Syria is preparing to vote on an Internet law that has raised concerns about online media in a country which already keeps a tight control of the Web and where access to at least 240 sites is blocked.
Journalists say the law,
which was approved by the government last week and is awaiting parliament's
rubber stamp, could seriously curtail the online media that has enjoyed greater
freedom than print.
During the past few
years, dozens of news websites have emerged in Syria, and the Internet has
become an important source of information given the state's close scrutiny of
more traditional media.
Reports on sensitive
subjects like a ban in Syrian universities of the niqab, or full-face veil,
which received wide coverage on the Internet, are often absent from newspapers.
And even though the
Internet is often slow in Syria and websites get shut down for specified
periods of time, there is no existing law that regulates online activity.
The new law was
"very severe," said Ayman Abdel Nour, director
of the website all4syria.org, which is edited from Dubai but has numerous
contributors in Syria.
It would allow police to
enter editorial offices to arrest journalists and seize their computers, Abdel Nour told AFP, adding
the arrested journalists would then be hauled before criminal courts.
His website publishes
information on out-of-bounds subjects including the president and his family,
the army and religion. Despite being blocked since 2005, his website gets about
33,000 daily hits thanks to software that allows Syrians to get around
censorship.
Nidal Maalouf, who runs
the pro-government news website Syria-News.com, said that under the new law,
online media would be overseen by the information ministry, which would make it
harder to criticise the government.
But Syrian League for
the Defence of Human Rights (SLDHR) chief Abdel Karim Rihawi said
online censorship is already getting worse.
"More than 240
websites are blocked in Syria and attempts to control the Internet
continue," he said.
In its efforts to stifle
online dissent, the government has targeted the websites of Syrian opposition
parties like the Muslim
Brotherhood, Kurdish minority groups, and human rights
organisations.
But other websites
considered politically hostile to the government, and even social networking
sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, are also proscribed, Rihawi said.
Media rights watchdog
Reporters Without Borders painted a bleak picture of online media freedom in
Syria in a July report, describing it as "one of the more repressive countries"
in terms of Internet censorship.
"Many bloggers have
been harassed by the authorities since the end of 2008 for contributing to
online publications," RSF said.
The group mentioned the
case of Karim Arbaji, a blogger who was arrested by military intelligence
officers in July 2007 and held in pre-trial detention before finally being
sentenced to three years in jail in September 2009 for "publishing
mendacious information liable to weaken the nation?s morale."
Arbaji was freed in
January after representatives of the Christian church in Syria addressed a request to the president,
RSF said.
Another blogger, Firas Saad, was imprisoned in April 2008 for writing
articles critical of the regime and only released in September, said SLDHR's Rihawi.
fecha |
Título |
08/03/2022| |
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08/02/2022| |
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09/05/2020| |
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08/05/2020| |
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29/04/2020| |
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16/03/2020| |
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12/03/2020| |
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10/03/2020| |
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06/03/2020| |
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05/03/2020| |
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02/03/2020| |
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24/02/2020| |
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22/02/2020| |
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18/02/2020| |
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08/02/2020| |
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08/02/2020| |
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29/01/2020| |
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21/01/2020| |
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30/12/2019| |
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28/12/2019| |
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16/12/2019| |
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14/12/2019| |
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25/11/2019| |
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24/11/2019| |
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10/11/2019| |
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23/10/2019| |
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18/10/2019| |
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14/10/2019| |
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29/09/2019| |
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29/08/2019| |
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12/08/2019| |
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10/08/2019| |
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01/08/2019| |
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25/07/2019| |
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22/11/2018| |
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05/11/2018| |
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18/10/2018| |
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17/10/2018| |
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10/10/2018| |
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15/09/2018| |
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11/03/2018| |
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20/02/2018| |
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20/02/2018| |
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28/12/2017| |
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25/08/2017| |
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15/08/2017| |
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04/07/2017| |
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10/05/2017| |
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04/05/2017| |
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17/04/2017| |
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10/03/2017| |
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16/02/2017| |
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30/12/2016| |
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07/12/2016| |
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27/11/2016| |
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21/08/2016| |
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09/07/2016| |
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19/05/2016| |
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18/04/2016| |
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08/04/2016| |
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07/04/2016| |
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05/04/2016| |
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05/04/2016| |
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02/04/2016| |
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01/04/2016| |
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25/12/2015| |
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12/12/2015| |
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19/11/2015| |
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08/10/2015| |
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04/10/2015| |
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08/07/2015| |
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15/06/2015| |
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07/06/2015| |
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17/03/2015| |
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08/10/2014| |
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07/10/2014| |
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06/10/2014| |
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27/08/2014| |
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25/08/2014| |
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25/08/2014| |
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20/06/2014| |
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29/04/2014| |
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28/04/2014| |
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28/04/2014| |
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24/03/2014| |
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29/12/2013| |
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29/12/2013| |
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20/11/2013| |
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20/11/2013| |
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08/11/2013| |
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31/10/2013| |
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27/10/2013| |
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26/10/2013| |
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26/10/2013| |
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15/10/2013| |
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15/10/2013| |
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04/09/2013| |
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24/08/2013| |
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22/08/2013| |
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17/08/2013| |
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15/08/2013| |
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09/08/2013| |
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27/07/2013| |
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26/07/2013| |
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20/07/2013| |
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20/07/2013| |
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20/07/2013| |
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03/07/2013| |
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27/06/2013| |
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14/06/2013| |
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14/06/2013| |
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29/05/2013| |
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15/05/2013| |
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14/05/2013| |
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07/05/2013| |
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27/04/2013| |
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11/03/2013| |
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25/02/2013| |
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24/02/2013| |
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24/01/2013| |
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30/12/2012| |
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15/12/2012| |
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03/12/2012| |
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29/11/2012| |
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17/11/2012| |
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14/11/2012| |
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11/09/2012| |
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27/08/2012| |
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25/08/2012| |
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21/08/2012| |
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17/08/2012| |
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08/08/2012| |
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06/08/2012| |
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01/08/2012| |
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01/08/2012| |
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31/07/2012| |
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31/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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29/07/2012| |
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28/07/2012| |
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28/07/2012| |
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28/07/2012| |
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28/07/2012| |
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27/07/2012| |
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27/07/2012| |
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27/07/2012| |
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27/07/2012| |
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24/07/2012| |
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19/07/2012| |
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18/07/2012| |
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18/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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16/07/2012| |
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13/07/2012| |
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12/07/2012| |
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12/07/2012| |
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10/07/2012| |
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06/07/2012| |
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04/07/2012| |
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04/07/2012| |
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03/07/2012| |
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29/06/2012| |
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18/06/2012| |
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17/06/2012| |
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28/05/2012| |
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22/05/2012| |
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16/05/2012| |
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11/05/2012| |
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10/05/2012| |
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06/05/2012| |
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06/05/2012| |
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05/05/2012| |
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02/05/2012| |
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01/05/2012| |
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30/04/2012| |
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22/04/2012| |
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21/04/2012| |
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20/04/2012| |
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28/03/2012| |
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26/03/2012| |
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19/03/2012| |
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19/03/2012| |
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07/03/2012| |
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07/03/2012| |
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07/03/2012| |
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07/03/2012| |
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06/03/2012| |
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06/03/2012| |
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04/03/2012| |
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04/03/2012| |
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02/03/2012| |
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02/03/2012| |
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02/03/2012| |
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01/03/2012| |
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01/03/2012| |
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01/03/2012| |
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01/03/2012| |
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01/03/2012| |
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01/03/2012| |
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25/02/2012| |
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25/02/2012| |
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25/02/2012| |
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20/02/2012| |
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20/02/2012| |
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20/02/2012| |
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05/11/2011| |
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03/11/2011| |
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25/10/2011| |
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25/10/2011| |
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16/10/2011| |
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15/10/2011| |
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05/10/2011| |
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02/10/2011| |
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01/10/2011| |
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29/09/2011| |
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29/09/2011| |
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29/09/2011| |
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28/09/2011| |
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27/09/2011| |
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26/09/2011| |
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22/09/2011| |
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15/09/2011| |
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08/09/2011| |
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08/09/2011| |
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08/09/2011| |
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08/09/2011| |
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07/09/2011| |
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07/09/2011| |
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01/09/2011| |
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01/09/2011| |
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31/08/2011| |
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31/08/2011| |
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19/08/2011| |
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17/08/2011| |
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12/08/2011| |
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20/07/2011| |
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20/07/2011| |
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18/07/2011| |
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18/07/2011| |
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15/07/2011| |
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15/07/2011| |
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12/07/2011| |
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12/07/2011| |
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03/07/2011| |
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03/07/2011| |
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30/06/2011| |
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30/06/2011| |
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20/06/2011| |
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20/06/2011| |
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16/06/2011| |
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16/06/2011| |
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12/06/2011| |
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12/06/2011| |
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12/06/2011| |
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12/06/2011| |
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11/06/2011| |
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11/06/2011| |
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10/06/2011| |
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10/06/2011| |
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05/06/2011| |
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05/06/2011| |
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26/05/2011| |
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26/05/2011| |
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25/05/2011| |
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25/05/2011| |
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24/05/2011| |
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24/05/2011| |
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21/05/2011| |
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21/05/2011| |
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20/05/2011| |
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20/05/2011| |
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19/05/2011| |
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19/05/2011| |
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18/05/2011| |
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18/05/2011| |
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17/05/2011| |
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17/05/2011| |
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16/05/2011| |
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16/05/2011| |
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16/05/2011| |
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16/05/2011| |
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14/05/2011| |
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14/05/2011| |
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11/05/2011| |
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11/05/2011| |
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09/05/2011| |
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09/05/2011| |
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09/05/2011| |
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09/05/2011| |
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05/05/2011| |
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05/05/2011| |
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29/04/2011| |
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29/04/2011| |
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23/04/2011| |
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23/04/2011| |
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22/04/2011| |
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22/04/2011| |
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21/04/2011| |
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21/04/2011| |
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21/04/2011| |
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21/04/2011| |
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21/04/2011| |
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21/04/2011| |
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20/04/2011| |
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20/04/2011| |
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19/04/2011| |
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19/04/2011| |
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18/04/2011| |
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18/04/2011| |
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18/04/2011| |
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18/04/2011| |
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16/04/2011| |
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16/04/2011| |
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13/04/2011| |
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09/04/2011| |
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07/04/2011| |
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06/04/2011| |
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04/04/2011| |
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04/04/2011| |
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31/03/2011| |
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30/03/2011| |
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29/03/2011| |
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29/03/2011| |
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26/03/2011| |
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24/03/2011| |
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22/03/2011| |
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19/03/2011| |
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13/03/2011| |
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09/03/2011| |
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07/03/2011| |
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04/03/2011| |
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03/03/2011| |
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26/02/2011| |
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25/02/2011| |
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24/02/2011| |
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24/02/2011| |
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22/02/2011| |
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17/02/2011| |
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15/02/2011| |
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23/01/2011| |
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23/01/2011| |
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22/01/2011| |
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21/01/2011| |
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20/01/2011| |
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17/01/2011| |
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13/01/2011| |
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13/01/2011| |
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11/01/2011| |
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07/01/2011| |
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05/01/2011| |
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26/12/2010| |
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26/12/2010| |
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24/12/2010| |
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14/12/2010| |
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30/11/2010| |
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20/11/2010| |
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17/11/2010| |
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11/11/2010| |
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03/11/2010| |
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01/11/2010| |
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22/10/2010| |
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19/10/2010| |
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03/10/2010| |
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03/10/2010| |
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30/09/2010| |
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15/09/2010| |
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24/08/2010| |
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24/08/2010| |
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16/08/2010| |
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16/08/2010| |
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08/08/2010| |
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06/08/2010| |
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02/08/2010| |
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19/07/2010| |
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12/07/2010| |
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09/06/2010| |
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08/06/2010| |
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02/06/2010| |
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27/05/2010| |
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26/05/2010| |
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11/05/2010| |
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07/05/2010| |
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07/05/2010| |
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05/05/2010| |
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04/05/2010| |
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13/04/2010| |
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06/04/2010| |
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02/04/2010| |
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08/03/2010| |
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16/02/2010| |
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11/02/2010| |
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06/02/2010| |
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01/02/2010| |
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31/01/2010| |
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12/01/2010| |
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31/12/2009| |
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28/12/2009| |
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26/12/2009| |
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02/12/2009| |
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02/12/2009| |
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01/12/2009| |
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01/12/2009| |
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28/11/2009| |
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28/11/2009| |
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27/11/2009| |
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27/11/2009| |
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16/11/2009| |
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16/11/2009| |
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15/10/2009| |
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08/10/2009| |
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07/10/2009| |
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05/10/2009| |
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02/10/2009| |
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29/09/2009| |
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18/09/2009| |
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17/09/2009| |
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14/09/2009| |
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11/09/2009| |
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02/09/2009| |
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01/09/2009| |
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30/08/2009| |
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27/08/2009| |
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27/08/2009| |
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18/08/2009| |
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18/08/2009| |
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09/08/2009| |
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09/08/2009| |
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07/08/2009| |
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07/08/2009| |
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06/08/2009| |
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06/08/2009| |
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06/08/2009| |
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06/08/2009| |
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06/08/2009| |
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06/08/2009| |
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04/08/2009| |
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04/08/2009| |
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02/08/2009| |
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02/08/2009| |
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02/08/2009| |
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02/08/2009| |
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02/04/2009| |
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30/03/2009| |
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28/03/2009| |
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28/03/2009| |
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28/03/2009| |
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27/03/2009| |
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26/03/2009| |
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14/03/2009| |
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14/03/2009| |
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04/03/2009| |
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04/03/2009| |
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02/03/2009| |
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02/03/2009| |
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08/02/2008| |
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21/10/2007| |
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26/09/2007| |
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28/06/2007| |
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20/12/2006| |
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20/12/2006| |
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10/12/2006| |
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10/12/2006| |
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01/11/2006| |
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02/06/2006| |
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23/02/2006| |
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29/01/2006| |
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12/01/2006| |
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12/01/2006| |
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04/11/2005| |
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04/06/2005| |
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30/11/1999| |
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