New Delhi - Rangoon-based weekly journals closed down after Cyclone Nargis swept through the city and caused widespread power outages. Only a few news journals with generators continued to operate.

"At least 20 sport papers were closed due to the electricity shortage downtown and because they could not afford to run generators," said the editor of a news journal who did not want to be named.

Hein Latt, an editor of Popular Journal, said, "Six to seven papers, including Popular, Weekly Eleven and Flower News, were released today, but I do not remember which journals are closed because there are more than 100 papers here."

Journals that hit the news-stands this week covered the cyclone and featured photographs of a devastated Rangoon. Popular Journal devoted four pages to the cyclone.

The price of diesel went up to 18,000 kyats ($15.72 USD) per gallon from 4,500 kyats ($3.08USD) per gallon before the cyclone.

"Journals that are not good at sales and could not afford to buy oil and diesel must be closed," Hein Latt said. "But journals with good sales will try to publish and raise the paper's cost a little bit to cover their expenses from buying diesel."

Sales of the papers were expected to be high because of interest in the cyclone, he said.