News In Brief

Uruguayan crackdown on political news continues

Uruguay's military government published a decree Friday permanently closing the weekly magazine Conviccion after it printed an interview with exiled Blanco Party leader Wilson Ferreira Aldunate.

It was the fourth permanent closure in a three-week period that saw another seven publications clamped under temporary bans.

A ban on publication of political news was imposed last August as talks with politicians on a return to democracy - promised for next year - broke down. The military was seeking special powers under a future civilian government.

The 10-year-old military government has since repeated its pledge to hold elections this November.