2 February: The price of Brent crude oil rose above $111 per barrel yesterday, gaining for a second straight session on fears that tensions between Iran and the West may escalate further.Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani again underlined that threat yest

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.

The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov human rights prize to jailed Georgian journalist and editor Mzia Amaghlobeli and Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, calling them symbols of the "struggle for freedom". Amaghlobeli, 50, has emerged as a symbol of journalistic defiance to what the European Union says is a slide toward authoritarianism in her country.