Tag Archives: 대구 마사지

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“The Simpsons Movie” turned doughnuts into dollars over the weekend, 대구 안마 raking in $71.9 million to debut as the top movie this week.

The big-screen tale of the lovable, if dysfunctional, family rolled over the competition, sending last week’s top movie, Universal Studio’s “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” into second place with $19 million, a 44 percent drop.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” from Warner Bros., fell to third place with $17.1 million, a 48 percent drop from last week. The film has grossed $242 million domestically after three weeks in theaters.

“Homer’s odyssey paid off,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

The film, which featured the antics of yellow-hued Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and a host of motley characters, grossed an average of $18,320 on 3,922 screens across the country and also opened strongly in 70 foreign markets.

“We are ecstatic,” said Chris Aronson, senior vice president for distribution at 20th Century Fox. “It far exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations.”

People magazine assistant managing editor and Early Show entertainment contributor Jess Cagle says the most “The Simpsons Movie” was expected to take in on its debut weekend was $40-50 million.

The hand-drawn movie had the fifth best opening weekend of the year, beating such notable contenders as “Transformers,” from Paramount, “Ghost Rider,” from Sony Pictures and the computer-animated “Ratatouille,” from The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios.

“It’s unprecedented to have the longest-running sitcom of all time still on the air and have it also be the number one movie in theaters,” Dergarabedian said.

Dergarabedian praised the film’s marketing campaign, which included dressing a number of 7-Eleven stores around the country as Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience stores selling such Simpsons’ favorites as Buzz Cola and Squishees.

Cagle also cited the trailer the studio created to publicize the film, which he said was itself a big hit in theaters, and the fact that the plot had been kept secret.

Another factor, according to Cagle: underestimation of the great affection the characters have with the public.

One more: the movie’s PG-13 rating — considered risky, because most animated movies are G or PG. But Cagle says it was a signal to teens that it wasn’t just a kids’ movie, that it was more risque.

Cagle ponts out that “The Simpsons Movie,” along with such films as “Transformers” and the latest Harry Potter movie, have done well enough to turn around a somewhat disappointing summer box office.

The stellar debut of “The Simpsons Movie” helped propel that take. This week’s top-12 films grossed $168.6 million, up a whopping 45 percent from the top 12 last year, which included “Miami Vice” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

The debut was good also news for Fox, which has done well this year with top-grossing films “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.”

The long-awaited film version of the Fox Television show played well across the country and with all age brackets, Fox said Sunday, giving the distributor hope that it will hold its own against next week’s big opener, “The Bourne Ultimatum,” from Universal.

The weekend’s other debuts made the top 10, but lagged far behind “The Simpsons Movie.”

“No Reservations,” the Warner Bros. romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as a gourmet chef, earned $11.8 million.

“I Know Who Killed Me,” a Sony Pictures/Tri-Star thriller starring Lindsay Lohan, debuted in 9th place with a paltry $3.4 million.

“Who’s Your Caddy,” from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, grossed $2.9 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “The Simpsons Movie,” $71.9 million.

2. “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,” $19.1 million.

3. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” $17.1 million.

4. “Hairspray,” $15.6 million.

5. “No Reservations,” $11.8 million.

6. “Transformers,” $11.5 million.

7. “Ratatouille,” $7.2 million.

8. “Live Free or Die Hard,” $5.4 million.

9. “I Know Who Killed Me,” $3.4 million.

10. “Who’s Your Caddy,” $2.9 million.


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“The decision sets a negative precedent that will have implications across Brazil,” said Carlos Nicodemos, who as director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defense of Children and Adolescents had asked the court to block Julia’s participation

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Little Julia Lira is scheduled to perform for the packed Sambadrome stadium – and for millions more around the country via live television – early Monday morning when the Viradouro samba group parades.

“We received the news this morning that the judge will let Julia parade,” Viradouro said spokeswoman Joice Hurtado. “The group is ecstatic that she will be able to samba.”

The Rio state agency for child protection confirmed the ruling and said it would appeal to the Justice Ministry. Calls to Judge Ivone Caetano, who decided the case, were not immediately returned.

Viradouro’s plan to make Julia its Carnival queen has created a stir in Rio and made headlines around the globe, with some child’s rights advocates saying it’s inappropriate for a young girl to be in such a traditionally sexualized role.

“The decision sets a negative precedent that will have implications across Brazil,” said Carlos Nicodemos, who as director 청주 안마 of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defense of Children and Adolescents had asked the court to block Julia’s participation.

Nicodemos said he worries about what message it sends to a nation that has long had a problem with sexual exploitation of children, especially in the lawless Amazon region.

Julia’s father, Marco – who is also the president of Viradouro – has said concerns about the girl’s well-being are overblown. He says the girl will wear a costume that is not too skimpy for a 7-year-old, and both he and his wife will watch her closely to make sure she doesn’t get too tired during the 80-minute parade.

More than just a massive street party, Rio’s Carnival parade is also a fierce competition between 12 top-tier samba “schools” whose winner is hailed by fans across Brazil.

Viradouro, which won the title in 1997, is no stranger to controversy. In 2008, a judge blocked the group from putting a dancer dressed as Adolf Hitler on a float loaded with naked people representing Holocaust victims.


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“As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbiya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside world,” said Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence

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<img src="http://image.baidu.com/search/http:%5C/%5C/b-ssl.duitang.com%5C/uploads%5C/item%5C/201510%5C/09%5C/20151009150834_mk5t4.thumb.224_0.jpeg" alt="吴世勋 151004 7687 k – 58 51215301″ style=”max-width:400px;float:left;padding:10px 10px 10px 0px;border:0px;”>The Treasury Department said it was targeting one person and four companies for penalties over their alleged involvement in producing and spreading weapons of mass destruction. The agency said it was freezing the assets in U.S. jurisdictions of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Rostam Qasemi and four subsidiaries of a previously penalized construction firm that he runs.

The sanctions made public Wednesday expand existing U.S. unilateral penalties against elements of the Guard Corps, or IRGC, which Western intelligence officials believe is spearheading Iran’s nuclear program.

The announcement came as U.S. officials lobby for action at the U.N. Security Council, which has already hit Iran with three sets of sanctions. The Obama White House wants to impose fresh international sanctions over Tehran’s failure to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.

Qasemi commands the Guard Corps’ Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, which Treasury described as its engineering arm that is involved in the construction of streets, tunnels, waterworks, agricultural projects and pipelines. Its profits “are available to support the full range of the IRGC’s illicit activities, including WMD proliferation and support for terrorism,” Treasury said in a statement.

Khatam al-Anbiya was hit with U.S. sanctions by the Bush administration in 2007. Wednesday’s penalties apply to Qasemi and Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries, 청주 마사지 the Fater Engineering Institute, the Imensazen Consultant Engineers Institute, the Makin Institute and the Rahab Institute.

“As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbiya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside world,” said Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

“Today’s action exposing Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries will help firms worldwide avoid business that ultimately benefits the IRGC and its dangerous activities,” he said.

Treasury’s move followed a tough new warning to Iran from President Barack Obama, who said on Tuesday that the country remains on an “unacceptable” path to nuclear weapons, despite its denials, and that the U.S. and like-minded countries would soon present a set of punishing sanctions at the United Nations.

His comments came in response to Iran’s announcement that it was rejecting a deal it provisionally accepted in October under which it would ship low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enriching for use in a Tehran medical research reactor. On Sunday, Iran said it would would produce its own higher-enriched uranium. On Tuesday, Iranian state television said the process began in the presence of inspectors from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

Mr. Obama said he was sticking to a two-track approach: offering to negotiate, while threatening further pressure. He said the world would welcome an Iranian decision to accept U.N. demands that it live up to its nuclear control obligations.

“And if not, then the next step is sanctions,” he said. “They have made their choice so far, although the door is still open. And what we are going to be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions that will indicate to them how isolated they are from the international community as a whole.”

Mr. Obama said that work to broaden the U.N.’s sanctions was moving quickly, but he gave no specific timeline for the presentation of a new resolution. Russia, a traditional opponent of sanctions, appears ready to support new penalties. But another of the council’s five permanent, veto-wielding members, China, which has increasingly close economic ties to Iran, can block a resolution by itself. China has said the time is not yet right for fresh sanctions.


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When they see that their family budget or their personal budget is affected, then they react.” So a broader backlash could be yet to come

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Rattled EU leaders will wrangle Thursday over how to resolve a Greek debt crisis that has shaken the euro and underscored the interconnectedness of the global economy. U.S. and European shares rose on hopes for a rescue plan that might take pressure off a host of eurozone stragglers, including Portugal and Spain.

But German officials said Wednesday there was no urgent need for a bailout at the moment and that “no decision on such help” is imminent. They also said EU rules prohibited them from guaranteeing another country’s debts.

“Of course, we are running through worst-case scenarios,” a German official said on condition of anonymity. “Greece has to present a credible volume of cuts. Agreement on that would be an important signal from tomorrow’s summit.”

Greece has come under intense EU pressure to slash spending after it revealed a massive and previously undeclared budget shortfall last year that continues to rattle financial markets and the euro, the currency shared by 16 EU members. Its deficit spiraled to above 12 percent of economic output – more than four times the eurozone limit – in 2009.

Prime Minister George Papandreou’s new government has announced sweeping spending cuts that will freeze salaries and new hiring, cut bonuses and stipends and increase the average retirement age by two years to 63. The government also announced new taxes, which it insists will increase the burden on the rich but safeguard the poor.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who was in Paris Wednesday to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, insisted Athens is not asking for a bailout.

“We have not asked for help,” he told Greek reporters in a briefing after his meeting with Sarkozy. “We have said that we just want you to support our will, the credibility of our country in the implementation of this program.”

Speaking earlier, just after his meeting with Sarkozy, Papandreou insisted that “We are absolutely decided that the stability program will be implemented in every measure.”

“We are ready to take any necessary measures to make sure the deficit goal is met,” he said.

Papandreou has faced pressure from unions, with civil servants walking off the job Wednesday in the first tangible widespread backlash against the new austerity measures.

“It’s a war against workers and we will answer with war, with constant struggles until this policy is overturned,” said Christos Katsiotis, a representative of a communist-party affiliated labor 강남 안마 union.

Yet despite the harsh rhetoric, turnout for demonstrations was relatively low, with less than 10,000 strikers and pensioners braving windy, drizzly weather in Athens. There was only one reported incident of mild tension, when police used a small amount of tear gas to stop strikers from using a garbage truck to break through a security cordon and join the main demonstration. But the incident was quickly over, and the march ended peacefully. Another 3,000 people showed up for two rallies in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city.

Although a much broader strike is planned for Feb. 24, in a country that has seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets in the past, it was an indication that many Greeks realize urgent action is needed to save the economy, no matter how painful.

“In general, there’s a dynamic developing in favor of the implementation of measures because it’s clear that the country is on the verge of bankruptcy, and if this negative dynamic isn’t controlled, we’re going to pay a huge social and financial price,” said political analyst and publisher Giorgos Kyrtsos.

Recent opinion polls have shown widespread support for freezing the pay of the country’s roughly 27,000 civil servants – whom many consider to be cosseted with various stipends, bonuses, chances of early retirement and lifetime job guarantees.

One weekend newspaper survey showed 70 percent of Greeks backed Papandreou’s call to cut civil servants’ pay and perks, although they opposed measures that would affect them individually such as new taxes or a higher retirement age.

“This is a Greek phenomenon,” Kyrtsos said. “Everyone accepts the measures that don’t affect them. When they see that their family budget or their personal budget is affected, then they react.”

So a broader backlash could be yet to come. The Feb. 24 strike promises to be broader than Wednesday’s, with both civil servants and private-sector workers walking off the job. Taxi drivers have declared a separate strike, for Thursday.

“We will have to wait to see how public opinion develops and how the government reacts to the first negative opinion polls,” Kyrtsos said.

Papandreou’s Socialists came to power last October and enjoy a strong majority of 160 seats in the 300-member Parliament, compared to the conservative opposition’s 91. The government has already faced down a protest by farmers, who demanded higher subsidy payments and staged tractor blockades on Greek highways for nearly three weeks.

European governments were initially reluctant to dig Greece out of a debt crisis it created itself – but now appear ready to help after market concerns intensified in recent days, dragging the euro down to an eight-month low against the U.S. dollar and hitting stocks worldwide.

The head of France’s national assembly, Bernard Accoyer, said Wednesday that European countries needed to show solidarity with Greece.

“The reality is obvious to everyone. The issue is not to let Greece go bankrupt,” he said.

European stocks closed up, and the spread, or interest rate difference, between Greek and benchmark German bonds narrowed, indicating less fears of Greek default in the bond market.

Markets are looking for more from EU leaders – a concrete plan on what EU nations would do if Greece were near default, which would hurt the euro, harm Europe’s already battered banking system and raise borrowing costs for governments across the continent.

Stephen Lewis, an analyst at Monument Securities, said financial markets “are taking it for granted that support will be forthcoming and would probably react negatively if the summit’s outcome fell short of expectations.”


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At a session of a nonfiction writers’ conference in Dallas on Saturday, she accused Winfrey of “fiercely bad manners” and said she would have done nothing differently in how she handled Frey’s manuscript

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3 months agoThe book was a best-seller after Winfrey chose it for her book club in fall 2005. Frey later acknowledged that the memoir contained many fictitious episodes, and Winfrey, who initially defended the author, denounced him in person on her TV show.

Nan A. Talese was with Frey on that show. At a session of a nonfiction writers’ conference in Dallas on Saturday, she accused Winfrey of “fiercely bad manners” and said she would have done nothing differently in how she handled Frey’s manuscript.

“I’m afraid I’m unapologetic of the whole thing. And the only person who should be apologetic is Oprah Winfrey,” Talese said, according to The Dallas Morning News.

As for Frey’s use of fictitious elements in his ostensibly factual account of addiction and recovery, Talese said: “When someone starts out and says, ‘I have been an alcoholic. I have lied. I have cheated.’ … You do not think this is going to be the New Testament.”

A judge approved a tentative settlement in May, calling for publishing house Random House and 전주 마사지 Frey to refund $2.35 million to those who bought his book before his appearance on Winfrey’s show.


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The group is also working with other groups to put children who are alone into facilities where they can receive food, water and psychological help, she said

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The head of UNICEF warned Tuesday that people may still be trying to smuggle children out of Haiti and said protecting youngsters who survived the earthquake is the top concern of the U.N. children’s agency.

Ann Veneman said in an interview with The Associated Press that UNICEF is starting a program to identify children who lost or can’t find their parents. The group is also working with other groups to put children who are alone into facilities where they can receive food, water and psychological help, she said.

“This is a children’s emergency,” she said.

Complete Coverage: Devastation in Haiti Haiti Quake: How You can Help

Veneman, who visited Haiti last week, said in every humanitarian crisis there’s a risk that children will be trafficked out of the country for sexual exploitation, 청주 안마 adoption, child labor or other illegal purposes. In Haiti, she said, “this is a big concern.”

Last week, 10 Americans were charged with kidnapping and criminal association for trying to take 33 children into the neighboring Dominican Republic on Jan. 29 without proper documentation. The Baptist missionaries say they were heading to a Dominican orphanage following Haiti’s devastating quake, and had only good intentions.

Veneman said UNICEF has learned of some other instances “where there is concern that children may not have (had) the necessary documents when they left.”

At the airport in Port-au-Prince and the border with the Dominican Republic, specially trained officials are now checking documents, which Veneman said should make a difference.

Veneman declined to comment on the detained Americans, saying the judicial system in Haiti is handling the case: “I think we need to await the outcome of those proceedings,” she said.

Veneman said Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive expressed concern at the massive media attention directed at the detained Americans.

“As the prime minister said to me in a meeting with him, `I spend so much of my time answering questions about these 10 Americans when I have 2 million people in need here,”‘ the UNICEF chief said,

Even before the Americans were detained, fears that child traffickers would take advantage of the chaos following the quake led Bellerive to announce that all foreign adoptions would need his personal approval.

Veneman said there is no estimate of the number of children left alone as a result of the Jan. 12 quake. Before it struck, there were between 300,000 and 350,000 children in residential care facilities but many were left by parents too poor to take care of them, she said.

Veneman said some care facilities and orphanages collapsed in the quake, killing children, though nobody has any figures.

Many children lost their parents, and most have now been put “into some kind of safe place,” including residential care facilities like an SOS children’s village, she said.

“The primary concern is protection of children — making sure they have shelter, food, water, the basic necessities and care,” Veneman said.

UNICEF has begun a program to to give children some kind of identity — such as an arm band — to make sure that as the process goes through they can then reunite them with family members.

“This is really the goal, to reunite any unaccompanied children with family members,” she said.

According to population estimates, 38 percent of Haiti’s nine million people are under the age of 15 and about 45 percent are 18 and under, Veneman said.


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“So, if he’s alive, why is he doing so now when there’s so much speculation about his demise?” The U.S

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2 months agoIn messages to The Associated Press on Wednesday, the officials did not provide details of how or when Hakimullah Mehsud died. But it was the first time Pakistani authorities have categorically said the militant chief is dead.

The intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the record.

Rumors of Mehsud’s death have swirled for weeks, after a spate of U.S. missiles hit his stronghold in Pakistan’s northwest in mid-January. Mehsud was said to have died of wounds suffered in one of the strikes.

The Taliban have denied his death, but have failed to prove that he is alive.

A U.S. counterterrorism official told CBS News correspondent Bob Orr late Tuesday that “the onus is really on the Pakistani Taliban” to prove he’s not dead.

“Hakimullah certainly hasn’t shied away from the terrorist limelight before,” the official said, referring to Mehsud’s previous appearances in Taliban propaganda videos. “So, if he’s alive, why is he doing so now when there’s so much speculation about his demise?”

The U.S. has yet to officially confirm the death of Mehsud, who commands an al Qaeda-allied movement that is blamed for scores of suicide bombings and is suspected in a deadly attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan late last year.

His death would represent a major victory for 대전 마사지 Pakistan’s government and its allies in the West over the Islamic militant groups which operate along the border with Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, a U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, told the AP that American officials had reached the conclusion that Mehsud was likely dead based on collective information of U.S. intelligence agencies.


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“As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbiya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside world,” said Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence

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The Treasury Department said it was targeting one person and four companies for penalties over their alleged involvement in producing and spreading weapons of mass destruction. The agency said it was freezing the assets in U.S. jurisdictions of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Rostam Qasemi and four subsidiaries of a previously penalized construction firm that he runs.

5 months agoThe sanctions made public Wednesday expand existing U.S. unilateral penalties against elements of the Guard Corps, or IRGC, which Western intelligence officials believe is spearheading Iran’s nuclear program.

The announcement came as U.S. officials lobby for action at the U.N. Security Council, which has already hit Iran with three sets of sanctions. The Obama White House wants to impose fresh international sanctions over Tehran’s failure to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.

Qasemi commands the Guard Corps’ Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, which Treasury described as its engineering arm that is involved in the construction of streets, tunnels, waterworks, agricultural projects and pipelines. Its profits “are available to support the full range of the IRGC’s illicit activities, including WMD proliferation and support for terrorism,” Treasury said in a statement.

Khatam al-Anbiya was hit with U.S. sanctions by the Bush administration in 2007. Wednesday’s penalties apply to Qasemi and Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries, the Fater Engineering Institute, the Imensazen Consultant Engineers Institute, the Makin Institute and the Rahab Institute.

“As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbiya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside world,” said Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

“Today’s action exposing Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries will help firms worldwide avoid business that ultimately benefits the IRGC and its dangerous activities,” he said.

Treasury’s move followed a tough new warning to Iran from President Barack Obama, who said on Tuesday that the country remains on an “unacceptable” path to nuclear weapons, despite its denials, and that the U.S. and like-minded countries would soon present a set of punishing sanctions at the United Nations.

His comments came in response to Iran’s announcement that it was rejecting a deal it provisionally accepted in October under which it would ship low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enriching for use in a Tehran medical research reactor. On Sunday, Iran said it would would produce its own higher-enriched uranium. On Tuesday, Iranian state television said the process began in the presence of inspectors from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

Mr. Obama said he was sticking to a two-track approach: offering to negotiate, while threatening further pressure. He said the world would welcome an Iranian decision to accept U.N. demands that it live up to its nuclear control obligations.

“And if not, then the next step is sanctions,” he said. “They have made their choice so far, although the door is still open. And what we are going to be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions that will indicate to them how isolated they are from the international community as a whole.”

Mr. Obama said that work to broaden the U.N.’s sanctions was moving quickly, but he gave no specific timeline for the presentation of a new resolution. Russia, a traditional opponent of sanctions, appears ready to support new penalties. But another of the council’s five permanent, veto-wielding members, China, which has increasingly close economic ties to Iran, can block a resolution by itself. China has said the time is not yet right for 청주 안마 fresh sanctions.


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Another army official said the helicopter’s pilot and gunner are missing and feared dead

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The attack came on the day the country’s top civilian security official told the Associated Press that . It was the government’s first categorical confirmation of the death of the feared militant, whose passing is likely to weaken, but not vanquish, the al Qaeda-linked insurgent network he led.

ㅁ천안오피 대전오피 청주오피 오창오피 수원오피 화성오피 당진오피 평택오피 아산오피 진천오피 두정동오피 성정동오피 불당동오피 충남오피○ ㅁ천안안마 대전안마 청주안마 오창안마 수원안마 화성안마 당진안마 평택안마 아산안마 진천안마 두정동안마 성정동안마 불당동안마 충남안마○ ㅁ천안출장 대전출장 청주출장 오창출장 수원출장 화성출장 당진출장 평택출장 아산출장 진천출장 두정동출장 성정동출장 불당동출장 충남출장○The suicide bomber who attacked police in Pakistan’s Khyber tribal area Wednesday was able to get inside their vehicle before detonating his explosives, said local tribesman Izzakhana Afridi, who witnessed the bombing.

“I saw him running and jumping into the Khasadar vehicle and then an explosion pushed me down to the ground some 50 yards away,” said Afridi, using the official name of the tribal police.

Rasheed Khan, a local government official, said the blast killed 10 policemen, six civilians and one paramilitary officer.

Police official Ibrahim Khan, who survived the explosion because he was outside the vehicle, said the blast also injured about a dozen other civilians.

“I was about 30 yards away when a huge explosion occurred and I fell on the ground,” said Khan. “I looked back and found our vehicle destroyed and my colleagues in a pool of blood.”

No group has claimed responsibility, but Taliban militants often target Pakistani security forces.

Reports of Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud’s death emerged after a spate of U.S. missiles hit his stronghold in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt in mid-January. Mehsud was said to have died of wounds suffered in one of the strikes in the Waziristan region – another big victory for the CIA-led missile campaign that killed Mehsud’s predecessor just six months ago.

The Taliban have repeatedly denied his death, but backed off an initial promise to prove the 28-year-old was still alive. The militant group also denied his predecessor’s death for weeks until the succession question was settled.

In a response to an AP query, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, wrote, “Yes, he is dead.” A senior intelligence official concurred separately. Neither gave details as to when or 부산 마사지 how the militant died.

The intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

In late January, a tribal elder told the AP that he attended Mehsud’s funeral in the Mamuzai area of the Orakzai tribal region after Mehsud died at his in-laws’ home. Some local media reports, citing unnamed Taliban sources, said Mehsud died more recently in the Multan area of central Pakistan on his way to receive medical treatment in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi.

In the first few days after the mid-January missile strikes, the Taliban released a pair of audiotapes believed to carry Mehsud’s voice, in which he insisted he was fine. They have stopped offering additional evidence, one reason U.S. counterterrorism officials also are increasingly certain he died.

Still, Mehsud has been mistakenly reported dead before.

After his predecessor, fellow tribesman Baitullah Mehsud, died in an August missile strike, the Pakistani interior minister was among those who claimed Hakimullah was killed in a succession struggle. But the militant met with reporters, on camera, in the weeks afterward and went on to lead a surge of bomb attacks across the country that left more than 600 people dead.

Hakimullah Mehsud has been considered a particularly ruthless Taliban fighter with grand ambitions.

He appeared in a video with a Jordanian suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees in eastern Afghanistan. After that Dec. 30 attack, the U.S. temporarily ramped up its missile campaign in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

There are reports that commanders already are lining up to vie for his position as Taliban chief.

Among the potential successors are Waliur Rehman, the deputy Taliban commander who oversaw operations in the South Waziristan region. The Pakistani army is waging an offensive in that Afghan border area against the group that has damaged much of its infrastructure.

Another name being floated is that of Maulvi Toofan, a Taliban commander reported to be based in Orakzai, a region gaining importance as militants flee there from South Waziristan.

Malik, the interior minister, also said Wednesday that Pakistan is investigating reports that Qari Hussain, another Hakimullah deputy, had also been killed. If confirmed, Hussain’s death would be a significant blow to the group because he was in charge of training suicide bombers and had close ties to other militant networks.

Analysts say a potential succession struggle in the wake of Mehsud’s death could temporarily weaken the Pakistani Taliban but not cripple its ability to carry out deadly attacks.

The Taliban’s campaign of bomb attacks in towns and cities across Pakistan had eased in recent weeks, although 34 people were killed in twin bombings in Karachi last Friday.

Also Wednesday, a Pakistani army Cobra helicopter gunship crashed in the remote Tirah Valley of Pakistan’s Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said.

Another army official said the helicopter’s pilot and gunner are missing and feared dead. He said the crash appeared to have been caused by either bad weather or a mechanical failure. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.


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More than just a massive street party, Rio’s Carnival parade is also a fierce competition between 12 top-tier samba “schools” whose winner is hailed by fans across Brazil

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Little Julia Lira is scheduled to perform for the packed Sambadrome stadium – and for millions more around the country via live television – early Monday morning when the Viradouro samba group parades.

“We received the news this morning that the judge will let Julia parade,” Viradouro said spokeswoman Joice Hurtado. “The group is ecstatic that she will be able to samba.”

The Rio state agency for child protection confirmed the ruling and said it would appeal to the Justice Ministry. Calls to Judge Ivone Caetano, who decided the case, were not immediately returned.

Viradouro’s plan to make Julia its Carnival queen has created a stir in Rio and made headlines around the globe, with some child’s rights advocates saying it’s inappropriate for a young girl to be in such a traditionally sexualized role.

“The decision sets a negative precedent that will have implications across Brazil,” said Carlos Nicodemos, who as director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for 전주 안마 the Defense of Children and Adolescents had asked the court to block Julia’s participation.

Nicodemos said he worries about what message it sends to a nation that has long had a problem with sexual exploitation of children, especially in the lawless Amazon region.

Julia’s father, Marco – who is also the president of Viradouro – has said concerns about the girl’s well-being are overblown. He says the girl will wear a costume that is not too skimpy for a 7-year-old, and both he and his wife will watch her closely to make sure she doesn’t get too tired during the 80-minute parade.

More than just a massive street party, Rio’s Carnival parade is also a fierce competition between 12 top-tier samba “schools” whose winner is hailed by fans across Brazil.

Viradouro, which won the title in 1997, is no stranger to controversy. In 2008, a judge blocked the group from putting a dancer dressed as Adolf Hitler on a float loaded with naked people representing Holocaust victims.


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