SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye has vowed "strong retaliation" to any provocation by North Korea, after Pyongyang declared it was formally at war with Seoul. Meeting senior military officials and Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Monday, Park said: "If there is any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations." Meanwhile, the White House played down the North's threat, saying that despite…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –The decision to withdraw from the United Nations Convention on Desertification is the latest but regrettably likely not the last move to distance Canada from the world body. There is a disappearing character to contemporary Canadian multilateral diplomacy. Like Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat, soon all that may remain of our country at the UN is a grin or, more accurately, a scowl. Following the Harper government’s failure in 2010 to win a Canadian seat on…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -  A stunning 80 percent of U.S. teenagers are eating diets that put them on a clear path to heart disease, researchers reported on Monday. They're eating too much fat, salt and sugar and not eating enough fruits and ...80 Percent of U.S. Adolescents have Poor Diet, Leading Cause of Health ...Science World Report Unhealthy Teens Could Lead to Rise in Heart-Disease Rates TIMEUS Teenagers' Unhealthy Lifestyles a Risk Factor for Future Health Complications Nature.…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -  A stunning 80 percent of U.S. teenagers are eating diets that put them on a clear path to heart disease, researchers reported on Monday. They're eating too much fat, salt and sugar and not eating enough fruits and ...80 Percent of U.S. Adolescents have Poor Diet, Leading Cause of Health ...Science World Report Unhealthy Teens Could Lead to Rise in Heart-Disease Rates TIMEUS Teenagers' Unhealthy Lifestyles a Risk Factor for Future Health Complications Nature.…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Malian soldiers backed by French fighter jets are battling fighters in Timbuktu after they used a car bomb as cover to infiltrate the northern desert city, sources say. A Malian soldier and three rebel fighters were believed to have been killed in Sunday's fighting in the ancient Saharan trading hub 1,000km north of the capital Bamako. A Mali government communique issued on Sunday evening said at least one Malian soldier was killed and four…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas signed on Sunday an agreement confirming their “common goal to defending” Jerusalem and its sacred sites against attempts to Judaise the Holy City. A statement by the palace said the deal confirms Jordan’s historic role as custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, particularly the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, and outlines coordination between the two sides. “In this historic agreement, Abbas reiterated that the king…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Wondering who has won a Google Glass? Stanford PhD student Andrej Karpathy has used Twitter’s API to compile a partial list of the so far close to 4,000 winners of Google’s Glass Explorers first adopter competition who applied to buy the high tech specs via Twitter. Google still hasn’t confirmed that the last Glass winners have been named yet so there may yet be a few more invites to go out. Update: Karpathy’s list has now been updated to 4238…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Kenya's chief justice has announced that the country's Supreme Court has upheld the result of the country's March 4 presidential poll, won by Uhuru Kenyatta. The six-member bench in Nairobi was hearing legal challenges to Kenyatta's win lodged by the opposition, led by Raila Odinga, the former prime minister who finished second in the poll. At least two people were killed and six wounded in clashes in the western town of Kisumu following the…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – An attorney representing thirteen hunger striking prisoners at the United States’ infamous Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba has said the inmates are prepared to die unless the US military stops disrespecting the Holy Qur’an. "It's the ultimate expression of desperation," David Remes said on Saturday. "It's a matter of personal autonomy... the detainees are determined to take it all the way unless the military stops searching their Qur’ans." Remes said that the hunger strikers…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – It's a case that could make you think twice before leaving your footwear unattended. Japanese police say they have arrested a man over allegations he tried to kill a female colleague by putting hydrofluoric acid, a highly corrosive chemical, in her shoes. The alleged attack, which police say took place in December, caused gangrene to develop in the toes of the woman's left foot. To deal with the problem, doctors had to remove the…