SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The Anonymous hacking group says it has hacked into the website of Israel‘s Mossad spy agency, gaining access to top-secret documents. The Internet hacking group said on its twitter page that it gained access to the personal data of more than 30,000 Israeli officials, including military officials, politicians and Mossad agents, and that it will release the information gradually. Hacking group Anonymous has launched a series of cyber attacks against Israeli websites since November…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Last month's revelation that North Korea would start offering a tourist-only 3G data service was hailed as a sign that the isolated nation may be loosening its grip on the internet, and even more so when it turned out that the access would be uncensored. Unfortunately, though, it appears that the regime may have had a change of heart — North Korea Tech spotted a message on travel agent Koryo Tours' website noting that…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – This is the second of a two-part article. The first part on Fernando Botero was posted on June 4, 2005. Other than Fernando Botero, the only artist to have received significant attention for depicting the war in Iraq is Steve Mumford (American, b. 1960). However, his work is the antithesis of Botero’s. Instead of taking a significant aspect of the war—in Botero’s case, the abuse of Iraqi prisoner’s at Abu Ghraib—and using his imagination…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, whose body was found in the locked bathroom of his luxury mansion near London over the weekend, died by hanging, British police said on Monday. An autopsy showed no signs of a violent struggle but further tests would be carried out, including toxicology and histology examinations, police said. Once known as the grey cardinal of Kremlin politics, the former billionaire power broker helped Vladimir Putin come to power before fleeing…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Boeing conducted a test flight of its 787 Dreamliner today to analyze how the aircraft's redesigned battery system performed in the air. The two-hour test flight, which departed Paine Field in Everett, Wash., around noon today, is the first step in confirming that the systems perform as designed to allow the grounded aircraft to return to service, Boeing said in a statement. The crew of six onboard during the flight performed a variety of…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Afghanistan has taken full control of Bagram military prison from the US, as US-led forces wind down more than a decade of war. The handover on Monday follows an agreement reached after a week of negotiations between US and Afghan officials, which includes assurances that inmates who "pose a danger" to Afghans and international forces will continue to be detained under Afghan law. The move came as John Kerry, the US secretary of state,…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Attending the elusive Bohemian Grove retreat should be a priority for former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, News Corp executive Andrew Knight allegedly writes in an email to US Gen. Colin Powell obtained by RT. The mysterious computer hacker known only as Guccifer has once again supplied RT with a trove of presumed personal emails in which the private correspondence between some of the world’s most influential men is put under the looking glass.…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Guatemala City on Monday, but residents said they barely felt the temblor and authorities had no immediate reports of damages or deaths. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was located 4 miles (6 kilometers) northwest of San Jose Pinula and had a depth of 200 kilometers (124 miles). "So far we have received no reports of damage and we're monitoring nationwide," said Mario Cruz, a spokesman for…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –A senior Iranian lawmaker has scoffed at US offer of direct talks with Iran, saying Washington has never sought to negotiate with Tehran “on an equal footing,” but is bent on taking revenge on the Islamic Republic. “The Americans have always followed a dual policy towards us. For example, they say they are after negotiations with Iran, on the one hand, while intensifying sanctions against Iran, on the other,” member of Iran Majlis Presiding Board…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The Saudi Arabian government has threatened to ban the use of instant messaging applications because of failure to control them, Saudi media reveal. It comes a month after the minister for media and culture confirmed censorship of Twitter. “The Communications and Information Technology Commission has requested companies operating the applications to meet the regulatory requirements to avoid their suspension in the kingdom,” sources told Saudi news site Sabq. “The commission is now coordinating with…