The European Union yesterday suspended sanctions on 8 Zimbabwe officials - among them service chiefs, politicians and war veterans - but kept President Mugabe and the First Lady Grace Mugabe on the embargoed list. 

This comes as a visiting EU parliamentary delegation yesterday said it felt embarrassed to be part of the bloc that imposed sanctions on a sovereign nation. 

Zimbabwe's head of delegation to the African-Caribbean-Pacific and EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Makhosini Hlongwane, also described any claims by the EU that it was lifting travel bans as deceptive because what the country needed was an end to economic sanctions. 

The 28-nation EU announced it was removing travel bans on all individuals except the First Family.

Tags: Sanctions, EU,