EU approves new sanctions against Zimbabwe's Mugabe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Diplomats say European Union foreign ministers have agreed to increase sanctions against Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe to keep pressure on him to agree to share power with the opposition. They say the EU ministers meeting yesterday expanded their sanctions blacklist of people linked to Mugabe’s government to 172 people, adding 37 individuals and four companies believed to financially support Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. The list is subject to a travel ban and assets freeze. The EU ministers also concluded that Mugabe’s June reelection in a presidential run-off vote was illegitimate.