EU to ban sale of Syria oil to bloc

Britain's foreign secretary says the European Union will seek a ban on sale of Syrian oil to the 27-member bloc, part of new efforts to step up pressure on President Bashar Assad's regime. William Hague has also told reporters on the sidelines of an international meeting in Paris on Libya that Britain and others are working on a new United Nations Security Council resolution against Syria. Hague said Thursday there was "a real prospect that we will agree sanctions on the sale of oil into the European Union," and that the plan would be discussed at a weekend meeting in Poland. The U.N. estimates that 2,200 people have been killed during Syria's months-long crackdown on anti-government protesters.