of the Cultural Olympiad, a programme of arts events that have been running since 2008.
The nationwide festival begins on 21 June and runs through to 9 September - the end of the Paralympic Games.
So it's not just about London?No, while there are many events taking place in London, the festival programme features events across the UK.
For example, Deborah Warner's outdoor installation Peace Camp, will see eight glowing encampments appear simultaneously in remote coastal locations, from County Antrim to the tip of Cornwall, from the Isle of Lewis to the Sussex cliffs.
Who are the star names involved?The list goes from Alan Ayckbourn to Jay-Z.
Among the well-known artists taking part are Damon Albarn, Daniel Barenboim, Cate Blanchett, Gustavo Dudamel, Tracey Emin, Stephen Fry, Antony Hegarty, Damien Hirst, Zakir Hussain, Anish Kapoor, Mike Leigh, Baaba Maal, Tim Minchin, The Noisettes, Yoko Ono, Simon Rattle, Rihanna, Scissor Sisters, Wallace and Gromit, Doctor Who, Julie Walters and Ai Wei Wei.
Artistic director of Handspring Puppet Company UK, Mervyn Millar, gave BBC News a glimpse of the creations in the show
According to the organisers, the Festival involves 25,000 artists from all 204 competing Olympic nations in 12,000 events and performances at 900 venues all over the UK.
The programme includes 137 world premieres and 85 UK premieres.
What's happening on the launch day on 21 June?The Festival opens with five headline events.
In Wales, artist Jeremy Deller's life-size inflatable replica of Stonehenge, entitled Sacrilege, will "pop up" at the National Botanical Gardens in Carmarthen.
In Scotland, an open-air concert set against the backdrop of Stirling Castle will be led by superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela who are joined by The Big Noise children from Rapploch.
In Northern Ireland, Londonderry hosts a Peace One Day concert with Pixie Lott, Imelda May, Newton Faulkner, Guillemots and Wonder Villains.
In England, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will present the UK premiere of Weltethos, an epic choral work by Jonathan Harvey.
On the same night French street arts company, Les Commandos Percu, will light up the shores of Windermere in Cumbria with a pyrotechnic show.
What else is happening in the first week?Other events include the unveiling of Yoko Ono's IMAGINE PEACE art installation on London 2012 Live Site screens at outdoor venues throughout the UK.
Australian comedian and musician Tim Minchin performs at The Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall.
There will be the world premiere of Crow, a production based on Ted Hughes' Crow poems, by Handspring Puppet Company UK.
BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend will feature more than 100 acts including Jay-Z, Rihanna, Florence + the Machine, and Jessie J.
Are artists from all the Olympics nations involved?Yes, there are events showcasing performers and artists from all 204 nations.
These include the BT River of Music on the Thames, the Poetry Parnassus at the Southbank Centre, and The World in London - 204 photographic portraits of Londoners, each originating from one of the countries participating in the Games.
Who is running the London 2012 Festival?Royal Opera House executive Tony Hall has been the chairman of the Cultural Olympiad Board since 2009, with Ruth Mackenzie as Festival director from 2010.
What do they say?"When the UK won the bid for the Olympics in 2005, we promised to return to Baron Pierre de Coubertin's original idea of an Olympic Games based on the three pillars of sport, art and education." - Ruth Mackenzie
"With 10 million opportunities to take part in events across the UK for free, this is a festival that everyone can enjoy, try something new and experience art from around the world as part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games celebrations." - Tony Hall
Did someone say free tickets?Organisers are keen to point out there are 10 million free opportunities to take part in the festival.
These include events like the Hackney Weekend (100,000 free tickets) and the Peace One Day concert in Londonderry.
Are tickets going fast?Two days before London 2012 Festival began, organisers revealed that about half of the event's 4m paid-for tickets have been sold.
Another 2.3m free tickets, out of a total 10m, have been snapped up.
What are some of the main attractions?There is a comprehensive list of highlights in this article and you can dig deeper into the schedule on the official London 2012 Festival website.
The BBC's coverage of the festival will be under the spotlight in a special section of its Olympics website.
Haven't some events taken place before 21 June?Yes, some are already over. The Globe to Globe season - in which all 37 of Shakespeare's plays were performed in 37 different languages at Shakespeare's Globe, was officially part of the Festival and finished in early June.
Dance season Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch: World Cities 2012 has started, as has Elevator Repair Service's epic eight-hour production Gatz, a word-for-word staging of Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
What are some of the more quirky events?Where to start?
The Adain Avion project will see a wingless DC-9 aeroplane transformed into a mobile arts space tour around Wales (24 June - 14 July)
A string quartet will play live from four helicopters above Birmingham for the world premiere of Stockhausen opera Mittwoch aus Licht (22 - 25 August)
An artwork inspired by the final scene of The Italian Job will see a full-sized replica coach balanced on the De La Warr pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea.
And Monty Python star Terry Jones and Anne Dudley have created a new children's opera The Owl and the Pussycat that will travel through London's canals.
Let's talk money. Who's paying for all this?Principal Funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor, which is investing £16.6m to support the Cultural Olympiad.
The festival has an overall investment of £55m.
Director Ruth Mackenzie says: "Some of you might think it's a lot, but I assure you, for a 12-week festival over the entire United Kingdom... [it] is a pretty small investment and I hope that when we do the final figures after the festival we are able to demonstrate pretty good value for money."
How will the festival end?Scottish choreographer Michael Clark has been commissioned to create a large-scale, participatory dance event at Glasgow music venue Barrowlands to mark the handover to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
After that Ruth Mackenzie and her team will begin the process of assessing how it all went. It's expected to take several weeks.
With additional reporting by Chi Chi Izundu
London 2012: Will Michael Phelps Add to His Amazing 14 Gold Medals? - YAHOO!
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps took home eight gold medals from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, along with the six he won in Athens in 2004. He's determined to add more at the upcoming London Summer Olympics. First, he needs to qualify for the 2012 American team, so he can then attempt to increase that considerable collection of gold.
Phelps Must Qualify First In Trials
The champion swimmer could qualify for as many as seven individual and three relay events at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials. They're scheduled to be held in Omaha, Nebraska, during the week of June 25 to July 2. Of course, because he has a lot of competition, the tryouts could prove to be an overwhelming challenge for Phelps. However, there's the possibility he could make the team to compete in several individual and relay events.
The Possibilities Are Amazing!
If he qualifies in all of those events, he'll have a chance to win a record 10 gold medals at the London Summer Olympic Games. Although it would be an almost superhuman feat, he could raise his Olympic total to 18 gold medals, by far the most ever won by any athlete in the history of the modern Olympic Games.
What Are The Potential Negatives?
There are some stark facts Michael Phelps must consider. He will celebrate his 27th birthday during the Omaha tryouts. That's the prime of youth for a baseball, football or basketball player, but it can be old for an Olympic swimmer to win a gold medal.
It isn't impossible, because American swimmer Dara Torres shared a gold medal win in the women's medley at age 37 in 2000. More amazing is that she has already qualified for the 2012 Olympics at age 44, and has participated in Olympics since 1992.
Most of Phelps' competitors on the American and other nations' Olympic swimming teams are from five to ten years younger. Also a motivation factor is that he has already made an official announcement that he will retire after the London Olympics.
Conclusion
Michael Phelps has already achieved record-smashing Olympic gold medal honors that any other athlete can only dream about. With his participation in the London Summer Games, he's determined to make one last effort to add to his memorable achievements. Win or lose, he'll still be an all-time great champion.
Olympic and sports fan Freddy Sherman grew up in Philadelphia and went to school with two Olympic medal winners, Kim Gallagher and David Wharton. Watching their skill and determination inspired him. You can follow Freddy on Twitter: @thefredsherman.
More from this contributor:
The Five Greatest Female Olympic Gold Medalists
Try Ascot - in London - The Sun
A London restaurant is running its very own day at the races on Sunday June 23.
The Plough Bar and Kitchen in Clapham, will show all the races on a big screen, from 2.30-5.30pm
So dust off your best suit, fasten your fascinators and jockey for a prime position to watch the dramatic climax, the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, through a pair of Veuve Clicquot sunglasses - free with every bottle of bubbly bought.
Call 020 7585 1844, email ploughevents@youngs.co.uk, or see theploughstjohnshill.co.uk.
ADD mystery to a camping trip by booking one of the new Wild Comfort mobile camping sites in Devon – whose locations are kept secret.
The luxury sites pop up at various locations in the South Hams and exact addresses are only given when booking.
But they are all close to beaches and rivers, the wilds of Dartmoor and the charming towns of Totnes, Kingsbridge, Dartmouth and Salcombe.
They are made up of five sleeping tents, one living room tent, kitchen and hot showers – and you can ask for the kitchen to be stocked on arrival. Prices are from £650 for eight people for one week with short breaks also available from £500. See oneoffplaces.co.uk.
BRITS driving abroad show a worrying lack of regard for road safety.
Twenty-seven per cent are less concerned about breaking speed limits, and 18 per cent take drink-driving less seriously than at home, according to an AXA poll.
And only 49 per cent slap a GB sticker on their vehicle abroad, even though it is required.
IF you need vaccines when abroad. it pays to shop around for the best deal.
There were some large differences in prices at clinics nationwide, when
the appointment and administration fees were added in, research by Airport Parking & Hotels (APH.com) found.
Across the seven clinics surveyed, Doctor Today was the dearest – charging £105 for the cholera inoculation and £63 for rabies.
In contrast, Well-Travelled Clinics charges £30.95 and £61.99 respectively.
The Hospital for Tropical Diseases had the cheapest rabies vaccine of those polled, at just £42.
For a full list of costs see aph.com/travelvaccines.
VISITORS to London will soon be able to get wi-fi while on the Tube.
London Underground have teamed up with Virgin Media to get 120 stations connected by the end of the year.
The first batch of stations are set to get online in July and include Oxford Circus, Camden Town, London Bridge and King’s Cross.
DESPITE the best efforts of the various UK tourist boards this year, it seems as though the days of the staycation could be over.
Research by M&S Money reveals staying in the UK can be 25 per cent more expensive than going abroad.
The cost of a week in London, for those wanting to celebrate the Jubilee and the Olympics in the capital, will set Brits back £1,631, compared with an average £1,298 for a sunny holiday overseas.
Stats from online travel agent On The Beach back up the findings – they have seen a massive increase in bookings for this summer with Spain again leading the way.
Tenerife topped the list of destinations with a year-on-year boost in bookings of 60 per cent, closely followed by Majorca which has increased by 90 per cent.
With hoteliers in Greece slashing prices by some 15 per cent and the low rate of the euro, bookings to the crisis-torn country have risen by 55 per cent. Alistair Daly, marketing director at On The Beach said: “With Britain focusing on the Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympics the UK will be saturated with tourists.
“Our data shows that Brits have chosen to avoid these crowds and take advantage of the reduction on family holidays and guarantee themselves a bit of sun.
“Staycations have taken a back seat in 2012.”
A NEW travel tribe is on the rise – OATs, or Old Age Travellers.
Gatwick Airport polled 1,000 travellers over the age of 70 and found 56 per cent were travelling more now than they did when they were younger.
The airport has now launched a search to find Britain’s oldest traveller.
If you think that’s you, or want to nominate someone, email proof of date of birth, a photo and a line about a favourite travel experience to ukoldesttraveller@gatwick-airport.com before June 29.
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