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.
Tehran Times Political Desk TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told Germany’s chief diplomat Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tehran on Wednesday that terrorism poses a serious threat to all countries especially […]
Tehran Times Social Desk TEHRAN — TripAdvisor has released its list of the top 25 bed and breakfast and inns in the Middle East, placing Iranian House, Saraye Ameriha Boutique Hotel, and Manouchehri House in the city of Kashan as among the winners of the Travelers’ Choice award in 2016. TripAdvisor […]
Reuters International FEB 5, 2016 – 08:39 By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 to avoid a rape investigation, was detained arbitrarily in contravention of international law, a U.N. panel will rule on Friday. Assange, […]
WESTERN RULES http://tp.srgssr.ch/p/inline?urn=urn:swi:video:41927898 EMBED CODE FEB 3, 2016 – 11:00 It’s carnival season in Lucerne. The sex attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve have prompted the Lucerne officials to produce a leaflet informing asylum seekers about western behavioural norms. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) The Hirschpark asylum centre in Lucerne is keen on […]
By JT – Feb 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Jerusalem Awqaf Department Director Azzam Khatib Tamimi has condemned Israel’s violations against the Umayyad Palaces area to the south and southwest of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday. In a letter […]
Feb 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura declared a “pause” in the tortuous UN-mediated talks to end the war in Syria, postponing them for February 25. While acknowledging that after the first week of preparatory talks “there is more work to be done, not only […]
Feb 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – GEORGE S. HISHMEH Barely were Western sanctions lifted from Iran, after it signed a nuclear deal with key Western powers, than its president, Hassan Rouhani, went shopping in Europe, namely in Italy and France, where he received red carpet treatment. This forward-looking approach should […]
Feb 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – RAMI G. KHOURI My affection and respect for my good friend and colleague from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with whom I discussed current events in the Middle East over a leisurely Lebanese lunch last week was matched by our very different analyses of […]
An Editorial By Klaus Brinkbäumer spiegel.de DPA In addition to protesting against Muslims, Germany’s Pegida movement has also sought to discredit the media. We are living in times of growing tension and near societal hysteria in Germany in the wake of the massive influx of refugees. […]
Interview Conducted By Juliane von Mittelstaedt AFP Heavy black smoke rises from an oil facility in Libya’s Ras Lanouf region following an attack by the Islamic State last month. With the situation rapidly deteriorating in Libya, the UN’s special representative to the country, Martin Kobler of Germany, is pushing for […]
Reuters International FEB 4, 2016 – 15:54 ROME (Reuters) – Italy will send a team specialised in treating war wounded to Iraq as it prepares to send troops to guard Mosul dam maintenance workers, Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said on Thursday. In the wake of the deadly Islamic State attacks […]
Cameron: London donor conference raises more than $10bn PM pledges to double aid to refugees Turkish PM: Assad guilty of ethnic cleansing Plan to get 700,000 Syrian children back to school Peace talks in Geneva suspended amid Russia airstrikes Read the latest summary David Cameron doubles financial aid for Syrian […]
Reuters International FEB 4, 2016 – 14:04 By Tom Perry, Lisa Barrington and Tulay Karadeniz BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) – A Syrian army source said the city of Aleppo would soon be encircled by government forces as rebels pounded by Russian air strikes expressed hope that the failure of Geneva peace talks […]
ANTI-PEGIDA DEMO By swissinfo.ch and agencies FEB 3, 2016 – 21:36 Police and anti-fascist demonstrators outside Basel’s cantonal parliament (Keystone) Some 350 people gathered without permission in front of Basel cantonal parliament on Wednesday to protest against Germany’s anti-Islam PEGIDA movement. A sizeable and heavily armed police presence monitored the […]
ARAB NEWS Published — Thursday 4 February 2016 AL-JOUF: Want to know the real meaning of friendship? Meet Salman bin Musleh Al-Sharari, a Saudi, who didn’t hesitate to sell his prized possession to send home his injured Turkish friend Mohammad Ali Arsalan. Al-Sharari became friends with Arsalan during his visits […]
By Reuters – Feb 03,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Smoke rises after air strikes by pro-Syrian government forces in Anadan city, about 10 kilometres away from the towns of Nubul and Zahraa, Northern Aleppo countryside, Syria, Wednesday (Reuters photo) BEIRUT — The Syrian army and its allies have broken a three-year […]
By JT – Feb 03,2016 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah has urged the world to invest in peace by giving refugees a future and assist host communities through a feasible approach that focuses on development and long-term planning. In an op-ed in The Independent published […]
Feb 03,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – PHILIP HAMMOND Today, the UK will co-host the conference “Supporting Syria and the region 2016”, with Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations. It will take an ambitious new approach to provide longer-term support for refugees through concrete action on livelihoods and jobs, and […]
Feb 03,2016 – JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL HH Prince Zeid, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, has just issued a warning to all parties involved in the peace talks on the Syrian conflict, to not even think of granting amnesty to any person implicated in the commission of […]
Emotionally charged dreams that lessen the fear of death are surprisingly common. 10/26/2015 Carolyn GregoireSenior Health & Science Writer, The Huffington Post THOMAS BARWICK/GETTY IMAGES Barry, an 88-year-old patient in a hospice in upstate New York, had an extremely vivid dream one night in which he was driving somewhere unknown. […]