U.S. Sen. Chris Coons ‘concerned’ by delay in Iran sanctions

United States Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) is calling for President Barack Obama to move forward with new sanctions against Iran's regime over a pair of recent ballistic missile tests, The Hill reported on Monday.

"I don't know why the administration has hesitated, but I am urging them publicly and privately to move ahead with those designations," he told reporters. "I am concerned with the hesitation to move forward with the ballistic missile related designations."

Sen. Coons is among a growing number of Democrats, including some who supported the Iran nuclear deal, who have called on the president to take a firm response to two missile tests late last year. They argue that the administration's response should show Iran's regime that it will not be able to cheat on the nuclear agreement.

The Obama administration suggested late last year that it was preparing new sanctions against individuals tied to the Iranian regime's missile program, before walking back those statements.

Sen. Coons, who supported the Iran nuclear deal, said it was "very clearly communicated and it played a role in my decision" to support the nuclear agreement that the United States was still able to sanction Iran's regime on non-nuclear issues including its missile program or support for terrorist groups.

The administration has gotten bipartisan criticism over its handling of the Iranian missile tests, which lawmakers say violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Senate Republicans are calling on Obama to block lifting sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal because of the recent ballistic missile tests, rejecting the administration's argument that the two are separate issues. The move would likely undermine the nuclear agreement.

ROME , Italy - American woman found murdered

ROME, Italy — A murder investigation was underway Sunday after the body of an American woman was found in her apartment in Florence, Italian police said.

Ashley Olsen, who is originally from Florida, was found with bruises around her neck, Florence prosecutor's office spokeswoman Maddalena Carosi told NBC News.

Ashley Olsen Rowena Bernardo

Her Italian boyfriend is not a suspect at present, Carosi said.

Local media reports said the 35-year-old's body was found on a bed in the apartment, which is located in Florence's historic center.

According to the AP, Olsen's body was identified by the her father, who reportedly teaches at a Florence school.

The woman had neck injuries. Maurizio Degl'Innocenti / AP

La Repubblica daily said Olsen loved art and had organized events connected to the art world.

Rowena Bernardo, a coworker and friend of Olsen's in Florence, remembered Ashley as one of the most wonderful people she had ever met. Bernardo and Olsen worked together in Florence's fashion industry.

"She can come out with great styling in a matter of minutes. All of our shoots, she styled herself," Bernardo wrote to NBC News in an email. "She is very smart and naturally cool. We would have drinks and would confide with each other on life and all.

"She is very dear to me, she is great as a friend and I consider her more of a younger sister." 

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Iran’s chess grandmaster refused to play against the Zionist player

TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) – Iran’s chess grandmaster refused to play against the Zionist player in the fifth round of international chess tournaments in Switzerland.

Once again, an Iranian athlete rejected the existence of the Zionist state to announce to the world the voice of justice and support for the oppressed people of Palestine.

The Iranian grandmaster, Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami withdrew from competing against the Israeli chess player at 2016 Basel Schachfestival chess tournament.

Basel Schachfestival 2016 kicked off on January 1 in the city of Basel in Switzerland and will wrap up today January 5.

The Iranian chess players present at the event include Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami, Dorsa Derakhshani and Borna Derakhshani.

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Saudi soccer clubs will not play Asian Champions League matches in Iran

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia- Saudi Arabia’s soccer federation has said its clubs will not play Asian Champions League matches in Iran amid rising diplomatic tension, Associated Press reported JAN 8, 2016.

The decision at a SAFF executive meeting comes days after individual clubs refused to travel to Iran for safety reasons when the competition kicks off next month.  
Two Saudi clubs are already scheduled to play in Iran and a playoff round could create two more matches there.
Sporting tensions increased days before the countries’ national under-23 teams begin the 2016 Olympic qualifying tournament in Qatar.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday.
On Thursday, the Saudi soccer body said it awaits an Asian Football Confederation response to its request to order matches for its clubs in Iran moved to neutral countries.
An AFC spokesman said Thursday it is “monitoring the situation.”
The Asian body’s president, and FIFA presidential candidate, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa is a royal family member in Bahrain which has also cut ties with Iran.

No to Rouhani – Iranians rally in Paris on Saturday

NCRI - Iranians in central Paris on Saturday held a protest against human rights abuses by the mullahs' regime.

The Iranian supporters of the main Iranian opposition group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) pointed out that executions have significantly increased under the presidency of mullah Hassan Rouhani.

They denounced Rouhani's planned trip to Paris on 28 January, and they urged the French government and European Union to base their relations with Iran's regime on an improvement in the human rights situation in Iran.

The Iranian protestors in Paris' Trocadero Square also held up banners with Twitter hashtags #No2Rouhani and #StopExecutionsIran.

Many Parisians were drawn to the rally and participated in Tweeting photographs of themselves holding up signs denouncing Rouhani's appalling human rights record.

The human rights situation has been deteriorating rapidly in Iran. More than 2,000 individuals have been executed during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure as President of the regime. This is the highest rate of executions in the past 25 years, and it reflects an increase over figures that had already secured Iran’s place as the nation with the most executions per capita.

On December 17, 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution strongly condemning the brutal and systematic violation of human rights in Iran, in particular the mass and arbitrary executions, increasing violence and discrimination against women and ethnic and religious minorities.

Following the adoption of the 62nd UN resolution censuring human rights abuses in Iran, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect Maryam Rajavi called on the UN Security Council to hold the leaders of the clerical regime accountable and prosecute them for crimes against humanity. She underlined that this is a necessary step towards respecting the international community's vote that condemned the systematic and flagrant violations of human rights in Iran.