zimbabwe: civic groups fear crackdown

Zimbabwean civic groups said Monday they plan to meet this week to find alternative means of publishing information following the closure of the country's sole independent daily paper, threatening a boycott of one of the state-run newspapers. President Robert Mugabe's government shut down the Daily News last week on grounds that it was operating without a license, provoking major international condemnation. The paper's subsequent application to register was rejected.