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 | Jun 30, 2013 | JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — In the bustling Baramka district in the heart of Damascus, sounds of iron hammering by mechanics busily repairing cars can be heard next to the large excavated site of an uncompleted $400 million twin skyscraper project. Since the two-year-old civil […]
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS Wednesday 3 July 2013 Companies in Madinah are racing to complete the demolition of properties on the eastern side of the Prophet’s Mosque before Ramadan. The space […]
REUTERS ARABNEWS Wednesday 3 July 2013 DUBAI: Iran has played down the impact of US sanctions that came into effect this week, but said the measures would complicate a resolution to the dispute over its nuclear program. The new sanctions, which came into effect on Monday, target trade with Iran’s […]
Can Islamists run a country? Egypt was the first real test – and yesterday the Egyptian army called their bluff. To tell a democratically elected president – especially a Muslim […]
A Catholic priest has been shot and killed in northern Syria, The Telegraph has found, contradicting claims that he is the victim in a widely-circulated beheading video. By Ruth Sherlock, Beirut THE TELEGRAPH The footage, said to show Father Francois Murad, 49, as the victim in a brutal summary execution […]
By Zubair Khan Daily Jung, probably the most read and circulated Urdu newspaper amongst Urdu readers is considered to be biased and anti Ahmadiyya. This is its usual reputation. However now a positive and encouraging change has been noticed in the policy of the newspaper. Specially on its pages of […]
(Reuters) – Home prices racked up their biggest annual gain in more than seven years in May, with more increases expected through the summer months as the sector continues to mend, data analysis firm CoreLogic said on Tuesday. Prices rose 2.6 percent from April and were up 12.2 percent compared […]
Source: TOI ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates: More than 65 suspects accused of plotting an Islamist coup in the United Arab Emirates received prison sentences of up to 15 years on Tuesday in a mass trial that underscored the widening crackdowns on perceived Arab Spring-inspired dissent across the entire Gulf […]
Source: TOI CAIRO: Egypt President Mohamed Morsirebuffed an army ultimatum to force a resolution to the country’s political crisis, saying on Tuesday that he had not been consulted and would pursue his own plans for national reconciliation. “Last 48 hours of Muslim Brotherhood rule,” the opposition daily El Watan declared. […]
Source: The Local The “Sabine vs Serena 2013” Wimbledon match will go down in tennis history, after German Sabine Lisicki, ranked 24, fought back against five-time champion Serena Williams, breaking her run of unbeaten matches. More:
Source: The Local A new method could double the lead time for forecasting the ocean warming trend known as El Nino and help communities better prepare for crop losses, floods and drought, German researchers said on Monday. More:
Source: The Local Fugitive Edward Snowden has applied for asylum in a number of European countries including Germany, whistle-blowing platform WikiLeaks said in a statement on their website Tuesday morning. More:
Source: Asia Times: I was beginning to think that Pakistan was finally on its way to improving its dismal public image. The recent national elections, bloody and chaotic as usual, at least had the effect of reenergizing the country on the domestic front and the global stage. Social media played […]
Source: Asia Times. The land of pharaohs and magic appears to be intermingled with in-house fireballs generating conflicts of hope and expectation. The generals are becoming restless with the Tahrir Square shouting matches, crumbling economic affairs, emotional outbursts of the emotionally charged people and their aspirations, domestic strife – and […]
The Associated Press CTV NEWS Published Monday, July 1, 2013 7:16AM EDT Egypt’s military issued a “last-chance” ultimatum Monday to President Mohammed Morsi, giving him 48 hours to meet the demands of millions of protesters in the streets seeking the ouster of the Islamist leader or the generals will intervene […]
Two Roman Catholic priests withdrew at the last moment from taking part in a celebration of the Eucharist, which was supposed to have been conducted by clergy from a range […]
Saudi Press Agency Tuesday 2 July 2013 BEIRUT: Ramadan food baskets from Saudi Arabia have started reaching Syrians in Lebanon who have been displaced by civil war in their country, […]
SYDNEY (AFP) – The dumping of Australia’s first woman prime minister Julia Gillard has paved the way for another milestone for the nation’s parliament — its first frontbencher of the Muslim faith, sworn in on Monday. Ed Husic, whose mother and father are Bosnian migrants, was sworn in as parliamentary […]
FRANKFURT — Unemployment in the euro zone continued its steady rise in May, according to data published Monday, underscoring the human effects of a financial downturn that has lasted a year and a half. The jobless rate in the 17 countries that belong to the euro zone was 12.1 percent […]
Source: Telegraph New research shows that while women are drawn to male faces that look familiar, men are more likely to rate someone they have never seen before as more attractive. It is thought the reason may be that men have evolved to maximise their reproductive success by mating with […]