Rafiq A. Tschannen is a Swiss national. He converted to Islam and joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at the age of 16 after reading the German translation of the Holy Qur'an. He worked in 15 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, first as Finance Director in the private industry and later as Chief Executive Officer of NGOs and International Governmental Organizations. He is now devoting his time to The Muslim Times as Editor for Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Switzerland and as Associate Chief Editor.
Reuters International SEP 17, 2016 – Syrian army soldiers stand at the entrance of the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, before the start of evacuation of residents and insurgents of Daraya, Syria August 26, 2016. The Arabic on the wall reads, “Assad’s men passed from here”. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki (reuters_tickers) […]
‘Neither the UK homeland nor a deployed force could be protected from a concerted Russian air effort,’ says retired general Jacob Furedi 7 hours ago 297 comments Russian tanks in Moscow’s Red Square Getty The United Kingdom’s armed forces have “withered” and would not be able to defend the country against […]
Mirror Jeff Parsons Stephen Hawking has tackled the mysteries of the universe his entire life. Now the world-renowned scientist has some new things to say about a potential alien invasion . “If aliens visit us, the outcome could be much like when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out […]
REPORT from Amnesty International Published on 19 May 2016 —View Original Download PDF (591.6 KB) New “Refugees Welcome Index” shows government refugee policies out of touch with public –China, Germany, UK top index measuring public acceptance of refugees; Russia bottom – Globally, 1 in 10 would let refugees stay in […]
Exclusive: Pressure on UK and US roles in war set to increase as survey shows school buildings and hospitals among targets A boy walks through ruins of a school and bowling club hit by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Sana’a. Photograph: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images Ewen MacAskill and Paul Torpey Friday […]
COMMUNITIES Switzerland: Jenish and Sinti fully recognised as minorities SEP 16, 2016 – 11:14 Interior Minister Alain Berset on Thursday attended the opening of the Feckerchilbi, a four-day traditional celebration in Bern of Jenish and Sinti culture, that dates back to the 18th century (Keystone) The Swiss authorities have accorded the […]
Sep 11,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Amer Al Sabaileh After many years of distractions and other priorities, the Palestinian problem is back on the agenda of some Arab countries. There have been recent confirmations from official source that some Arab countries have been meeting with the Palestinian president to stress the […]
REPORT Michael Ignatieff, Juliette Keeley, Betsy Ribble, and Keith McCammon Monday, September 12, 2016he full report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On September 20 at the United Nations in New York, President Obama convenes a Leaders’ Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis. This follows the Secretary-General’s High-Level Summit on Refugees and Migrants the […]
FRENCH PRESS AGENCY – AFP NICOSIA PublishedSeptember 14, 2016 Anastasiades (L), Akıncı (R) and Eide (C) arrive to give a press conference following a meeting on the ongoing peace talks on Sept. 14, 2016 at the now defunct Nicosia airport in the UN-controlled buffer zone. (AFP Photo) Cypriot leaders will […]
SLOW START By Matthew Allen SEP 15, 2016 – Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann, center right, and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during a Swiss state visit to Iran in February (Keystone) The potential for trade with Iran, as sanctions are lifted, is tremendous, according to former Swiss ambassador to Tehran Philippe […]
PAYING IT FORWARD SEP 15, 2016 – 14:01 In 2015, more charitable donations went to supporting foreign aid efforts in response to events such as the Nepal earthquake. (Keystone) Swiss charities that are considered to be responsible and transparent in their operations raised a total of CHF 1.8 billion […]
SHARIF M. TAHA | Published — Thursday 15 September 2016 CULMINATION OF EFFORTS: Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah talks at a press conference in Mina. (AN photo) RIYADH: Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah announced on Wednesday that the current Haj season was free from epidemic diseases and that pilgrims […]
ARAB NEWS | Published — Thursday 15 September 2016 CONSENSUS: Leading scholars of the Muslim World League (MWL) and its affiliate, the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), at the “Islam — a Message of Peace and Moderation” conference in Makkah on Wednesday. (SPA) MAKKAH: Key figures of the […]
Just as the Great War led to the Second, so the world war against al-Qaeda led, via Iraq, to the war against the apocalyptic Isis Robert Fisk @indyvoices 9/11 terror attack in New York Getty Sometimes, I suspect, the ability of human beings to fool themselves with their own words over the Middle East […]
Ambassador has served in several Arab countries Published: 16:14 September 13, 2016 Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief Manama: Simon Collis has become the first British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to perform […]
File photo: Martin Abegglen Published: 08 Sep 2016 Some people in Switzerland can be left ‘stateless’ when the authorities withdraw their Swiss passport on suspicion of a sham marriage, the Tages Anzeiger has reported. Under Swiss rules, a foreign national who obtained Swiss citizenship through marriage to a Swiss can […]
SOURCE: Swiss Info By Duc-Quang Nguyen With nearly 30% of the population born outside of its borders, Switzerland is one of the European countries with the highest proportion of foreigners. Globally, the Gulf countries host the most migrants. Still, contrary to popular belief, these rates have remained relatively stable over […]
The scathing verdict comes just one day after Mr Cameron’s sudden announcement that he will leave Westminster immediately Rob Merrick Deputy Political Editor @Rob_Merrick The chairman of Britain’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Crispin Blunt, described the decision to intervene in Libya in 2011 as based on a ‘blood-curdling assessment’ […]
Only two people in the new Cabinet are from BAME backgrounds Harriet Agerholm @HarrietAgerholm Photo prompted criticism online Theresa May’s first offical Cabinet photo has been released – and people are pointing out a glaring problem with it. Only two people in the new Cabinet are from BAME backgrounds: Sajid Javid […]
How will you crack down on hate speech that your own government sponsors? September 13, 2016, 3:31 pm/ 1 Comment SHARE : Kashif Chaudhry Chief Minister,The Government of Punjab. Dear Mr. Shehbaz Sharif, I hope you are doing great. I promise to keep this short and to-the-point. A tweet […]