The late Thai king’s youth in Switzerland
BHUMIBOL OBITUARY The late Thai king’s youth in Switzerland By Luigi Jorio OCT 13, 2016 King Bhumibol of Thailand, who reigned for seven decades, died in hospital aged 88(Keystone) Thailand’s […]
Author Archives
Rafiq A. Tschannen
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.
Exploring new responses to war crimes
Oct 13,2016 -JORDAN TIMES – RAMI G. KHOURI The military campaigns in Syria and Yemen have been characterised by non-stop brutality and indiscriminate attacks from the air that killed and injured huge numbers of civilians. Not only have we witnessed the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Syria and thousands […]
UNESCO fully backs Jordan’s pro-Jerusalem moves
UN agency’s latest decision condemns Israeli unilateral policies, violations anew By JT – Oct 14,2016 – JORDAN TIMES This photo taken on October 2, 2007 shows an aerial view of the Dome of the Rock in Al Haram Al Sharif in Jerusalem’s Old City (AFP photo) AMMAN — […]
Iraq is invaded… and the first casualty of war is truth
Mark Steel @mrmarksteel Thursday 6 October 2016 3 April 2003 You expect lies, but usually they’re found out once a war is over. But in this war the lying is so inept that it gets rumbled the next day. So the news starts “Oh, apparently that uprising we yelled about […]
A quarter century after I was arrested by Turkish police, things have only got worse for Kurdistan
When I was hauled into the local police station 25 years ago, a lonely copper stood outside. Today the place is ringed by barbed wire, armed guards and iron anti-rocket screens Robert Fisk in Diyabarkir @indyvoices ‘The Kurds are Turkey’s enemy – just as they always were’ The fine black stone […]
Maldives Quits Commonwealth Over Human Rights Row
World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: October 13, 2016 21:28 IST by Taboola Maldives quit the Commonwealth after years of wrangling over its human rights record. MALE, MALDIVES: The Maldives angrily quit the Commonwealth on Thursday after years of wrangling over its human rights record since the toppling of its […]
CHOOSING BETWEEN SHADOWS, Part 1
The plight of Pakistan’s religious minorities RICHARD POTTER Editor’s Note: This is part one in our series on Pakistan’s persecuted religious minorities. Click here to read part two, focused on the Ahmadi Muslim population. Credit: Pakistani Christian News Nestled in the outskirts of Bangkok, hidden from the tremendous flow […]
CHOOSING BETWEEN SHADOWS: PART II
BORDER CROSSINGS JUNE 9, 2016 CHOOSING BETWEEN SHADOWS: PART II RICHARD POTTER Editor’s Note: This essay is the second in a two-part series on persecuted religious minorities fleeing Pakistan and seeking […]
Prayut: Prince asks for time
13 Oct 2016 at 18:20 WRITER: AEKARACH SATTABURUTH Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he had been granted an audience with the crown prince, who told him he would like to take some time to grieve with the nation before accepting the invitation to become the new king. “His Royal Highness would […]
Ahmadiyya Caliph calls for peace, love around the world
Celebrating 50 years Nouman Khalil/Metroland The Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Mirza Masroor Ahmad delivers the Friday sermon at the International Centre in Mississauga. Friday, Oct. 7 Mississauga News By Nouman Khalil The Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has called upon all communities to reject hatred […]
From Sarajevo to Aleppo: Lessons on Surviving a Siege
In Bosnia and in Syria, the tactic has been used to destroy bodies—but it’s really an attempt to annihilate the spirit. JANINE DI GIOVANNI OCT 12, 2016 Beginning in 1992, the siege of Sarajevo lasted a total of three miserable years, plus 10 months, three weeks, and three days. It […]
How Burkina Faso’s different religions live in peace
From the section Africa Image copyrightAFPImage caption The Archbishop of Ouagadougou wishes a traditional chief a happy Eid The Pope has invited Burkina Faso’s president to the Vatican later this month to see what can be learnt from the West African nation’s example of religious tolerance. BBC Africa’s Lamine Konkobo is […]
If Russia can’t be trusted in Syria, why does Boris Johnson think Saudi Arabia can police itself in Yemen?
Last Saturday saw devastating air strikes on a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, which killed at least 155 people and wounded 500 more. Johnson’s first public response was to issue a tweet ANDREW SMITH Medics and rescue workers carry a body on a stretcher at the site of reported airstrikes by […]
US Navy targeted again by Houthis; KSA urges UN to contain militias
HANI HAZAIMEH | ARAB NEWS STAFF | Published — Thursday 13 October 2016 A file image released by the US Navy shows a guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) conducting formation exercises with the Cyclone-class patrol crafts USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Squall (PC 7) on September 10, 2016. […]
Leading Mideast into the future (actually: Leading the World into the future)
KLAUS SCHWAB | Published — Thursday 13 October 2016 Klaus Schwab New technologies are emerging so rapidly that societies in the Middle East are now having trouble coping with their impact. Around the globe, entire industries are being redefined and created from scratch, owing to ground-breaking developments in artificial intelligence, […]
‘Punishing civilians, undermining aid work’
Oct 12,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – MICHAEL JANSEN US and EU sanctions on Syria are punishing civilians and undermining aid work, states a 40-page UN report, “Humanitarian impact of Syria-related unilateral restrictive measures”, prepared for the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. Calling the conflict in Syria, the […]
Palestinian leadership decision long overdue
Oct 12,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – DAOUD KUTTAB The United States is not the only place that will be witnessing a leadership change. Elections for top institutions and the overall leadership will be taking place within the two leading Palestinian political movements. Fateh is expected to hold its seventh congress […]
With baby Waleed, Gaza population reaches 2 million
Enclave could be ‘unliveable’ by 2020 — UN By AFP – Oct 12,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Three-day old new-born Waleed lies wrapped in blankets at his family’s home in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Wednesday (AFP photo) GAZA, Palestine — The two millionth person has […]
This is what it feels like to be an ordinary Kurd caught in the tragedy of Turkey’s turmoil
This man’s story, told with the usual anonymity for this tragic place, must melt a heart of stone and so I tell it in his own words Robert Fisk in Diyabarkir @indyvoices Home again: Turkish Kurds returning to Diyarbakir in the spring after a curfew on the city is lifted […]
Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi set to open in 2017
Source: MSN By Neha Bhatia A Hindu temple currently under construction in Abu Dhabi will be completed in 2017, its development team has announced. B R Shetty, vice chairman and […]