Tag Archives: common

Eine Englischschule für kurze Aufmerksamkeitsspannen und geschäftige Alltage

Leave a reply

London (ots/PRNewswire) – EF Englishtown ist stolz die Einfhrung unserer neuen Version, Efekta 13, zu verknden. Wir haben stets Wert auf Flexibilitt gelegt und mit unseren neuen Cloud-basierten Kursplnen, sowie iPad und offline Versionen, kann man wortwrtlich immer und berall Englisch lernen. Wir loben uns nicht gerne selbst, aber EF Englishtown ist jetzt offiziell die weltweit flexibelste Englischschule.

Alles in seinem Leben zu balancieren ist nicht einfach. Zustzlich zum Alltagsstress auch Englisch zu lernen ist noch viel schwieriger.

Neben vielen anderen Herausforderungen ist Zeitmangel sicher das am hufigsten genannte Problem unserer Stunden. Es ist nicht einfach Karriere zu machen, sich um die Familie zu kmmern und auch noch die Zeit zu finden eine neue Sprache zu lernen. Darber hinaus fllt es vielen schwer, sich in einen studentischen Modus zurckzufinden, oder aber sie haben bisher noch nie einen Onlinekurs gemacht. Efekta 13 ist ein Schritt, diesen Studenten den Klassenraum nher zu bringen und ihnen die Untersttzung zu bieten, die erforderlich ist um erfolgreich zu sein.

Sprachunterricht fr kurze Aufmerksamkeitsspannen

Unser Unterricht ist speziell entworfen, um nahtlos in Ihren Kalender zwischen morgendlichem Pendelverkehr, Abgabefristen, weinenden Babys, schnellen Mahlzeiten und womglich Kopfschmerzen zu passen. Die neuen bungen bentigen nur Minuten und knnen dank der iPad App auch unterwegs abgeschlossen werden. Unsere Lehrer sind Experten im Bereich des Online Lernens und sie verstehen es bestens, Studenten den Weg “zurck zur Schule” zu ebnen. Darber hinaus formen die Studenten selbst eine wertvolle Gemeinschaft, in der viele Ihren Zeitdruck und ihre Probleme teilen. Sie mgen zwar online lernen, aber Sie sind definitiv nicht allein.

Die Sonne geht nie unter in Englishtown

Zu jeder beliebigen Stunde werden Sie einen unserer Lehrer finden der gerade irgendwo auf der Welt einen Gruppen- oder Privatunterricht fhrt. Wir bieten mehr als 1 Million Stunden Sprachunterricht per Monat (mehr als alle anderen Anbieter in der Branche) und pro Woche finden 29.000 Stunden Gruppenunterricht, sowie 600 Stunden Privatunterricht statt. Aber diese Zahlen bedeuten nicht, dass unsere Studenten in der Masse untergehen. Vielmehr ist der Dialog und Austausch in der online Community gefrdert, um ber die Lehrer hinaus eine weitere Stufe an Untersttzung fr unsere Studenten zu bieten.

Also… was ist neu in Version 13? 

- Wir haben unsere UI verbessert. (Sollten Sie mit dem Akronym nicht bekannt
  sein, UI steht fr User Interface/Benutzeroberflche)
- Wir bieten Feedback in Echtzeit, um es Ihnen leichter zu machen, die richtigen
  Antworten nachhaltig zu lernen.
- Wir haben 300 neue Filme produziert, um die Inhalte aktuell und zeitgemss zu
  halten
- Unser Lernmaterial ist noch fokussierter und exakter auf Ihrer Karriere und
  Ihren Alltag abgestimmt.
- Wir haben zu den Hauptzeiten weitere Konversationsklassen eingefhrt - jede
  halbe Stunde eine - um Ihnen zustzliche Flexibilitt zu bieten.

EF Englishtown ist eine online, Cloud-basierte Englischschule. In 1966 gegrndet und entstanden aus einer Kooperation zwischen Apple Computer und EF Education First, um computer-basierten Spracherwerb zu erkunden. Die Mitbegrnder sind CXO, Dr. Enio Ohmaye und Bill Fisher, President von EF Labs. 

- Die Onlineschule bietet eine Kombination aus Kursmaterial zum
  Selbststudium, Gruppen- und Privatunterricht - fr unbertroffene 1.020.100 Stunden
  Lehre pro Monat. Allein in unserem Gruppenunterricht bieten wir tglich ca. 4000
  Stunden Sprachtraining.
- Die Schule basiert auf 16 Lernstufen, die am Common European Framework of
  Reference for Languages (CEFR) ausgerichtet sind, und Studenten erhalten fr jedes
  abgeschlossene Level ein von der Hult International Business School zertifiziertes
  Diplom.
- Die Schule ist tglich 24 Stunden verfgbar und beinhaltet eine iPad App
  fr zustzliche Flexibilitt.

EF Englishtown ist Teil der in 1965 von Bertil Hult gegrndeten EF Education First (EF) Gruppe. EF ist die weltweit fhrende private Lerninstitution, spezialisiert in Sprachschulung, wissenschaftlichen Abschlssen, Sprachreisen und im Kulturaustausch. Die Gruppe hat 15 Sparten mit 450 Schulen und Standorten in mehr als 40 Lndern, sowie ein Netzwerk aus 35.000 Mitarbeitern

Pressekontakt: 

Manuel Hauslaib -  Manuel.Hauslaib@EF.com 0211-240-90 28

See more here - 

Eine Englischschule für kurze Aufmerksamkeitsspannen und geschäftige Alltage

AlumniFunder Launches A Crowdfunding Platform Where Alumni Can Back Student Entrepreneurs

Leave a reply

AlumniFunder launched in beta this week with a simple mission: Help create a deeper relationship between current students and alumni, while supporting collegiate entrepreneurship and creativity. To do that, AlumniFunder wants to give alumni a platform by which they can invest in innovative projects created by students at their alma mater. Whether it be for a new science lab, natural language processing research or a documentary film, the startup also wants to help give students access to the capital they need to get their ideas off the ground.

View post:

AlumniFunder Launches A Crowdfunding Platform Where Alumni Can Back Student Entrepreneurs

AGOF internet facts 2013-01: URBIA.DE erzielt mit 370.000 zusätzlichen Unique Usern größten Zuwachs im Elternsegment und neuen Reichweitenrekord

Leave a reply

14.03.2013 | 10:00

AGOF internet facts 2013-01: URBIA.DE erzielt mit 370.000 zustzlichen Unique Usern grten Zuwachs im Elternsegment und neuen Reichweitenrekord

2433290

Kln (ots) – URBIA.DE, Deutschlands fhrendes Portal fr junge Eltern, konnte den AGOF internet facts 2013-01 zufolge seine Nettoreichweite erneut steigern und einen eigenen Reichweitenrekord erzielen. So verzeichnet URBIA.DE im Januar 2,65 Mio. Unique User, was einem Plus von 370.000 Unique Usern bzw. 16,2 Prozent zum Vormonat entspricht. Absolut betrachtet erzielt URBIA.DE damit die grten Zuwchse im Elternsegment. Im Vergleich zum Vorjahresmonat konnte URBIA.DE die Zahl seiner Unique User um 280.000 steigern.

Der jngsten AGOF-Erhebung zufolge sind 55,7 Prozent der URBIA.DE-User zwischen 20 und 39 Jahre alt. Sie sind zudem berdurchschnittlich gut gebildet: 38,7 Prozent verfgen ber (Fach-)Abitur oder einen (Fach-)Hochschulabschluss. Knapp einem Drittel der URBIA.DE-User (32,6 Prozent) steht ein monatliches Haushaltsnettoeinkommen von 3.000 Euro oder mehr zur Verfgung.

URBIA.DE setzt nicht nur bei der Nettoreichweite seinen Aufwrtstrend fort. So erreichte das Elternportal bereits im Januar der IVW Online zufolge mit 9,64 Millionen Visits einen Reichweitenrekord und auch die mobile Website verzeichnet in der aktuellen AGOF mobile facts 2012-II mit 639.000 Unique Mobile Usern ein All-time-high.

Ulrich Sommer, Geschftsfhrer G+J Parenting Media GmbH: “Wir freuen uns sehr ber den erneuten Reichweitenzuwachs von URBIA.DE. Fr Werbungtreibende, die Frauen und Familien ansprechen wollen, gewinnt das Elternportal als Werbetrger damit weiter an Attraktivitt.”

URBIA.DE gehrt zu der im Jahr 2012 gegrndeten G+J Parenting Media GmbH. Die Vermarktung von URBIA.DE liegt bei CommonMedia GmbH, Hamburg. Die mobile Website wird von G+J Electronic Media Sales, Hamburg vermarktet.

Pressekontakt: 

Stefanie Hauck
Kommunikation/PR
Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG
Verlagsgruppe AGENDA Mnchen
Telefon +49 (0) 89 4152-560
hauck.stefanie@guj.de

Source: 

AGOF internet facts 2013-01: URBIA.DE erzielt mit 370.000 zusätzlichen Unique Usern größten Zuwachs im Elternsegment und neuen Reichweitenrekord

US Judge orders Apple to prove that it’s not holding back evidence in iOS location tracking lawsuit

Leave a reply

applelogo2 520x245 US Judge orders Apple to prove that its not holding back evidence in iOS location tracking lawsuit

Apple has been told that from now on, it has to provide evidence that shows it is complying with court orders to turn over documentation related to a privacy lawsuit.

Bloomberg has reported that Paul S. Grewal, a US Magistrate Judge, issued the order after the plaintiff’s lawyers said that Apple was holding back paperwork that they had been ordered to turn over.

“Luckily for the plaintiffs, Apple has provided more than enough evidence itself to suggest to the court that it has not fully complied with the court’s order,” Grewal reportedly said. “In light of Apple’s performance in this case, the court cannot rely on its representations that this time it really has or will produce all responsive documents.”

The original lawsuit alleges that Apple has collected data from millions of iOS users who were completely unaware that it was taking place. The claim is that even when geo-location functionality is turned off on the iPhone or iPad, the company is still able to retain data based on where they’ve been.

What’s strange is that the evidence in question relates to an order given by Grewal last November. Apple waited more than three months before clarifying whether it had been able to supply the documentation – so it seems odd that until now, there has been no process in place to check for compliance.

All of this behaviour, however, is part of the common and arguably trivial push-and-pull that companies go through to try to hand over as little information as possible during legal proceedings.

Apple is also accused of failing to tell iPhone and iPad users that iOS can allow third-party apps to collect and monitor their personal information without their consent.

If true, that would go against the permissions pop-up prevalent in most iOS apps, and also affect consumer rights. In its report, Bloomberg cited Apple in the proceedings as saying it will continue to guard some documents because of what might happen if the information were “inadvertently released to the public or fell into the wrong hands.”

Apple, however, says it haven’t shown any evidence to support this claim. Grewel has therefore ordered Apple to submit a detailed account by the end of today, explaining how it collects and evaluates the evidence it is ordered to hand over to plaintiffs.

“The court wants to know how Apple limited its production,” Grewal wrote.

It follows a similar case involving a group of iPhone owners in Korea, who withdrew a lawsuit against Apple in January for violating their privacy with its location tracking service. Originally filed in 2011, they had also claimed that the US firm was illegally enabling location-based features without their consent.

The current case continues, although if this most recent back-and-forth is representative of the case at large, it will be quite some time before we see any real resolution or explanation for the plaintiff’s claims.

Image Credit: KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images

Link:

US Judge orders Apple to prove that it’s not holding back evidence in iOS location tracking lawsuit

Kids could someday get on Facebook, without lying

Leave a reply

FILE- In this Friday, May 18, 2012, file photo, a child looks at a laptop displaying Facebook logos in Hyderabad, India. Facebook said Monday, June 4, 2012, it is testing out ways to allow younger kids on its site without needing to lie. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File)

Buy AP Photo Reprints

NEW YORK (AP) — Though Facebook bans children under 13, millions of them have profiles on the site by lying about their age.

The company is now testing ways to allow those kids to participate without needing to lie. This would likely be under parental supervision, such as by connecting children’s accounts to their parents’ accounts.

Like many other online services, Facebook prohibits kids under 13 because federal law requires companies to obtain parental consent if they want to collect information about those children.

Such information collection is central to Facebook. Every photo or status update a kid posts on Facebook could count as information collection. Many companies consider the parental-consent requirement too burdensome, so they simply ban all children under 13 instead.

000011E8
But that ban is difficult to enforce. In many cases, parents themselves help children skirt it by setting up profiles for them and lying about their ages. There are an estimated 7.5 million kids under 13 on Facebook, out of more than 900 million users worldwide.

In a statement, Facebook noted that many recent reports have highlighted “just how difficult it is to enforce age restrictions on the Internet, especially when parents want their children to access online content and services.”

“We are in continuous dialogue with stakeholders, regulators and other policymakers about how best to help parents keep their kids safe in an evolving online environment,” the company said.

Few details are available on the nature of Facebook’s tests, which The Wall Street Journal reported on in Monday’s editions. Relaxing the ban on younger children could be a long way off, or never get implemented, as happens with many features that Facebook tests.

The report comes just two weeks after Facebook began trading stock as a public company. Its stock price has fallen in part because of concerns about its ability to keep increasing revenue and make money from its growing mobile audience.

To James Steyer, the CEO of the nonprofit Common Sense Media, Facebook’s discussions on permitting young kids to join is about expanding its audience — and profits.

“With the growing concerns and pressure around Facebook’s business model, the company appears to be doing whatever it takes to identify new revenue streams and short-term corporate profits to impress spooked shareholders,” Steyer said in a statement.

But Stephen Balkan, the CEO of another kids-and-technology nonprofit, the Family Online Safety Institute, disagrees.

Balkan, who sits on Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board in an unpaid position, said the company has been discussing the issue for more than a year. That’s months before Facebook made regulatory filings in February for its initial public offering of stock, which took place in mid-May.

“It has nothing to do with the IPO,” he said.

Balkan offered some ideas about what Facebook could look like for kids. For one, the default setting to their account could be set to “friends only” so that strangers can’t see their posts. Teenagers who are 13 to 17 currently have their accounts set to “friends of friends” by default, so the under-13 restriction would be a step beyond that.

In addition, parents could have final say on whom their kids become friends with on Facebook. And Facebook could even keep advertising off kids’ accounts, he added.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some movement from Facebook this before the end of the year,” Balkan said. “By the way I think it would be a good thing if they do it right, rather than this untenable situation of just kicking off under-13s when they discover them.”

Associated Press

See original article here:  

Kids could someday get on Facebook, without lying

Thumbnail

COMMON, an accelerator for social change, needs innovators for Pitch Milwaukee

Leave a reply

Screen Shot 2012 04 05 at 4.22.11 PM 520x245 COMMON, an accelerator for social change, needs innovators for Pitch Milwaukee

Back in December we wrote about COMMON, a creative community for accelerating social change, and COMMON Pitch NYC. That event highlighted the brightest ideas for collaborative consumption — the ways social technologies help us to borrow, share and trade everything we need.

Now, COMMON is back in our sights, following its Threadless typography competition, with a new focus on fostering American innovation. For the upcoming event, Pitch Milwaukee: American Innovation, COMMON is searching for eight promising startups working hard to redefine business in America. 

The best candidates will represent products or services that improve on (or completely reinvent) an existing American industry, helping to make it more sustainable, more profitable, more community oriented, more ethical – and maybe even more fun.

Selected applicants will have five minutes onstage to pitch their American Dream to a panel of celebrity judges and a live and digital crowd of thousands, competing for cash, prizes and a suite of services to help accelerate their startups. They’ll also receive mentoring, preparatory support, media love and the incredible experience of COMMON Pitch.

So far speakers and judges have yet to be announced, but applications open today and are due in by May 18th. If you’re interested, you can apply via the link below!

➤  Pitch Milwaukee: American Innovation

For more on COMMON, learn more about how social good gets its own accelerator

See the original article here - 

COMMON, an accelerator for social change, needs innovators for Pitch Milwaukee

U.S. trial refocuses priest abuse scandal

Leave a reply

Monsignor William Lynn was responsible for investigating reports of sexual abuse by priests in Philadelphia.

Monsignor William Lynn was responsible for investigating reports of sexual abuse by priests in Philadelphia.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Monsignor William Lynn has pleaded not guilty to two criminal counts
  • Lynn worked in the Philadelphia archdiocese from 1992 to 2004
  • He was responsible for investigating reports of sexual abuse by priests
  • His lawyers say he told his superiors of the allegations

(CNN) — Opening arguments are scheduled for Monday in Philadelphia in the first case in which an official of a Roman Catholic archdiocese has been accused of protecting abusive priests by moving them from parish to parish.

Monsignor William Lynn has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child. Lynn served as the vicar of clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, a position in which he was responsible for investigating reports that priests had sexually abused children.

A grand jury alleged that he knowingly allowed priests accused of abuse to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to children, according to the district attorney’s office. Lynn “acted as if his job was to protect the abuser, never the abused,” a January 2011 grand jury report concluded.

But Lynn’s lawyers argue that the monsignor had informed his superiors — including Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died in January — that priests in the archdiocese were assaulting children.

Pope leads open-air Mass in Mexico

The Lynn case has had reverberations across the country, including the October 2011 arrest of Bishop Robert W. Finn in Kansas City, Missouri, on charges that he failed to report suspected child abuse by a priest. Finn pleaded not guilty.

Lynn’s case has already had some surprises in the weeks leading up to this point. The latest came Thursday, when a co-defendant, defrocked priest Edward Avery, accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 2-1/2 to five years in prison.

The deal does not require Avery to testify against Lynn, leaving open the question of how it ultimately affects the case.

“This is a very mysterious plea,” says CNN legal analyst Paul Callan. “And it will be interesting to see as the trial rolls on why this plea was really entered, because there’s something going on that we don’t know about at this point in time.”

In February, the defense had a bombshell of its own. Lynn’s attorneys presented a document that seems to show that in 1994, Bevilacqua ordered shredded a document prepared by Lynn that listed the names of suspected abusers.

In jury selection process, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina as saying in open court, “Anybody that doesn’t’ think there is widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet.”

The comment prompted calls for Sarmina to recuse herself. She has not.

Because of a court-mandated gag order, all parties in the case are prevented from commenting. But Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, says Sarmina was inappropriate and incorrect.

“We don’t have a problem today,” Donahue said. “We had it in the ’60s and ’70s and in the first part of the 1980s. If [Sarmina] goes in there with that mindset, I think she should have recused herself. She’s already –as far as I’m concerned — she’s damaged goods.”

Cuba has complicated relationship with Church

Victims’ advocates say the Catholic Church still has a problem with priest abuse.

“We have seen no evidence either that the Catholic Church has really changed anything,” says Barbara Blaine, president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “We have seen them change their public relations and their statements, but we still haven’t seen one bishop to be fired or publicly punished for enabling or covering up for sexual predator priests.”

Blaine hopes this case will give survivors like Rich Green some justice.

Green, the nephew of deceased Cardinal John O’Connor of New York, says he was abused by a priest at a Philadelphia high school in 1990. The priest died in 1999, and the statute of limitations has run out on Green’s ability to sue the Philadelphia archdiocese.

Green did receive a settlement from the Archdiocese of Wilmington, Delaware, where the priest’s order is based, and says he plans to attend Lynn’s trial as often as he can.

“We are asking for these people who are responsible for destroying our lives to be held accountable for what they did to us,” Green said. “We are the ones telling the truth, and I don’t understand why the Catholic Church can’t tell the truth.”

Finding the truth will be the job of a jury that is likely to hear testimony from alleged victims; a possible taped deposition from Bevilacqua; and perhaps from Lynn himself.

Read this article - 

U.S. trial refocuses priest abuse scandal

Thumbnail

Bahrain considers change after unrest

Leave a reply


Bahrain king says changes have been made since crackdown

By the CNN Wire Staff

March 20, 2012 — Updated 1121 GMT (1921 HKT)

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa is expected to receive a report on recommended changes to the state's law and security.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa is expected to receive a report on recommended changes to the state’s law and security.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • NEW: The king says “broad progress” has been made toward reforms
  • An independent commission has criticized the authorities’ response to unrest
  • It recommended changes to Bahrain’s laws and security forces
  • An opposition member says not all recommendations have been carried out

(CNN) — King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain said Tuesday he welcomes the changes made since a critical report was released about his nation’s crackdown on protesters last spring.

“The government carefully studied the recommendations and received leading international legal, policing, media and other experts, to advise decision-makers on the most appropriate way for Bahrain to implement the structural and legislative reforms necessary,” Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority said. “The king welcomed the ‘significant and broad progress’ that has been made.”

In November, Bahrain’s Independent Commission of Inquiry issued a report that was highly critical of the authorities’ reaction to the protests, which began in February 2011, spurred by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

The demonstrations failed to gain the traction of other Arab Spring uprisings following a crackdown by the authorities in the island state, backed by troops from nearby Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Uncertainty lingers in Bahrain

Protests in Bahrain on revolt anniversary

Bahrain unrest, one year on

The independent commission, set up by the king, concluded that the police had used excessive force and torture in their response to the protests in Sunni-ruled, Shiite-majority Bahrain.

Abuse of detainees in the crackdown included beatings with metal pipes and batons, and threats of rape and electrocution, according to Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, the commission chairman.

The mistreatment included physical and psychological torture, intended to extract information or to punish those held by security forces, he said.

The report recommended reforms to the country’s law and better training of its security forces, as well as other measures.

On Tuesday, a national commission responsible for following up on those recommendations handed its final report to the king.

“I, like a good number of others, am afraid the report will say the BICI recommendations have largely been implemented, which is really not true,” Jasim Husain, a member of the opposition Wefaq Party and a former lawmaker, said before the follow-up report came out. “Some recommendations have been implemented but some have been overlooked.”

He said that some people involved in the protests had not been reinstated to their jobs, and that high-profile detainees had not been released.

Demonstrators and Bahraini authorities have continued to clash in recent months, with the opposition accusing the government of using heavy handed tactics.

CNN’s Samira Said contributed to this report.

ADVERTISEMENT


Part of complete coverage on

Unrest in the Arab world

Are you in a country affected by unrest? Send iReport your images, videos, and stories — but don’t do anything that could put you at risk.

For the latest news on developments in the Middle East and North Africa in Arabic.

Click on countries in CNN’s interactive map to see the roots of their unrest and where things stand today.

December 17, 2011 — Updated 1346 GMT (2146 HKT)

The desperate protest of a Tunisian fruit vendor sparked a revolution that has swept the Arab World throughout 2011.

December 17, 2011 — Updated 1353 GMT (2153 HKT)

CNN looks at how the protest of a Tunisian fruit vendor sparked a revolution that’s swept the Arab world throughout 2011

December 17, 2011 — Updated 1423 GMT (2223 HKT)

Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation one year ago was an act which symbolized the frustration and desperation of millions in the Arab world.

November 21, 2011 — Updated 2005 GMT (0405 HKT)

Spanish riot police stands ners the inscrpitions

Common factors have shaped the chaos in the Middle East and Europe, including high unemployment, slow growth, inexperienced leaders

Most Popular

Today’s five most popular stories

Mysterious nodding disease debilitates children

France investigates neo-Nazis after school killings

Opposition: Syrian regime’s fresh attack on Homs kills protest leader

Michael Bay says ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ are aliens, reinvents origin story

Romney faces another ‘must-win’ state in Illinois primary

More
ADVERTISEMENT

Link to article: 

Bahrain considers change after unrest

Thumbnail

Rowan Williams to step down as Anglican leader

Leave a reply

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams reads the Book of Common Prayer in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, London Friday March 16, 2012. Williams says he is stepping down at the end of the year, closing a tumultuous decade as leader of a global Anglican communion sharply divided on issues of sexuality and gender. He announced Friday that he will take up a new post as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. (AP Photo/Rebecca Naden/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams reads the Book of Common Prayer in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, London Friday March 16, 2012. Williams says he is stepping down at the end of the year, closing a tumultuous decade as leader of a global Anglican communion sharply divided on issues of sexuality and gender. He announced Friday that he will take up a new post as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. (AP Photo/Rebecca Naden/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams reads the Book of Common Prayer in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, London Friday March 16, 2012. Williams says he is stepping down at the end of the year, closing a tumultuous decade as leader of a global Anglican communion sharply divided on issues of sexuality and gender. He announced Friday that he will take up a new post as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. (AP Photo/Rebecca Naden/PA Wire) UNITED KINGDOM OUT

Buy AP Photo Reprints

LONDON (AP) — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is stepping down at the end of the year, he announced Friday, calling an end to a tumultuous decade as leader of a global Anglican Communion sharply divided on issues of sexuality and gender.

Williams, 61, will take up a new post as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

He was appointed in 2002 as archbishop of Canterbury, the senior official in the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion.

“It has been an immense privilege to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury over the past decade, and moving on has not been an easy decision,” Williams said.

“I am abidingly grateful to all those friends and colleagues who have so generously supported Jane (Williams’ wife) and myself in these years, and all the many diverse parishes and communities in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion that have brought vision, hope and excitement to my own ministry,” he added.

Much of Williams’ time as archbishop was devoted to efforts to hold the diverse churches within the Anglican Communion together despite an often bitter dispute over homosexuality which put conservative and growing African churches at odds with liberal churches in the United States and Canada.

Within England, Williams disappointed his liberal supporters by not backing the appointment of a gay priest, Jeffrey John, to a bishopric. Yet conservatives remained suspicious of Williams because, as archbishop of Wales, he had knowingly ordained gay men to the priesthood.

As the Church of England moves slowly toward allowing women to become bishops, Williams had sought with limited success to devise a formula to placate both advocates of female bishops, and those in the church who refuse to have anything to do with such an appointment.

Williams also caused a political storm in 2008 by suggesting that Islamic Sharia law could have a role in Britain in settling some disputes. The ensuing frenzy in some quarters ignored the fact that Islamic principles were already used to settle some disputes.

The archbishop gained the support of Lord Phillips, then the senior judge in England, who said “there was no reason why Sharia principles, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution.”

Associated Press

Link to original - 

Rowan Williams to step down as Anglican leader