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.
ARAB NEWS Friday 11 January 2013 JEDDAH: Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) launched an appeal to member states and to their various nongovernmental organizations active […]
Agencies ARABNEWS Friday 11 January 2013 BEIRUT: The worst storms in a decade left swathes of Jordan and Israel under a blanket of snow and parts of Lebanon blacked out […]
MANILA, Philippines—A man’s predicament that seems straight out of the Tom Hanks movie “The Terminal” finally had a happy ending at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. A 52-year-old British tourist who […]
The location, in an industrial subdivision overlooking the Geneva-Lausanne highway, may not be the most promising for a school appealing to the international set. But investors from Emirates are counting […]
Banks Settle Foreclosure Charges for $8.5 Billion Story tools New America Media, News Report, Ngoc Nguyen and SuZanne Manneh, Posted: Jan 10, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO – In light of a recent $8.5 billion settlement between federal bank regulators and 10 big banks, 3.8 million homeowners can expect to get a check in the mail.The agreement, […]
Hindu Americans Share Perspectives with Vice President as Nation Grapples with Reducing Gun Violence Washington, D.C. (January 10, 2013) — Vice President Joe Biden met with a small group of faith-based leaders at the White House yesterday for a conversation on curbing gun violence in the United States. Representatives of the […]
Why is anonymity, the bane of every newspaper Letters Editor in the world, accepted as cyber-journalism – the more hateful, the more understandable? by Robert Fisk, The Independent, UK He tells “lie upon lie, all of them directly or indirectly aimed at the destruction of Israel”. And he has received […]
Story Summary To the extent that culture matters in politics, the recent spate of leadership changes in Northeast Asia suggests that Asian societies are more tolerant – if not supportive – of dynastic succession. South Korea’s recently elected president, Park Geun-hye, is the daughter of Park Chung Hee, who ruled […]
Jan 10, 2013 – 19:21 By Gul Yousufzai SWISSINFO.CH QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two cities in Pakistan on Thursday, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in the city of Quetta. Two coordinated explosions killed at least 69 people […]
ARAB NEWS Thursday 10 January 2013 BEIRUT/DAMASCUS/CAIRO: A core Syrian opposition group is proposing that the leading National Coalition set up a transitional government in areas outside regime control, according to a document obtained by AFP. The Syrian National Council called on the Cairo-based umbrella group the Syrian National Coalition […]
WASHINGTON — Sodium dichromate is an orange-yellowish substance containing hexavalent chromium, an anti-corrosion chemical. To Lt. Col. James Gentry of the Indiana National Guard, who was stationed at the Qarmat […]
Source: Spiegel An Essay by Kishwar Desai AP The case of the student gang raped in Delhi reveals how deep-seeded misogyny remains in Indian society. Even as women are encouraged to study and join the work force, prejudice is rampant. It is time for change. In the past few weeks, […]
Source: Spiegel By Guido Kleinhubbert and Antje Windmann Anne Schönharting/ DER SPIEGEL Communities have long worried about the physical safety of the elderly. But the swelling number of senior citizens living alone in Germany now has them scrambling to respond to even more pernicious threats: loneliness and isolation. Even during […]
(Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, but details of the report suggested the jobs market continued to grow at a moderate pace. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, […]
Source: Berliner-Blatt via Mr Abdullah Uwe Wagishauser The writer worked as an Islamic cleric (Imam) of the Ahmadiyya community in Frankfurt, where he spent many years of his life. In Hessen ( a state of Germany), the author volunteered his services in the “Association of German writers” (VDS). […]
Source: ET Pakistan’s literacy rate hovers around 37 per cent. We are not sure how many of our people are actually educated in the real sense but what we are sure of is that education has lifted countries out of poverty and improved their overall quality of life. Educational initiatives […]
NEIGHBOURS are divided over a proposed “halal housing” development in Sydney’s west. While some feared it would lead to friction with Muslims, others welcomed the plan. Qartaba Homes is promoting its 145-lot subdivision at Riverstone, near Rouse Hill, as Australia’s “very first project of its kind for the Muslim community”, […]
8, 2013 – 16:54 The cantonal court of Glarus in eastern Switzerland has released a farmer from the obligation, dating back 655 years, to finance an “eternal lamp” in the […]
Switzerland is to provide $2.9 million (SFr3.1 million) to help resettle Chadians who had been working for many years in Libya, and returned home during and after the uprising that […]
Rebels free 48 Iranians seized in August, in exchange for more than 2,000 prisoners held by Syrian government. Forty-eight Iranians held hostage by Syrian rebels for five months have arrived in a Damascus hotel on Wednesday after being freed in a prisoner swap for more than 2,000 regime prisoners. The […]