Al-Jazeera decries Egypt ban

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The pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera said Sunday that Egyptian authorities ordered the closure of its Cairo news hub overseeing coverage of the country's massive street protests, denouncing the move as an attempt to "stifle and repress" open reporting.

The Qatar-based network has given nearly round-the-clock coverage to the unprecedented uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and had faced criticism by some government supporters and other Arab leaders as a forum to inspire more unrest.

Al-Jazeera's flagship Arabic channel has faced numerous bans and backlash across the Arab world, including bitter complains this month from the Palestinian Authority over allegations that its reporting favoured rival Hamas over leaked documents about peace talks with Israel. Al-Jazeera also broadcasts in English.

But the ban by Egyptian officials comes amid one of the most pivotal Arab political showdowns in decades and a possible watershed moment for Arab networks expanding their presence on the web and social media.

The blanket coverage offers another example of how border-spanning outlets such as Al-Jazeera and the worldwide reach of the internet have destroyed the once-unchallenged media control of governments.

Al-Jazeera called the Egyptian ban "an act designed to stifle and repress the freedom of reporting by the network and its journalists."

"In this time of deep turmoil and unrest in Egyptian society, it is imperative that voices from all sides be heard," said the statement from its headquarters in Qatar's capital Doha. "The closing of our bureau by the Egyptian government is aimed at censoring and silencing the voices of the Egyptian people."

The network promised to continue its coverage, but it was unclear in what form. It said Al-Jazeera journalists would provide updates on Twitter. The network had previously posted clips from broadcasts on YouTube, but there were no new items after the ban was imposed.

Mobile phone, web link crackdown

The station broadcast video clips tagged as "live" showing crowds in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, but they appeared to be from fixed rooftop cameras and were not accompanied by reports directly from Egypt. It was unclear whether Egypt's ban would permit such shots.

It also was not immediately clear whether Egypt's ban would extend to other Arab broadcasters, such as Dubai-based Al-Arabiya.

In contrast, at least one Egyptian state TV channel late Saturday and early Sunday started broadcasting soothing pharaonic pictures, shots of the tranquil Nile River and greenery after ending a newscast in which they listed the areas where thugs were active in Cairo.

Egypt has moved aggressively to try to control mobile phones and the web since the protests swelled late last week inspired by the uprisingthat drove Tunisia's long-ruling leader from power. Egyptian authorities cut mobile phones and web links in tactics that mirrored the information choke-hold imposed by Iran's security forces in the chaos after last year's disputed elections.