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DUBAI, Sept 2 |
DUBAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) – The growth of Bahrain’s takaful
(Islamic insurance) sector dipped to single digits in 2011 for
the first time in a decade, while still outpacing growth in
conventional insurance, according to data released on Sunday by
the country’s central bank.
Takaful gross contributions grew by 4.25 percent to 40.2
million dinars ($107 million) in 2011, the central bank said in
a statement. This compares to 18 percent growth in 2010, with
double-digit growth registered in all of the previous 10 years,
central bank data shows.
Growth still outpaced that observed in the overall insurance
market, with gross premiums for both Islamic and conventional
insurance combined increasing by 2.12 percent to 214.9 million
dinars in 2011, down from 4.95 percent a year earlier.
Combined assets for the insurance sector grew by 7.65
percent to 1.46 billion dinars during 2011. No breakdown was
available for the growth of takaful assets alone.
The takaful sector, which has its core markets in the Gulf
and southeast Asia, is a bellwether of consumer appetite for
Islamic finance products. But slower growth in core takaful
markets is raising pressure on the sector to boost efficiency,
roll out new products and explore new markets.
Bahrain has been a major hub for Islamic finance in the Gulf
region, but in recent years that role has been challenged by
other financial centres such as Dubai and Doha.
The country’s takaful sector was hit hard by the 2008 global
financial crisis, with assets decreasing 35 percent that year,
prompting the reorganisation of one of its flagship operators,
Solidarity Group.
An alternative to conventional insurance, takaful is based
on the concept of mutuality; the takaful company oversees a pool
of funds contributed by all policy holders, but does not
necessarily bear risk itself.
In their investments, takaful firms must follow religious
guidelines, including bans on interest and pure monetary
speculation, and a prohibition on investing in industries such
as alcohol and gambling.
(Editing by Andrew Torchia)
back now at 8:37. our nation’s colleges are filled with students of every race, creed and color. in the book “fraternity” author diane brady reminds us things were different. craig melvin, good morning.
good morning to you, natalie. the book traces the story of a priest and his revolutionary recruitment of a
stellar class
of
black
men to a small new england college. a group that included several attorneys, a
super bowl
champ,
pulitzer prize
winner and
supreme court justice
. we sat down with father
brooks
for what turned out to be his last television interview. he died monday at the age of 88. in many ways this book turns out to be a testament to his life’s work. father
john brooks
vividly remembered what many are saying about his idea to integrate the prestigious
college of the holy cross
.
i thought it was absolutely ridiculous at first. why are you bringing them in? they are not offering you anything. they are not going to help the school at all. they were reflective of the racial attitudes that were fairly consistent in the
united states
.
that we as a people will get to the promise land.
in
1968
, just months after dr.
martin luther king
, jr., was killed and riots erupted around the country, the 44-year-old dean of students hopped in his white
pontiac gto
and headed to
america
‘s inner cities with full scholarships in hand. he was intent on fulfilling his mission at the nearly all white
catholic university
in wooster, massachusetts.
it was a
moral obligation
. a needy saw for african-american students who if they didn’t get this opportunity could be badly deprived.
in detroit he found a star basketball player. in washington, d.c., a self-described studious mama’s boy named
ted wells
. in new
york city
eddie jenkins, football standout who saw the cross as an opportunity and obligation.
there was a war going on and there was a war in the streets. we felt that it was time for us to stake our claim. we didn’t just want to come in and get a degree and join
middle classamerica
, we wanted to basically build a new nation.
reporter:
at first some of the young men were skeptical about
brooks
idea.
historically black colleges
gave great education to our
young people
. great schools to go to. you don’t have to go to this
ivy league
white school in boston.
reporter:
they knew full well what was ahead of them.
there were a number that had no interest in getting to know us.
reporter:
nonetheless they accepted scholarships and started working on gaining acceptance.
we did not want to be treated like minorities. we wanted to have an equal presence, a presence where we did not have to give up our identity.
they started by forming one of the country’s first
blackstudent unions
.
a group of brothers who wanted to be with each other, come together with a strategy of the bible.
reporter:
they lobbied for more
black
students and professors with diverse curriculum and for solidarity’s sake.
ted wells
and myself, we were a few rooms past the bathroom.
they pushed for all
black
hall in the white dorms. many saw it as self-segregation. it also surprised father
brooks
.
i thought it was a stupid idea. the more i listened, it became clearer and clearer to me, they simply needed this kind of time together.
reporter:
the men would get together weekly at
blackstudent union
meetings.
holy cross
has been good to me and for me.
reporter:
supreme court justiceclarence thomas
also attended
holy cross
during that time.
it is i who owe the debt of eternal gratitude.
reporter:
during bse, they would argue passionately about everything from race to history’s most brilliant
black
intellectuals, philosophical differences that exist today.
the arguments we had at 18, we continue to have at 60. i
see the world
very differently than he sees the world. with that said, there’s a bond between everybody who went to
holy cross
during that period and father
brooks
is a big part of that.
for many of the 20 men he recruited and the greater
holy cross
community
brooks
, who was there for life’s marquis moments, the vatican trained priest served as president emeritus where women are 53% of the former all male
student body
and minority students are a quarter of the freshman class. father
brooks
continued to push for change into his 80s.
we should continually be searching for academically strong
black
students to come here and to engage in a strong curricul curriculum.
like that trailblazing class of
1972
. eddie jenkins went on to play for the undefeated
miami dolphins
. stan grayson became a
wall street
executive, former deputy mayor of new
york city
.
ted wells
is one of
america
‘s most prominent trial lawyers.
we developed our sense of confidence and our sense of leadership. and the things we learned at
holy cross
really resulted in our being successful.
father
brooks
was teaching a seminar at
holy cross
as recently as this past school year. he will be buried next monday, of course, on the campus of
holy cross
where he spent so many decades working on behalf of the students. the men he recruited said they were sattened by his death but grateful for the impact he had and in their lives. natalie.
what a great honor for you to have the opportunity to probably get one of his last interviews.
such a remarkable man. what’s just as remarkable is the strength of the bond that he managed to maintain with all those students for all these years.
such an impact on them. craig melvin, great story. thank
City Academy in St. Paul, Minn., became the nation’s first publicly funded, privately run charter school when it opened its doors in 1992. Its founders, all veteran public school teachers, had tried but failed to create new programs for struggling students in their own schools.
The school helped launch a movement that has since grown to 5,600 charter schools across the U.S. But back in the late 1980s, it faced strong resistance.
Milo Cutter was one of City Academy’s founders. She had grown frustrated at her old school, where kids dropped out in droves. Around that time, state lawmakers in Minnesota were pushing to create so-called “outcome-based” schools, later called charter schools.
Cutter saw an opportunity to open a school for kids who were lost or forgotten.
“They were older students, and as most people are aware, that’s not a high-priority group,” Cutter says.
What’s A Charter School If Not A Game Changer?
But the idea of the school sparked opposition. Critics argued that publicly funded, privately run charter schools would take money away from traditional public schools. Former Minnesota State Sen. Ember Reichgott Junge, who authored the first charter school law in the country, says unions in Minnesota were also opposed to the idea.
Even though the nation’s second largest teachers’ union had come out in favor of charters as early as 1988, Minnesota unions warned that charter schools would turn kids into “guinea pigs.”
Ultimately, City Academy opened with a tiny budget and 53 students. Twenty years later, it has twice as many kids. Almost all are low-income, and many have repeatedly failed Minnesota’s basic skills test. Some have been incarcerated.
Much has changed in Minnesota as a whole in the past two decades. This fall, charter schools in the state will enroll approximately 38,000 students — or 5 percent of the state’s total K-12 population. Union opposition has faded, in part because teachers in traditional public schools aren’t happy with the status quo either.
Louise Sundin helped create the Minnesota Guild of Public Charter Schools, the nation’s first union-funded group with the power to authorize charters. She says that in Minnesota at least, most teachers have found that charter schools can empower them, too.
Examiner.com is the inside source for everything local. We are powered by Examiners, the largest pool of passionate contributors in the world.
Examiners provide unique and original content to enhance life in your local city wherever that may be. Examiners come from all walks of life and contribute original content to entertain, inform, and inspire.
LAS VEGAS – After talking, planning and collecting iconic Las Vegas casino, motel and store signs since 1996, the Neon Museum finally has an opening date.
The 2-acre resting place for more than 150 brightly lighted signs, known for years as the Neon Boneyard, is expected to open to the public for foot tours Oct. 27, after its keepers finish converting the lobby of the old La Concha motel into a visitor center and shop.
The La Concha embodies an era before the Strip became dominated by large corporations and video walls. Its distinctive clamshell shape, dating to 1961, stood next to the Riviera hotel-casino. It was moved several miles up Las Vegas Boulevard six years ago.
“Part of the lure is that people are looking for the ‘Old Vegas’ experience,” said William Marion, chairman of the board of trustees of the nonprofit Neon Museum. “This is a unique way to show it to people.”
The museum near Cashman Center just north of downtown Las Vegas has been generating revenue for a couple of years by offering $15 tours for about 80 to 100 people a day. But Marion told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that limited capacity has forced the museum to turn away about 20 people a day.
The museum board now aims for a first-year operating budget of $1 million. Tours will be every half hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Tickets will be $18 for adults and $12 for seniors, students, locals and veterans. Children 6 and under will get in free. Souvenirs and rentals for photo shoots or receptions also will be offered.
Project architect Patrick Klenk calls the 16 restored signs that have been placed as teasers around the downtown Fremont Street area in recent years “bits of the Neon Museum spread like bread crumbs.”
Klenk, president of Westar Architects, said the idea create interest about the signs.
Marion, managing partner of the Purdue Marion Associates public relations firm, said an aggressive marketing push will follow the opening in the attempt to more than triple visitor counts to the about 400 a day during full operations, he said.
The museum had to raise $2.8 million to bring its plans to life. About $600,000 was spent to rescue the La Concha from demolition and move it.
About $500,000 came from private donations and the rest from local, state and federal sources. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority contributed about $300,000.
Much of the collection was donated by sign companies, Marion said. Many companies leased the signs to the casinos, then kept them in a boneyard for spare parts after they were replaced.
Neon signs in the United States date from the 1893 World Fair in Chicago. But Las Vegas has become almost as known for bright lights as for slot machines. The museum features signs from wedding chapels, used car lots and prohibition speakeasies and a looping 40-foot moniker from Las Vegas’ first integrated casino, the Moulin Rouge.
Sam Durley made NCAA history Saturday night and only 900 people were in attendance to see it.
Durley, the starting quarterback for Division III Eureka (Ill.) College, threw for 736 yards in a 62-55 win over Knox College.
Yeah, you read that right. Durley threw for more yards than No. 2 Alabama and No. 8 Michigan had in total offense — combined.
(Eureka Athletics)
Durley, who completed 34 of 52 passes for five touchdowns, broke the mark that was previously held by Zamir Amin of Menlo College, who passed for 731 yards on Oct. 7, 2000 against Cal Lutheran.
Durley told The Pantagraph that he had no idea what his passing numbers were because he was too focused on the game.
“I thought maybe high 300s,” Durley said of his yardage total. “We were so focused on driving down the field and getting the win. They told me afterward and I was pretty speechless. It’s definitely something that’s pretty cool.”
Two of Durley’s touchdown passes came in the final two minutes, including the game-winning toss with 20 seconds remaining.
- – -
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ROME |
ROME (Reuters) – The former archbishop of Milan and papal candidate Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini said the Catholic Church was “200 years out of date” in his final interview before his death, published on Saturday.
Martini, once favored by Vatican progressives to succeed Pope John Paul II and a prominent voice in the church until his death at the age of 85 on Friday, gave a scathing portrayal of a pompous and bureaucratic church failing to move with the times.
“Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our rituals and our cassocks are pompous,” Martini said in the interview published in Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
“The Church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops. The pedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation,” he said in the interview.
In the last decade the Church has been accused of failing to fully address a series of child abuse scandals which have undermined its status as a moral arbiter, though it has paid many millions in compensation settlements worldwide.
Martini, famous for comments that the use of condoms could be acceptable in some cases, told interviewers the Church should open up to new kinds of families or risk losing its flock.
“A woman is abandoned by her husband and finds a new companion to look after her and her children. A second love succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not just the mother will be cut off but also her children.”
In this way “the Church loses the future generation”, Martini said in the interview, made a fortnight before he died. The Vatican opposes divorce and forbids contraception in favor of fidelity within marriage and abstinence without.
A liberal voice in the church, Martini’s chances of becoming pope were damaged when he revealed he was suffering from a rare form of Parkinson’s disease and he retired in 2002.
Pope John Paul II was instead succeeded in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI, a hero of Catholic conservatives who is known by such critical epithets as “God’s rottweiler” because of his stern stand on theological issues.
Martini’s final message to Pope Benedict was to begin a shake up of the Catholic church without delay.
“The church is 200 years out of date. Why don’t we rouse ourselves? Are we afraid?”
Martini was much loved and thousands paid their respects at his coffin in Milan cathedral on Saturday.
(Reporting By Naomi O’Leary)
Mike Trout and Torii Hunter singled to open the eighth. Albert Pujols then hit a one-hopper to third baseman Kyle Seager, who couldn’t corral it down for an error. That allowed Trout to score, tying the game at 2, while Hunter and Pujols each moved into scoring position.
Kendrys Morales bounced out, and Trumbo then sent a hit through the left side as both runners scored easily.
The three-run rally continued against reliever Stephen Pryor as Howie Kendrick delivered a RBI single.
The Angels have won five in a row.
King Felix gave up five runs — four earned — in 7 1-3 innings. He yielded nine hits, walked two and struck out seven.
In three starts against the Angels, Hernandez is 0-2. He has allowed 15 runs and 24 hits for a 5.75 ERA. His ERA against the rest of baseball: 2.16.
Ervin Santana (8-11) went seven innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out two.
Ernesto Frieri worked the ninth to pick up his 17th save in 19 opportunities.
The Angels scored first, on Pujols’ RBI double in the first inning.
Trayvon Robinson tied it with his second home run, in the third. Franklin Gutierrez gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead with a run-scoring double in the third.
NOTES: The Angels added four players to the roster. Left-handers Nick Maronde and Andrew Taylor had their contracts purchased from the minors while C John Hester and INF Andrew Romine were recalled. “That depth is something that can help you,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. … Seattle also added a pair, OF Carlos Peguero and RHP Erasmo Ramirez. The club intends to bring up more players but will wait until after the minor league season ends Monday. OF Michael Saunders sat out after tweaking his right hamstring Friday. It came after he missed six games with the same injury. “I don’t think it’s any setback whatsoever,” Saunders said. He expected to be back in the lineup in a couple days. Manager Eric Wedge added, “Sometimes you just don’t know till you get out there at game speed.” this was the first of three straight home day games for the Mariners, the first time that has happened since Sept. 4-6, 1999, against Boston.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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