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.
Source: Spiegel dapd Amid accusations of waste, nepotism and smear campaigns, long-established members of Berlin’s Jewish Community are in open conflict with relative newcomers from abroad. Severe financial difficulties are at the core of their problems with one another. More:
Source: Asia Times. By Nan Chen From the eight-lane Nairobi-Thika highway built by Chinese construction companies to the ubiquitous Chinese restaurants around town, the signs of China’s activity are everywhere in Kenya – right down to the friendly nihao called out by Kenyans as I walk down a Nairobi street. […]
Source: JORDAN TIMES TARTOUS — This once sleepy Syrian port now buzzes with shoppers milling about crowded marketplaces. Lines of cars wait patiently at traffic lights — a rare mark […]
Source: Asia Times: By Pepe Escobar. So here’s a modern geopolitical parable that would puzzle Aesop. Bibi publicly insults POTUS. He unabashedly supports Mitt Romney (who?) in the US presidential elections. He hits the “peace process” with a barrage of Hellfire “facts on the ground” (with loads of Palestine “collateral […]
Source: TOI CANBERRA: The Australian government plunged into crisis with Prime Minister Julia Gillard caving in to building pressure and calling a leadership ballot of her ruling Labor party for later Thursday. Her decision follows senior cabinet minister Simon Crean openly calling for the move with Gillard lagging badly in […]
Source: TOI ISLAMABAD: The Interpol has turned down Pakistan’s request to issue a red corner notice for the former military ruler PervezMusharraf for refusing to cooperate in the probe into BenazirBhutto’s assassination, days ahead of his homcoming from self-exile. Musharraf has cleared the final hurdle to his plans to return […]
Source: Dawn.Com Photo shows a copy of the letter sent by the Delhi Dharam Parchar Committee to the Pakistani High Commission. A copy of the letter in its entirety can be seen here. SHIKARPUR/KARACHI: A huge rift over the alleged desecration of a holy book was averted in Shikarpur after […]
ar 21, 2013 – 01:31 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Serbia and Kosovo failed to reach an agreement on Wednesday to end the ethnic partition of the former Serbian province, but European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she hoped a new round of talks next month would seal a deal. […]
Mar 20, 2013 – SWISSINFO Switzerland had the sixth most asylum requests of any country in 2012 – the most since 1999 – and requests were up eight per cent […]
A former Dutch MP has admitted that recognizing polygamy in law is the next logical step after redefining marriage to include same-sex couples. Speaking to the French online magazine, Yagg, Boris Dittrich said there was now a movement in the Netherlands to introduce multi-partner marriages. Campaign Mr Dittrich, who led […]
By: Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter, Published on Wed Mar 20 2013 Citizenship and Immigration Canada is launching an ad campaign Wednesday warning Canadians to protect themselves against marriage fraud. A seven-minute video will be posted on the department website, featuring the real-life stories of three Canadians, in silhouettes, whose foreign […]
By Susanne Koelbl DER SPIEGEL The West insists that for any negotiations on an end to the Syrian civil war to happen, President Bashar Assad must first step down. The […]
It promises to be a quiet day. Only one guard is posted on the front line in the clay hills 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Kirkuk, in northern Iraq. […]
Mar 20, 2013 – 14:51 By Matt Spetalnick and Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Making his first official visit to Israel, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday unwavering commitment […]
Source: Economist.com Green glass ceilings How Muslim clerics turn jihadist Mar 16th 2013 | BEIRUT |From the print edition WHY pious and peaceable Muslims turn to ultraconservative and even violent versions of the faith is a subject of great interest for scholars and policymakers. But so far little effort […]
LONDON — The British government said on Wednesday it was sticking to its plan of austerity despite the sluggishness of the economy, adding that it would take longer to start reducing public debt than it predicted just three months ago. George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, blamed the troubles […]
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK THE NEW YORK TIMES Published: March 18, 2013 CAIRO — King Abdullah II of Jordan leads one of the smallest, poorest and most vulnerable Arab nations. […]
As their power declines in America, fundamentalists are moving to developing countries not as far along the secularization curve. And they’re causing massive damage. March 15, 2013 | Sometime last […]
“I hope that before your time on earth ends, as mine is now ending, you will find the strength of character to beg for forgiveness.” March 19, 2013 | To: […]
By BEN HUBBARD | Associated Press YAHOO NEWS ..ISTANBUL (AP) — The man chosen to head the Syrian opposition’s new interim government is a Syrian-born American citizen who has spent […]