SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Two Iranian warships docked in Port Sudan on Saturday, a witness said, marking the second port call by the Iranian navy in Sudan in five weeks.The Iranian navy said the 1,400 ton frigate Jamaran and the 4,700 ton support ship Bushehr "docked in Port Sudan, after successfully carrying out their assignments in the Red Sea and were greeted by high-ranking Sudanese naval commanders."It did not say how long the warships would stay in port.Khartoum…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- The Arab Film Festival Rotterdam is known as the venue in Europe for independent, critical, daring and innovative films. “Rescue Path”, a Gaza drama produced by Iran’s Sahar Universal Network, has won the Golden Hawk for best feature film at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Egyptian star Nadine Salama also won the best actress award in the movie during the closing ceremony of the festival on December 2 for her portrayal…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – In the days leading up to the religious holiday of Ashura, leading members of the Pakistani Shia community in Pakistan received anonymous text messages warning of violence to come: "Kill, Kill, Shia".In recent years, Ashura - which not long ago throughout the country was an occasion which Sunnis, Shias and others among Pakistan's ethno-religious milieu would commemorate together in harmony - has become an annual flashpoint in Pakistan's increasingly sectarian and violent religious culture. Tragically, and…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The Shiite minority Sunday emerged the main victors in Kuwait's parliamentary polls boycotted by the opposition which considered the new assembly "illegitimate" amid poor voter turnout. Shiite candidates bagged 15 of the 50-seat parliament, their biggest tally ever, as they refused to join calls by the Sunni-dominated opposition to boycott the polls in protest against the amendment of electoral law. Shiites, who form around 30 percent of Kuwait's native population of 1.2 million, had nine seats…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Deeply divided Kuwait opened polling stations Saturday to pick a new parliament that's certain to side with the ruling establishment after a widespread election boycott by opposition groups.The voting underscored the deepening tensions in the strategic Gulf nation, a major oil producer and hub for U.S. ground forces as part of the Pentagon's military counterweight to Iran.Opposition groups — ranging from hardline Islamists to Western-leaning liberals — have already called the new parliament illegitimate…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – A court in Qatar, which has backed Arab uprisings abroad, jailed a poet to life on Thursday for criticising the emir and inciting revolt - a sentence that drew outrage and charges of hypocrisy from human rights groups. In his verses, Muhammad Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami praised the Arab Spring revolts that toppled four dictators, often with the help of money and other support from the tiny, energy-rich Gulf state. But he also criticised Qatar's own…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Kuwait could ban nearly 100,000 of its residents from leaving the country for failing to pay dues owed to the state, local newspaper reported, quoting a senior Justice Ministry official. The policy is part of a government plan to collect nearly 12 million Kuwaiti dinars in fees for the use of state services, or as fines in felony and misdemeanour cases, Thursday's edition of the Kuwait Times quoted Mohammad al-Duaij as saying. From January 2, the…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – A prominent Kuwaiti Shiite lawyer and parliamentary candidate filed an appeal on Tuesday against a one-year jail sentence he was given on charges of insulting Sunni Islam, he said.Khaled Al-Shatti, who is running for parliament in elections on Saturday, said a court had sentenced him on Monday over statements deemed insulting to Sunnis."The sentence was issued with immediate effect. I can be arrested and sent to jail any time now," Shatti said by phone.Mansour…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – An evangelical Christian group in the United States has filed a petition calling for Twitter and the US government to "ban Hamas from Twitter".The group argues that Hamas, the hardline Palestinian group currently ruling the Gaza Strip, is listed as a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation" by the US government, and federal law prohibits providing "material support" to such groups.The group, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), says that "when it comes to Israel's military campaign, there…

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) - Google makes more money from advertising than all U.S. print publications combined, according to a new study from German statistics company Statista. The company found Google generated $20.8 billion in ad revenue in the first six months of 2012, while the whole U.S. print media industry -- newspapers and magazines -- made only $19.2 billion. Statista did note, however, that the comparison is "obviously unfair" and shouldn't be judged scientifically. Google operates globally, while the company…