SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –Sheikh Afif Nablesi, the renowned religious scholar of Lebanon cut any tie between the divine religion of Islam and the excommunicator (Takfiri) fatwas (religious decree) issued by some Wahhabi extremist scholars. Some of Wahhabis scholars through issuing some Fatwas are bent on blemishing the name of Islam; given that the revered Lebanese religious cleric, Sheikh Afif Nablesi chastised the so-called clerics for such moves. He underscored the very measures are detached from Islamic teachings and instructions…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – A leading international human rights group has accused Burmese authorities of waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in western Burma by displacing them from their areas and denying them access to humanitarian aid. “The Burmese government engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya that continues today through the denial of aid and restrictions on movement,” Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s Asian deputy director, said in a statement obtained…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –A new report says Jordan has given the go-ahead to Tel Aviv to use its airspace for spying on Syria and attacking its industrial facilities. French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Monday that Jordan has opened two corridors in its airspace to Israeli Air Force drones seeking to monitor the ongoing conflict in Syria. Quoting western military officials in the Middle East, the report added that the Israeli drones “can hit a target anywhere in…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –The hospitalized Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was charged Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction – and the White House said he will be tried in a civilian court. “He will not be treated as an enemy combatant. We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. “Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions. And it is important…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) - The prospect of Formula One cutting its ties with Bahrain appears increasingly unlikely after Bernie Ecclestone indicated that a new five-year contract could be awarded to organisers of the country’s controversial grand prix. This year’s race again went ahead against a troubled backdrop as pro-democracy demonstrators staged marches and protests in their quest for reform in the light of the country’s miserable human rights record. The more violent element, primarily the radical February 14…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck in the Mexican state of Michoacan on Sunday night, causing buildings to sway 200 miles away in Mexico City. Some people evacuated buildings in the capital, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. State officials in Michoacan also said they had no reports of casualties or damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was about 23 miles northeast of the Pacific port of Lazaro Cardenas. That…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – A major U.S. arms deal with Israel sends a “very clear signal” to Tehran that military action remains an option to stop it from going nuclear, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters on Sunday. Asked if a multi-billion dollar arms package with Israel was designed to convey a message that a military strike remains an option, he said: “I don't think there's any question that's another very clear signal to Iran.” Hagel was…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Horacio Cartes of the Colorado Party has been declared the winner of Paraguay's presidential elections by the South American country's electoral board. Efrain Alegre, 50, a lawyer and career politician in the ruling Liberal Party, conceded defeat after several exit polls predicted a big win for his rival, 56-year-old Cartes, a millionaire businessman, in Sunday's election. The country's electoral tribunal said citing results from 35 percent of polling stations that Cartes - with 46.1…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) - An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale has struck the eastern coast of Russia, the US Geological Survey says. www.shafaqna.com/English  

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – At least 28 people have been killed in a 6.6 magnitude earthquake which struck the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, the official China News Service reported. The quake hit just after 8am (0000 GMT) on Saturday and was felt in the provincial capital of Chengdu 110 kilometres to the east, the state news agency Xinhua reported. Sichuan, like neighbouring areas, is prone to such tremors and saw one of the country's worst quakes in…