*News and analysis

Pakistani media sources on Saturday reported that the country’s security forces have freed the five Iranian border guards abducted along Iran-Pakistan border on February 6. “Eleven foreign nationals kidnapped by the terrorists were released today in operations conducted by the security forces in Torbat region in (Pakistan’s) Balouchistan province,” Spokesman ...

The United Nations says a total of 703 people were killed in Iraq in February, as the country faces its worst violence in years. The UN mission to Iraq issued the figure on Saturday, which is close to that of January’s death toll of 733.   The figure excluded deaths ...

Religious scholar Allama Taqi Hadi Naqvi was shot dead near board office located in North Nazimabad area in an apparent incident of target killing here Thursday. According to police, the incident took place when four unidentified armed men riding motorbikes opened fire at the rickshaw Allama Naqvi was riding in, ...

In a major boost for Pakistan government, Sunni and Shia religious parties in Pakistan have backed military action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and would observe February 28 as the “Anti-Taliban day”. Islamabad, Feb 27 – The Sunni and Shia religious parties in Pakistan have backed military action against Tehreek-e-Taliban ...

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called on the three branches of the Iranian government to seriously pursue and implement the general policies of the “resistance economy.” “With the endorsement of these policies, people are now waiting for their implementation and the positive effects of the ...

Russia on Tuesday warned Saudi Arabia against supplying Syrian rebels with shoulder-launched missile launchers, saying such a move would endanger security across the Middle East and beyond. The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” by news reports that Saudi Arabia was planning to buy ...

An extended excerpts video with English subtitles of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s recent speech on Martyr’s Day (16/02/2014). In this video, Sayyed Nasrallah puts forward several arguments that demonstrate the necessity of his party’s military involvement in the Syrian war.  

Bulldozers are set to knock down a building in the holy city of Mecca, where Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) is believed to have been born. The demolition of the House of Mawlid is part of a multi-billion-dollar project to build a modern complex near the Masjid al-Haram (Grand ...

Iran plans to build 200,000 houses in Iraq, a senior adviser to the Iranian vice-president announced on Sunday. “Iraq is planning to build 2mln houses for the poor people,” Rostam Qassemi, a former oil minister under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is now an advisor to the first vice-president, said. “And ...

A Syrian opposition leader has praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for expressing support for militants wounded during the conflict in Syria. Muhammad Badie told Israel Radio Friday that the Syrian opposition is grateful to Netanyahu for his February 18 tour to a field hospital in the (occupied) Golan Heights. ...