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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Dalit woman, daughter assaulted, dragged on road in MP's Morena over trivial incident; 2 held
Morena, Jan 3: A Dalit woman and her daughter were brutally assaulted on Friday allegedly by two men and then dragged on the road in Morena in Madhya Pradesh following a minor incident involving a dog, a police official said.
A video of the incident, which took place in full public view in Ambah area, went viral on social media.
"Anita Mahor has sustained serious injuries after being hit by sticks and then dragged on the road. Her daughter Bharti is also injured. We have arrested Rajesh Tomar and Kumher Singh Tomar for assaulting them," Ambah police station in charge Satendra Singh Kushwaha said.
"Anita Mahor's son Deepak has told us that his younger brother Santosh was going to throw waste this morning when he was startled by the presence of a dog. He threw the waste, which also included dung, on the dog in fright and fled. This infuriated the two accused," he said.
The two accused and others stormed into Mahor's house armed with a chopper and sticks and attacked her and her kin, police said.
