Broadcasting licence issued

ZIMBABWE has awarded its second television broadcasting licence to a state-owned newspaper group, entrenching the government’s monopoly over the broadcast media ahead of elections expected in a few months. Zimbabwe Newspapers, which runs some of the country’s biggest newspapers and several radio stations, said yesterday it had been issued a TV licence by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, which is also owned by the state, has been the sole broadcaster in the country since it gained independence from Britain in 1980.