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Archives for August 2015

Enhanced ex-gratia for 1984 victims from Monday: Arvind Kejriwal

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that the enhanced ex-gratia amount of Rs.5 lakh to the kin of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims will be distributed from Monday.

Delivering his first Independence Day speech as chief minister, the Aam Aadmi Party leader also praised Home Minister Rajnath Singh for making efforts to secure the enhanced compensation and said he would request the minister to give away the first cheque. “The first cheque will be distributed on Monday,” Kejriwal said.

“I appreciate Rajnath Singh’s efforts behind the enhanced compensation. I will try to have the first cheque given away by Rajnath Singh,” he said. As per official records, 3,325 people were killed in riots that broke out across the country after two Sikh bodyguards shot dead then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, triggering mob attacks on innocent Sikhs. Of them, 2,733 were killed in Delhi, which was the worst hit in the mayhem. Killings also took place in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan among other states.

In 2006, the UPA government announced a Rs.717 crore rehabilitation package for the riot victims. Of this, only Rs.517 crore was disbursed and the remaining Rs.200 crore got bogged down because of disputes over claimants. An additional relief of Rs.5 lakh was announced by Rajnath Singh in October last year.

(IANS)

Saluting Courage: Memorial for Vasant Rajab

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Vasant Rajab

Gujarat violence (2002) was horrific. In this, after the burning of train in Godhra in which 58 innocents died, the same tragedy was made the pretext to launch the massive violence in which over one thousand people perished. In the aftermath of that I got many occasions to visit different parts of Gujarat and also to come to know about two legendary youth who had laid down their life to protect the people when the communal violence was going on in Ahmadabad in July 1946. These two young men, Vasant Rao Hegishte and Rajab Ali Lakhani, close friends and workers of Congress Seva Dal, came to the streets to stop the killings. Vasant Rao trying to protect Muslims and Rajab Ali stood firm to save the Hindus. Both were done to death by the mobs.

The activists in Gujarat started celebrating 1st July as the day of communal harmony. Recognizing this fact government in Gujarat has raised a memorial in their memory, Bandhutva Smarak (Brotherhood Memorial). In the news of coverage of this program what struck me was that while Vasant Rao’s relatives were present for the program, the relatives of Rajab Ali were not there.

The acts of violence continued in the country after 1946 with increasing intensity. Relatives of Rajab Ali were targeted in the subsequent violence to the extent that first they started concealing their relationship with Rajab Ali, then started assuming Hindu names and finally some of them not only adopted Hindu religion, but also migrated to Canada and US! The person who stood for the amity of religious communities must not have envisaged that while he stood for such noble values, his own kin will be subject of attack by the divisive elements. This also reflects the trajectory of events where in India the Hindu-Muslim violence led to the condition where Muslims started feeling insecure. This in turn led ghettoisation. Today the percentage of religious minorities as the victim of communal violence is number of times more than their percentage in population. The ministry of Home affairs data of 1991, quoted by researches show that while Muslims were 12 odd percent in population then, they formed over 80% as the victims of communal violence.

In the aftermath of Gujarat violence one also saw that while a large number of prominent Hindus and Muslims were part of peace efforts, at the level also activists of both communities came forward for peace efforts. Today with the new Government in power the number of communal incidents has gone up by 25% right in just one year. The overall direction of the intercommunity relations is on trial and the fate of peace maker Rajab Ali’s kin is a sad reminder of the state of affairs.

Communal violence, violence in the name of religion, has been the cancerous phenomenon, which came into being with the colonial policies of British, policy of ‘divide and rule’. They introduced communal historiography where the religion of king became the central marker of his rule and his major policies related to taxation were down played. Kingdoms’ central focus of power and wealth was substituted by ‘religious identity’ and this was picked up by communal organizations. These communal organizations remained aloof from freedom movement and did their best in spreading hate against the ‘other’ religious community. Communal clashes began and there by a ‘social common sense’, which looks down on the other community; became the norm. The prevalence of myths, stereotypes, biases against minorities came in handy for the practitioners of communal politics in instigating the violence. The conclusions of investigation of communal violence and lately Yale University study tells us that, the areas where the violence takes place, the instigating communal organization becomes electorally strong and that’s what we are witnessing in India today. Climbing the ladder of violence the communal organizations come to the seat of power.

With increasing violence many a leaders voiced their concern for peace and amity. Gandhi and his close associates were the main force for promoting amity, Hindu Muslim Unity being the central credo of Gandhi’s politics. Notwithstanding that; violence went on rising in intensity and people like Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi went to the extent of laying down their lives to quell the riots, to save the innocents’, that’s what the victims of communal violence are.

Today we are in a phase where the violence has changed its form; from the massive bloody phenomenon to sub-radar actions where the minorities get intimidated on some issue of mosque or a church or eating beef or some other social practice. The major goal of communal forces is to polarize the communities along the religious lines.

What would a Gandhi have done in such a scenario? Many an experiments in peace have been floated, Mohalla Committees (Area level intercommunity committee), Shanti Sena (Peace Army), Awareness programs about need for harmony, interfaith dialogues, intercommunity celebration of religious festivals, promotion of films on harmony, Kabir Festivals have been popular amongst others. Social activists have also focused on getting justice for the victims of violence and promoting people to come together for programs cutting across religious lines. How to undo the ghettoization, how to create an awareness for amity overcoming negative perceptions does remain a challenge today, greater than ever before. The issue needs to be addressed to ensure that the likes of Rajab Ali’s kin do not have to hide or change their identity.

Revealed: Pentagon blocking release of cleared Guantánamo detainees

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Exclusive reporting by the Guardian reveals that the U.S. government is intentionally “dragging its feet” on allowing Shaker Aamer, others to go home

Demonstrators call for the release of cleared Guantanamo Bay detainee Shaker Aamer. (Photo: Justin Norman/flickr/cc)

Demonstrators call for the release of cleared Guantanamo Bay detainee Shaker Aamer. (Photo: Justin Norman/flickr/cc)

by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

The U.S. Pentagon is blocking the release of Guantánamo Bay detainees who have been cleared to return home through diplomatic deals between the U.S. and UK governments, the Guardian revealed on Thursday in an exclusive report.

Among those detainees is Shaker Aamer, a Saudi citizen and UK resident who has been held at the U.S. military base in Cuba for more than 13 years without charge and has twice been cleared for release. In 2010, the Pentagon itself participated in a federal review of Aamer’s case, as well as that of another detainee, both of whom were deemed to pose no threat to national security and cleared to go home.

But as one official told the Guardian, the U.S. government’s defense secretaries have been playing “foot-dragging and process games” to keep the diplomatic deals that secured his release from going through.

The Guardian reports:

Pentagon chief Ashton Carter, backed by powerful US militaryofficers, have withheld support for sending Aamer back to the UK. The ongoing obstruction has left current and former US officials who consider the detainees a minimal threat seething, as they see it undermining relations with Britain and other foreign partners while subverting from the inside Obama’s long-stifled goal of closing the infamous detention facility.

[….] The transfers have the backing of the US Justice Department, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

But since White House rules depend on full administration consensus, Aamer remains at Guantánamo until Carter and the Pentagon say otherwise.

The Pentagon is also blocking the release of Ahmed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania and Abdul Shalabi of Saudi Arabia. Carter has yet to sign the diplomatic deals already brokered between the U.S. and the men’s home countries which would enable their release.

Aamer’s case has drawn widespread support from human rights groups and peace activists. A campaign for his release, which operates under the banner Save Shaker Aamer, stages regular actions and protests to call attention to his continued illegal detention. According to legal charity Reprieve, which represents Aamer, he has been subject to force-feedings, solitary confinement, and beatings by guards up to eight times a day while in custody at Guantánamo Bay.

Climate change ‘set to fuel global food crisis’

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Global food shortages to become three times more likely due to climate change, according to report by US and UK experts.

Global food

by Al Jazeera

Global food shortages will become three times more likely as a result of climate change according to a report by a joint US-British taskforce, which warned that the international community needs to be ready to respond to potentially dramatic future rises in prices.

Food shortages, market volatility and price spikes are likely to occur at an exponentially higher rate of every 30 years by 2040, said the Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience.

With the world’s population set to rise to nine billion by 2050 from 7.3 billion today, food production will need to increase by more than 60 percent and climate-linked market disruptions could lead to civil unrest, the report, published on Friday, said.

“The climate is changing and weather records are being broken all the time,” said David King, the UK foreign minister’s Special Representative for Climate Change.

“The risks of an event are growing, and it could be unprecedented in scale and extent.”

Globalisation and new technologies have made the world’s food system more efficient but it has also become less resilient to risks, said King.

Some of the major risks include a rapid rise in oil prices fuelling food costs, reduced export capacity in Brazil, the US or the Black Sea region due to infrastructure weakness, and the possible depreciation of the US dollar causing prices for dollar-listed commodities to spike.

Global food production is likely to be most impacted by extreme weather events in North and South America and Asia which produce most of the world’s four major crops – maize, soybean, wheat and rice, the report found.

Such shocks in production or price hikes are likely to hit some of the world’s poorest nations hardest such as import dependent countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the report found.

‘Violence or conflict’

“In fragile political contexts where household food insecurity is high, civil unrest might spill over into violence or conflict,” the report said.

“The Middle East and North Africa region is of particular systemic concern, given its exposure to international price volatility and risk of instability, its vulnerability to import disruption and the potential for interruption of energy exports.”

To ease the pain of increasingly likely shocks, the report urged countries not to impose export restrictions in the event of extreme weather, as Russia did following a poor harvest in 2010.

The researchers said agriculture itself needs to change to respond to global warming as international demand is already growing faster than agricultural yields and climate change will put further pressure on production.

“Increases in productivity, sustainability and resilience to climate change are required,” the report said.

This will require significant investment from the public and private sectors, as well as new cross-sector collaborations.”

China orders evacuations as chemical fears grow

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Fire re-ignites at site of twin blasts in Tianjin, as death toll rises to 85, with more than 700 wounded.

china

by Al Jazeera

Residents living close to the site of giant explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin have been evacuated over fears of toxic contamination as new fires ignited.

Armed police were carrying out evacuations within 3km of the blast site on Saturday after highly poisonous sodium cyanide was found, the Beijing News said.

The blaze ignited again at the warehouse where the blasts struck on Wednesday night, with several small blasts heard by reporters from the Xinhua state news agency.

“Out of consideration for toxic substances spreading, the masses nearby have been asked to evacuate,” Xinhua reported.

Authorities announced on Saturday that the death toll has risen to 85, with more than 700 others still being treated in hospitals, including 25 who are in critical condition and 33 who are in serious condition.

A survivor was pulled from a shipping container on Saturday morning, state media reported. His identity was not immediately known. Television video showed the man being carried out on a sketcher by a group of soldiers wearing gas masks.

A team of chemical experts has been called in to the site to test for toxic gases.

Shockwaves from the blasts late on Wednesday were felt by residents in apartment blocks kilometres away in the city of 15 million people.

Furious residents and victims’ relatives railed against authorities outside a news conference on Saturday for keeping them in the dark as criticism over transparency mounted.

Residents and relatives were prevented from entering the press conference and could be heard shouting outside.

“Nobody has told us anything, we’re in the dark, there is no news at all,” screamed one middle-aged woman, as she was dragged away by security personnel.

The man survived for three days in a shipping container following the blasts [Reuters]

China has a patchy industrial safety record and the disaster has raised fears of toxic contamination after officials said they were unable to identify precisely what chemicals were at the site at the time.

Tianjin work safety official Gao Huaiyou listed a host of possible substances at the briefing, adding that the firm’s recent large exports had included sodium bisulfide, magnesium, sodium, potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and sodium cyanide, among others.

China on Friday defended the work of firefighters who initially hosed water on a blaze in a warehouse storing volatile chemicals, a response foreign experts said could have contributed to the explosions.

The explosions have disrupted the flow of cars, oil, iron ore and other items through the world’s 10th largest port.

The blast sent shipping containers tumbling into one another, leaving them in bent, charred piles.

Rows of new cars, lined up on vast lots for distribution across China, were reduced to blackened carcasses.

Tianjin is the 10th largest port in the world by container volume and the seventh largest in China, according to the World Shipping Council, moving more containers than the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg and Los Angeles.

It handles vast quantities of metal ore, coal, steel, cars and crude oil.

Authorities have only released limited information about the accident, a criticism often levelled at Chinese officials in the aftermath of disasters, and restricted discussion of it online.

More than 360 social media accounts have been shut down or suspended for “spreading rumours” about the blasts, Xinhua reported citing the Cyberspace Administration of China.

Karnataka: File report on farmer deaths, HC tells State Government

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karnataka high court

Bengaluru: State government has been asked to file an affidavit in two weeks listing out the measures taken to prevent farmers from committing suicide by High Court on Friday.

The directive came from a division bench of acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B V Nagarathna which was hearing the PIL filed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority over non-implementation of programmes launched for farmers such as Suvarna bhoomi.

Advocate Poonam Patil, representing KSLSA, drew the attention of the bench to the issues of farmers. Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar sought two weeks’ time to file the affidavit. Kumar told the court that the state is facing severe drought. He also said that the farmers are further stressed due to falling prices of sugar — it has dropped from Rs 30 to Rs 20 per kg — and non-payment of dues by sugar mills.

(Agencies)

Sri Lanka beats India by 63 runs

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Sri Lanka

Galle: Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath claimed seven wickets to bowl out India, chasing 176 in the second innings, for 112, to give Sri Lanka a 63-run win in the first Test match here on Saturday.

Herath (7-48) wrecked the Indian batting line-up on the fourth day of the match. For the Indian batting line-up that suffered a new low, middle-order batter Ajinkya Rahane (36) was the top scorer at the Galle International Cricket Stadium here on Saturday.

Herath was well supported in his efforts by fellow spinner Tharindu Kaushal 3-47, as the visitors succumbed under pressure chasing a small total of 176.

With the win, the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. The second Test begins on August 20 in Colombo.

Resuming the fourth day’s play on a sunny morning, the Sri Lankans were in an attacking mode as Herath and Kaushal gave the hosts early breakthroughs.

Nightwatchman Ishant Sharma (10) didn’t last long as he was adjudged leg before wicket off the bowling of Herath in the seventh over of the day.

India suffered two successive massive blows thereafter in the space of three overs as Rohit Sharma (4) and skipper Virat Kohli (3) were also sent back to the pavilion by the Lankan spin duo. India was in trouble at 45/4.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan (28) tried to wage a lone battle for India but he too fell quickly, followed by Wriddhiman Saha (2) and Harbhajan Singh (1) to leave India tottering at 67/7 at lunch and staring at a humiliating defeat.

Coming into field after lunch, the Sri Lankan spinners pounced on the Indian tail-enders to take the last three wickets 34 runs.

Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin (3) and Amit Mishra (15) all fell in a heap to give the hosts 1-0 lead. Varun Aaron (1) remained unbeaten.

India had ended the third day’s play at 23/1 after Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal’s unbeaten 162 helped the hosts avoid an innings defeat and take their second innings score to 367.

Sri Lanka were bundled out for 183 in th first innings on the first day while India scored 375 in their first innings to take a 192-run first innings lead.

(Agencies)

Patriotic fervour, freedom spirit mark Independence Day in Karnataka

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Siddaramiah

Bengaluru: Patriotic fervour and the spirit of freedom and nationalism marked the 69th Independence Day celebrations in Karnataka on Saturday.

Chief Minister Siddaramiah unfurled the tri-colour and sang the national anthem along with about 10,000 people who gathered at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground in the city centre for the grand occasion.

Earlier, a military helicopter hovered over the sprawling ground showering red rose petals around the podium, exciting the gathering and evoking applause.

Standing on an open jeep, the chief minister drove around for guard of honour and received salute from contingents of the three services (army, navy and air force), state police, home guards and fire forces at the podium.

After Siddaramaiah addressed the gathering in Kannada, battalions of the three services, state reserve police, home guards, NCC and Bharat Scouts and Guides, contingents of about 3,000 boys and girls from city school sand music bands treated the audience with a two-hour long impressive march past and historical and cultural shows, with patriotic songs renting the air.

Martial arts and daring feats and acrobatics on motorcycles by the military as well as the state police teams kept the crowds spellbound.

Later, the chief minister presented medals and awards to police officers and distributed prizes to the participating organisations. Reports from across the state said the national flag was hoisted in the respective districts by state cabinet ministers and deputy commissioners.

In Mangaluru, about 350 km away from here, about 500 students held a 350-metre long national flag in a long line that spilled into the main street from their school playground.

(Agencies)

 

Poison of communal frenzy have no place in India: Modi

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Modi

New Delhi: In a marathon address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, PM today underlined India’s unity and diversity and said the poison of casteism and communal frenzy have no place in the country.

Modi, in his second Independence Day address, focussed largely on the issue of corruption and asserted that the steps taken by his government over the last 15 months to deal with the “termite” had started yielding results.

Responding to opposition criticism that nothing is happening on the problem of black money, he said “some people love to spread pessimism” as he informed that about Rs 6500 cr of undeclared money has been disclosed during the compliance window provided by the government.

He spoke about a number of initiatives to end corruption and bring transparency and proposed doing away with the practice interviews for small jobs, contending that this becomes a route for corruption.

During the 85-minute address, he talked about the much-anticipated ‘One-Rank, One-Pension’, saying the government has “in-principle accepted” it and he was hopeful of a positive outcome of the ongoing discussions which are in the “last stage”.

He mentioned the announcements made during his first Independence Day address last year and said many of them had been implemented in a time-bound manner.

The government programmes are focussed on welfare of the poor and other under privileged sections while ensuring reduction in inflation and efforts to boost growth to double digit, he said.

While talking about efforts for development, Modi made a strong pitch for communal harmony and peace. “The world keeps signing praise about India’s diversity and greatness. Like diversity, the country also has simplicity and unity, which are our capital.

These have been nurtured over the centuries. This capital has to be preserved,” he said.

“Be it the poison of casteism or the frenzy of communalism, these have no place in the country and should not be allowed to grow. These ills have to be eradicated through the nectar of development,” he said.

Modi said if the unity of India is destroyed, then the “dreams” of the people will also be shattered as the country looking forward to development and progress.

Talking about the issue of corruption which he described as “termite”, the Prime Minister vowed to free the country from this evil “braving all kinds of attacks” on him as he asserted that there is not an allegation of even Re one corruption against his 15-month-old government.

“There is a lot of talk in our country about corruption. It is like a sick person giving suggestions to others on how to remain healthy, there are people who are themselves corrupt, who give suggestions on how to deal with corruption,” he said.

“Giving suggestions to each other is also an art. I want to give an account today…We have not shown our commitment to fight corruption by addressing press conferences. We are working on the ground. We have shown results,” he said.

He said the “termite” had spread but nobody took any action against it over the last 60 years. “There is a requirement of applying injection per square metre for a long time to deal with this termite,” Modi said.

Responding to criticism, he said, “some people love to spread pessimism. It is like an addiction. They cannot get sleep without it. For them, there is no meaning for programmes and initiatives. They keep on saying that nothing is happening, nothing is visible.”

Though he did not name anybody, his remarks assume significance as Rahul Gandhi had only last week in Parliament questioned what had been done on dealing with black money.

Mentioning the new Act made on black money, he said people have been complaining that it is “too tough” a law. “We have received messages that the law is too tough and it should be diluted,” he said, without naming anybody.

Likening it to treating a serious ailment which requires administering strong medicines, he said, “there can be side-effects but the ailment has to be cured.”

He said through the new law, while efforts are being made to bring back black money already stashed abroad, it has at least ensured that nobody dares to take tainted money out of the country.

He said through the compliance window provided by the government, around Rs 6500 crore of undeclared money has already been disclosed. “Is it not fighting corruption?”

(Agencies)

Syria army dropped 2,000 barrel bombs since July: US

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Assad government is seen as becoming reliant on ‘use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians’

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the Syrian war (AFP)

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the Syrian war (AFP)

by Middle East Eye

Syrian forces have dropped more than 2,000 barrel bombs across the country since July, killing hundreds of people, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday.

US envoy Samantha Power called for action to end the use of a type of improvised explosive that has particularly been targeted at the Damascus suburb of Darayya and the southwest region of Zabadani, near the Lebanon border.

“The Assad regime has apparently grown reliant on the repugnant use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians,” Power said in a statement.

“It is long past time for the international community to come together to end the deplorable use of barrel bombs and all other forms of attacks against civilians in Syria.”

The United States, France and Britain have repeatedly accused President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of using helicopters to drop barrels rigged with explosives on civilian areas.

Power condemned the latest wave of indiscriminate bombings that have “killed hundreds of people and destroyed schools, mosques, markets, hospitals and ambulances”.

The UN Security Council is discussing proposals for a resolution on barrel bombs that would increase the pressure on Damascus even though it adopted a resolution in February last year demanding an end to the attacks.

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the war, now in its fifth year, with more than 240,000 people dead.

Syrian opposition in Russia

Meanwhile, Syria’s main opposition group on Thursday insisted that Assad must go as it met with Russia’s foreign minister.

The head of Syria’s National Coalition Khaled Khoja held talks with top diplomat Sergei Lavrov as part of a fresh push by Russia to find a way out of the four-year civil war.

Moscow – one of Assad’s main backers – is pushing a plan for a broader grouping than the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, to include Syria’s government and its allies.

But Khoja – in Moscow for his first talks since February 2014 – ruled out cooperating with Assad and reiterated demands that the strongman must leave before any transitional government can be set up.

“Bashar Assad has no role in the future of Syria,” Khoja said in an interview with the Interfax news agency translated into Russian.

At the start of the meeting, Lavrov insisted that Russia was working with regional and international players to find a political solution to the crisis and stop Syria from becoming a “hotbed of terrorism”.

“The main thing now is that these interests translate into practical coordinated steps,” Lavrov said.

National Coalition representative Badr Jamous described the visit as “very good,” Russian Interfax reported after the sit-down.

“There were many issues where we agreed with the Russian representatives,” Jamous was quoted as saying.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir rejected calls to work with Assad against IS after a meeting with Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday.

The spate of meetings is part of a broader diplomatic flurry that saw Lavrov sit down with Jubeir and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Doha earlier this month.

As part of the push, Lavrov is expected to meet with the head of a newer grouping of opposition figures known as the Cairo Conference Committee on Friday.

On Wednesday, Russia’s top Middle East envoy met in Moscow with the head of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) Saleh Muslim to discuss the mooted anti-IS coalition and attempts to unite Syria’s opposition groups.

Syria’s opposition and Western officials have hinted that Moscow’s backing for Assad may be wavering, but Moscow insists it remains firmly behind the Syrian leader.

Kerry complains to Moscow about Iran general’s visit

Meanwhile, Kerry called Lavrov on Thursday to express concern about a visit to Moscow by the commander of Iran’s covert forces, a senior State Department official said.

General Qassem Suleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ foreign operations, reportedly visited Russia late last month despite being subject to UN-backed international sanctions.

A State Department spokesman said on Wednesday the United States had confirmed the trip had taken place and said US officials would raise their concerns with Russia at an upcoming New York meeting on violent extremism.

“Secretary Kerry also raised his concerns about the travel to Moscow by IRGC Commander Qassem Suleimani,” the senior official said on Thursday, outlining a call between the two diplomats.

Suleimani is one of several Iranian officials targeted by a 2007 United Nations travel ban because of their alleged links to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.

Despite the recent deal struck by Iran and world powers on its nuclear programme, the targeted sanctions against Suleimani and many of his colleagues remain in effect.

Suleimani has also been sighted visiting Iranian-backed forces in Iraq.

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