EU adds Iran's Revolutionary Guards to terrorist list
The European Union has added Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its terrorist list in response to Tehran's deadly crackdown on protesters in recent weeks, BBC reported.
"Repression cannot go unanswered," the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said, adding the move will put the IRGC - a major military, economic and political force in Iran - on the same level as jihadist groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the EU decision was a "stunt" and a "major strategic mistake".
Agents in Minneapolis could be pulled back if local officials cooperate, border tsar says
The Trump administration has suggested it is planning to "draw down" federal forces in Minnesota if there is cooperation from officials, after the fatal shootings of two US citizens in the state, BBC reported.
At a press conference in Minneapolis, White House Border Tsar Tom Homan vowed to continue the immigration enforcement operation, but added he wants "common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here".
"We are not surrendering our mission at all. We're just doing it smarter," Homan said, according to BBC.
China to relax travel rules for British visitors, UK says
China has agreed to allow British citizens to travel to the country for up to 30 days without a visa, Downing Street has said, BBC reported.
The announcement came after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met President Xi Jinping in Beijing, as he became the first British leader to visit the country in eight years.
The trip also saw an agreement to cut import taxes on UK whisky from 10% to 5%, as the government seeks closer trade ties with Beijing to help boost economic growth, according to BBC.
Trump says Putin will not attack Ukraine cities during cold week
US President Donald Trump says Russia's Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attack Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other cities and towns for a week due to "extraordinary cold" weather, BBC reported.
Russia has not confirmed any such agreement, but Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump's announcement and said he expected Russia to keep its promise.
Trump did not specify when the pause would begin, but temperatures in the Ukrainian capital are due to plummet from Thursday night and reach -24C (-11F) in the next few days, according to BBC.
