Bahrain's long-serving prime minister dies at age 84
Dubai: Bahrain's Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, one of the world's longest-serving prime minister who led his island nation's government for decades and survived the 2011 Arab Spring protests that demanded his ouster over corruption allegations, died on Wednesday. He was 84.
Bahrain's state-run news agency announced his death, saying he had been receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic, without elaborating.
Prince Khalifa's power and wealth could be seen everywhere in this small nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. His official portrait hung for decades on walls alongside the country's ruler. He had his own private island where he met foreign dignitaries, complete with a marina and a park that had peacocks and gazelle roam its grounds.
The prince represented an older style of Gulf leadership, one that granted patronage and favors for support of the Sunni Al Khalifa family. That style would be challenged in the 2011 protests by the island's Shiite majority and others, who demonstrated against him over long-running corruption allegations surrounding his rule.
Though less powerful and frailer in recent years, his machinations still drew attention in the kingdom as a new generation now jostles for power.
Khalifa bin Salman represented the old guard in more ways than just age and seniority, said Kristin Smith Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Washington-based Arab Gulf States Institute. He represented an old social understanding rooted in royal privilege and expressed through personal patronage.
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Consumers feeling the heat of rising tender coconut prices in Karnataka
Bengaluru: The cost of tender coconuts has skyrocketed in Karnataka, with retail prices now ranging between Rs 50 and Rs 60 per coconut. In parts of North India, prices have even touched Rs 80 to Rs 100. This price hike is reportedly attributed to a combination of extreme temperatures in Northern India and lower yields in Karnataka, which has been facing its own heatwave.
Maddur, the largest market for tender coconuts in India, has seen average wholesale prices fluctuating between Rs 38 and Rs 50 per coconut over the past three months. Retail prices are higher and depend upon distance from key markets such as Davangere, Tumakuru, Mandya, Hassan, and others as reported by Deccan Herald on Saturday.
During June and July of this year, tender coconuts were available for around Rs 35 in Karnataka, the country's leading coconut producer. However, prices have spiked due to a variety of factors. According to the state government's online agriculture marketing information website, Krishi Marata Vahini, wholesale prices have risen by at least Rs 10,000 per 1,000 coconuts compared to last year.
V. Rajannab, Deputy Director of the Tumakuru APMC Yard, attributed the supply disruption to the "heatwave conditions of the summer of 2024," explaining that farmers could harvest only 30% to 40% of their expected yield. He told the news outlet that the increased demand from North Indian states has further driven up prices in the local market. Nearly 60% of Karnataka's tender coconuts are shipped to North India, with states like Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat now seeking supplies, he added.
Officials from the horticulture department have suggested that the high price of ball copra could also have impacted the supply of tender coconut. “The price of ball copra has more than doubled in the last three months, going from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000 a tonne. There is a general feeling that the price could go further high, which is why most of the farmers are not harvesting tender coconuts,” Horticulture Deputy Director Kadiregowda was quoted as saying by DH.
However, there is some hope for price relief in the near future. With copious rains this monsoon, the yield is anticipated to improve, which could further help stabilise the market and bring prices down in the coming weeks.
