LAURA KELLY

18:15 - The Biden administration announced Monday it would allow Venezuelans to apply for temporary legal status in the United States, a move designed to increase pressure on the Maduro government by providing protection to those that have fled the regime.

15:10 - Top United Nations officials are calling for the U.S. to reverse a decision to label Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis as a terrorist organization, saying the move will cause a large-scale famine in a country already suffering the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

16:53 - The House and Senate are expected to approve legislation restoring Sudan’s sovereign immunity as part of its removal from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

15:32 - The Trump administration on Monday imposed mandatory sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition last year of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, following the passage in Congress last week of legislation requiring such sanctions to be imposed shortly.

16:10 - President-elect Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of Israel and India on Tuesday as he continues to shore up support from key global allies before entering office in January.

14:45 - President Trump on Friday announced an opening of relations between Sudan and Israel, building upon a breakthrough of diplomatic ties between the Jewish state and Gulf Arab nations that have traditionally shunned Israel over its conflict with the Palestinians.

17:40 - The Trump administration on Thursday announced sweeping new sanctions on Iran’s financial sector, targeting at least 18 banks in a move that critics say will hamper humanitarian assistance during the pandemic.

12:45 - The Trump administration on Wednesday announced over a dozen new sanctions on government and military officials and business leaders tied to Syrian President Bashar Assad, blacklisting human rights abusers for atrocities against civilians throughout the nine-year civil war in that country.

13:46 - The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo agreed to normalize economic relations in a meeting at the White House with President Trump on Friday, with the Muslim-majority nations also notably agreeing to closer ties with Israel.