EU agrees on new sanctions Assads family

The European Union has tightened the noose on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s family, slapping a travel ban and asset freeze on his wife, mother and sister. The European Union agreed Monday to slap new sanctions on the Syrian regime, banning exports of luxury goods and further restricting the sale of items used to repress protesters, a diplomat said.“These sanctions are ready to be put in place against Syria,” the diplomat told AFP after EU ambassadors agreed on the sanctions ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. The extent of the luxury ban has yet to be defined but the aim is to deliver a symbolic blow against the posh lifestyle of President Bashar al-Assad and his glamorous British-born wife Asmaa, another diplomat said.The EU also decided to expand the blacklist to dual-use goods which can be used for internal repression or for the manufacturing of equipment used for internal repression.