Al Jazeera Cairo Bureau Shuttered

DOHA/CAIRO: Al Jazeera Network’s Cairo bureau was closed by the Egyptian government over the weekend, and the international news channel’s license to broadcast in the country has been revoked.

Al Jazeera had been on the front lines covering the protests in Cairo. This weekend, authorities closed the Cairo bureau, revoked the credentials of its reporters and blocked the Al Jazeera signal from NileSat.

Wadah Khanfar, director general of Al Jazeera Network, noted, “Regardless of the multiple attempts by the Egyptian authorities to deter and impede our reporting, Al Jazeera continues its comprehensive coverage of the landmark events unfolding in Egypt.”
 
In a company-wide communication to staff Khanfar noted, “This news should not be met with disappointment, but instead be used as fuel for further impetus, galvanizing our courageous network to continue to best tell the story of the changing face of Egyptian politics. Under very trying circumstances we have delivered the highest standard of reporting from Egypt which has gripped our growing global audience. Even in such a short space of time we can be proud of our achievements, level of professionalism and sophistication in covering the significant developments in Egypt.”

Al Jazeera has since declared an "alliance" with bloggers and citizen journalists; it will air content sent in by the Egyptian public. However, the Internet is reportedly still down in Cairo.