SA DROPS PLANS TO SCRAP ZIM PERMITS

South Africa jettisoned a plan that would have forced about 200,000 Zimbabweans to return home, to the satisfaction of critics who said it would have caused a humanitarian crisis. The Department of Home Affairs gave no reason for withdrawing its directive to end the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit on Monday. The cabinet’s Nov. 25 decision to end the permits drew a chorus of complaints from human