Headlines:

• More than 100 Million Americans are on welfare in the land of the free
• Veiled French Muslim woman charged with inciting riot
• Iran playing ‘nefarious' role in Syria: Rice
• US drones strikes prompt Pakistan to strengthen ties with Russia
• Rohingya Muslims call world's attention to Myanmar killings

Details:

More than 100 Million Americans are on welfare in the land of the free:

There are more Americans dependent on the federal government than ever before in U.S. history. According to the Survey of Income and Program Participation conducted by the U.S. Census, well over 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government. Many are enrolled in more than one. That is about a third of the entire population of the country. Sadly, that figure does not even include Social Security or Medicare. Today the federal government runs almost 80 different "means-tested welfare programs", and almost all of those programs have experienced substantial growth in recent years. Yes, we will always need a "safety net" for those that cannot take care of themselves, but it is absolutely ridiculous that the federal government is financially supporting one-third of all Americans

Veiled French Muslim woman charged with inciting riot:

A French Muslim woman has been charged with assault and inciting a riot in Lille after she refused a police identification check while wearing a banned full- face veil, a police source reported. The interior ministry reported that since Nicolas Sarkozy's government passed a controversial law banning wearing niqab and burka in all public spaces there have been 91 incidents of women in niqabs being stopped by police outside Paris and nine incidents in the Paris region. The law bans wearing full-face veils in all public spaces, allowing women to wear full-face veils only in their homes, in private vehicle and places of worship. If women are found wearing full-face veils, they face a 150 euro (£130) fine. The law sparked the debates across France, the country with the biggest Muslim population in Europe.

Iran playing ‘nefarious' role in Syria: Rice:

The United States on Thursday accused Iran of playing a "nefarious" role in the Syria conflict, one that strengthens the case for President Bashar al-Assad to be forced out of office. Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations said the alliance of Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and Assad's government, a group that boasts of being the Middle East's "an axis of resistance" was "bad for the region." Rice was speaking to NBC television shortly after Assad met a top Iranian envoy in his war-torn capital this week and as Tehran hosted a conference on the conflict designed to shore up the beleaguered Syrian regime. "They view this as an axis of resistance along with Hezbollah, so there is no question that Iran is playing a nefarious role, not only in Syria but more broadly in the region, actively supporting the Assad regime," she said. "One of the reasons why we are quite clear that the end result must be and will be the departure of Assad, is because this alliance, so to speak, is bad not only for Syria, but it is bad for the region and bad for our interests. "At its hastily-arranged international conference, Iran appealed to Syria's government and armed opposition to open peace talks. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told diplomats from Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela and other nations that Iran opposes "any foreign interference and military intervention in resolving the Syrian crisis." Rice said the United States was wary about imposing a Libya-style no fly zone over Syria even though it wanted to increase support for the opposition. Some Syrian opposition rebels and US politicians have called for a no fly zone and Rice said "none of these potential options have been ruled out." But she told NBC "the reality is that a no-fly zone isn't a simple proposition, it would ultimately involve putting boots on the ground and it would be a very different circumstance than we saw in Libya."

US drones strikes prompt Pakistan to strengthen ties with Russia:

As anti-American sentiment grows in Pakistan, one retired Pakistani General believes it is time for Pakistan and Russia to build stronger ties. With the war in Afghanistan spilling into Pakistan, Brigadier Nadir Mir believes America needs to stop overstepping its bounds. The recent drone attacks in Pakistan have put a strain on the very fragile relationship between the two countries. "The Drone strikes are not only an attack on land but also on Pakistan's sovereignty. They lead to extremism and radicalism, as many innocent people get killed or injured. Pakistan has regularly warned the USA to end Drone strikes. The attacks have resulted in increasing Anti-Americanism. The strikes are counterproductive, they help produce more militants then they kill." Brigadier Nadir Mir told The Voice of Russia. However, the general also believes that America and Pakistan can rekindle their ties, if only to a certain extent. He states that bringing peace to Afghanistan is in a great interest for both countries. "Pakistan and America can rekindle their ties to an extent; the strain in ties is due to US War in Afghanistan spilling over into Pakistan. Efforts should be made for negotiated peace in Afghanistan, a stable but unoccupied Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan, USA, Russia, China and everybody else." He added. Will making a pact with Russia be fruitful for Pakistan? Brigadier Nadir Mir certainly thinks so. "Russia and Pakistan can help create consensus in the entire Central Asian - West Asian regions for peace and Geo-economic bonding." Pakistan clearly is looking to become a major economic player in the world as it aims to bring in support from China and other neighbouring countries.

Rohingya Muslims call world's attention to Myanmar killings:

The central leader of the Rohingya Solidarity Organization of Myanmar, Muhammad Imran Saeed, who is in town to acquaint the people of Pakistan with the on going Muslim-non-Muslim riots in Myanmar (formerly Burma), narrated the atrocities being perpetrated on the Arakan Muslims of Myanmar by the non-Muslim majority. Addressing a Press conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) Thursday afternoon, he said that it was an attempt on the part of the Myanmar government to "eliminate the Rohyinga race" and according to him, 135 mosques had been pulverised. He condemned the attitude of the Bangladesh Government towards the issue and said that instead of sympathising with their persecuted Muslim brothers and sisters, the Bangladesh government was adopting a punitive stance towards them and issuing shoot-at-sight orders in case any Rohingya Muslim was found crossing over into Bangladesh territory. Intikhab Alam Suri, President, Human Rights Network, narrating the sequence of events, said that on My 28, a Buddhist girl embraced Islam and married a Muslim man, which, he said, made the Buddhist community very indignant and they resorted to vengeance by stopping a bus carrying Muslim pilgrims and killing some of them. Regretting the killing of Rohingyas by the Bangladesh Government, and condemning international agencies for their biased stance, he said that when the sectarian killings were taking place in East Timor, the Western powers and UN agencies lost no time in dispatching their aid teams and military personnel. If, he said, the whites were facing such a situation in some part of the world, the western countries lost no time in dispatching their troops. But now that the Muslims were being killed "in such large numbers", all these "self-proclaimed custodians of human rights" were not bothering to even bat an eyelid.