EGYPT MOVES CLOSER TO AL-JAZEERA TV AFFILIATE BAN

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's interim government called an Al-Jazeera local affiliate that broadcasts in Arabic a national threat Thursday, moving closer to banning its broadcasts beamed from Qatar after the affiliate aired recordings of declarations by fugitive leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Qatar-based television network said four journalists working for its English service were arrested in Cairo.

Three government ministers issued a statement saying that Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr is operating "illegally, in violation to the profession's standards and without a permit to work in Egypt," the state-run news agency MENA reported.

The ministers also said the channel used satellite transmission without a license and spread "rumors and claims which are harmful to Egyptian national security and threaten the country's unity," without referring specifically to the broadcasts of the fugitives' declarations.

Unnamed government agencies have been ordered to close the network, the statement said.

No details were provided, but Egyptians receive the affiliate's broadcasts via a signal from the state-owned satellite operator Nilesat, which presumably would have to cut it off. The channel remained on the air Thursday night.

Calls to Al-Jazeera in Qatar for comment went unanswered, but the network's Al-Jazeera English division said in a statement that correspondent Wayne Hay, cameraman Adil Bradlow and producers Russ Finn and Baher Mohammed were detained on by authorities on Tuesday after they covered events in Cairo.

Al-Jazeera English called the detentions "a campaign against Al-Jazeera in particular," demanded the release of the journalists and said it was holding Egyptian authorities responsible for their safety while in custody.

The Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr Cairo office was raided and closed last month, and 28 staffers were detained and later released. Al-Jazeera said Associated Press Television News was ordered to deny Al-Jazeera channels access to their live services.

A local media service company, Cairo News Company, has also been told to withhold access to broadcast equipment. The Associated Press strongly protested the order to police and government officials. It said it followed the directive because it is bound by local law.

The affiliate did extensive coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood's protests following the July 3 popularly-supported military coup that toppled Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and has been repeatedly accused of being biased toward the Muslim Brotherhood, claims denied by Al-Jazeera. Some of its local news presenters said the station had misled viewers, while the affiliate said it provided balanced coverage of events in Egypt.

Before the raid, Egypt's interim government shut down the Muslim Brotherhood's Misr 25 television channel and four Islamic TV networks sympathetic to the deposed president — but the Al-Jazeera affiliate continued to broadcast live protests by supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood via a stolen live broadcast van owned by Egyptian state TV.

With its newsgathering ability now crippled in Egypt for weeks, the affiliate has relied on amateur video sent by Egyptians to provide images of what is happening in the country. But it made headlines this week after airing the declarations by the fugitive Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including a statement by Mohammed el-Beltagy. He was arrested Thursday.

The network has previously had problems in Egypt. Its Al-Jazeera Egypt Live affiliate that broadcasts in English was raided twice by security forces in September 2011, when the military ruled Egypt directly after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the country's previous longtime president. Authorities said that affiliate, which is still broadcasting, had been operating without permits.

EGYPT MOVES CLOSER TO AL-JAZEERA TV AFFILIATE BAN

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's interim government called an Al-Jazeera local affiliate that broadcasts in Arabic a national threat Thursday, moving closer to banning its broadcasts beamed from Qatar after the affiliate aired recordings of declarations by fugitive leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Qatar-based television network said four journalists working for its English service were arrested in Cairo.

Three government ministers issued a statement saying that Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr is operating "illegally, in violation to the profession's standards and without a permit to work in Egypt," the state-run news agency MENA reported.

The ministers also said the channel used satellite transmission without a license and spread "rumors and claims which are harmful to Egyptian national security and threaten the country's unity," without referring specifically to the broadcasts of the fugitives' declarations.

Unnamed government agencies have been ordered to close the network, the statement said.

No details were provided, but Egyptians receive the affiliate's broadcasts via a signal from the state-owned satellite operator Nilesat, which presumably would have to cut it off. The channel remained on the air Thursday night.

Calls to Al-Jazeera in Qatar for comment went unanswered, but the network's Al-Jazeera English division said in a statement that correspondent Wayne Hay, cameraman Adil Bradlow and producers Russ Finn and Baher Mohammed were detained on by authorities on Tuesday after they covered events in Cairo.

Al-Jazeera English called the detentions "a campaign against Al-Jazeera in particular," demanded the release of the journalists and said it was holding Egyptian authorities responsible for their safety while in custody.

The Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr Cairo office was raided and closed last month, and 28 staffers were detained and later released. Al-Jazeera said Associated Press Television News was ordered to deny Al-Jazeera channels access to their live services.

A local media service company, Cairo News Company, has also been told to withhold access to broadcast equipment. The Associated Press strongly protested the order to police and government officials. It said it followed the directive because it is bound by local law.

The affiliate did extensive coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood's protests following the July 3 popularly-supported military coup that toppled Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and has been repeatedly accused of being biased toward the Muslim Brotherhood, claims denied by Al-Jazeera. Some of its local news presenters said the station had misled viewers, while the affiliate said it provided balanced coverage of events in Egypt.

Before the raid, Egypt's interim government shut down the Muslim Brotherhood's Misr 25 television channel and four Islamic TV networks sympathetic to the deposed president — but the Al-Jazeera affiliate continued to broadcast live protests by supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood via a stolen live broadcast van owned by Egyptian state TV.

With its newsgathering ability now crippled in Egypt for weeks, the affiliate has relied on amateur video sent by Egyptians to provide images of what is happening in the country. But it made headlines this week after airing the declarations by the fugitive Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including a statement by Mohammed el-Beltagy. He was arrested Thursday.

The network has previously had problems in Egypt. Its Al-Jazeera Egypt Live affiliate that broadcasts in English was raided twice by security forces in September 2011, when the military ruled Egypt directly after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the country's previous longtime president. Authorities said that affiliate, which is still broadcasting, had been operating without permits.

UK publishes legal backing for Syria strike

Britain's government has published internal legal advice which it said showed it is legally entitled to take military action against Syria, even if the United Nations Security Council blocks such action.

It also published intelligence material on Thursday on last week's alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, saying there was no doubt that such an attack had taken place.

The document is the latest sign that a coalition of Western countries, including the United States, France and the UK, are moving towards military action against Syria after the alleged attack.

It was "highly likely" that the Syrian government was behind the attack, the document said.

"If action in the Security Council is blocked, the UK would still be permitted under international law to take exceptional measures in order to alleviate the scale of the overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe in Syria," a copy of the British government's legal position read.

In a debate on Thursday, however, Prime Minister David Cameron told the British parliament it was "unthinkable" that Britain would launch military action against Syria if there was strong opposition at the Security Council.In such circumstances, it added that "military intervention to strike specific targets with the aim of deterring and disrupting further such attacks would be necessary and proportionate and therefore legally justifiable".

"It would be unthinkable to proceed if there was overwhelming opposition in the Security Council," he said.

Al Jazeera's Simon McGregor-Wood, reporting from London, said Cameron made a "passionate performance" in parliament.

"He made several and repetaed references to mistakes which were made during the Iraq war, to give a message that 'this is not Iraq,'" he said.

"Cameron also emphasised the danger of doing nothing."

The five permanent members of the Security Council were scheduled to meet again on Thursday to discuss the crisis. The UK and US have both already dispatched planes and warships to the eastern Mediterranean.

Syria defiant

Earlier on Thursday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that his country would defend itself against any foreign military intervention.

"Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression, and threats will only increase its commitment to its principles and its independence," the embattled Syrian leader told a visiting delegation of Yemeni politicians, according to state media.

The White House said on Thursday that it had strong circumstantial evidence linking Assad's government to an alleged chemical weapons attack in the East Ghouta suburbs of Damascus last week, which aid agencies say killed at least 355 people, and injured as many as 3,000 others.

The Syrian army "has been engaged in a military campaign targeting the areas where these attacks occurred," said Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman. But he did not cite any direct evidence showing that Assad or his top lieutenants ordered the attack.

The Syrian government has strongly denied accusations that it was involved.

'Destabilisation'

The most likely option for an attack, US officials say, would be to launch cruise missiles from US ships in the Mediterranean in a campaign that would last several days.

New hurdles have, however, emerged that appear to have slowed the formation of an international coalition that could use military force to hit Syria.

On Wednesday, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council failed to reach an agreement on a draft resolution from the British seeking authorisation for the use of force.

Russia objected to international intervention, after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier rejected the case for ascribing culpability to the Syrian government at this time, adding that foreign military intervention would lead to "destabilisation of [...] the country and the region".

Chinese state media on Thursday said that any military intervention "would have dire consequences for regional security and violate the norms governing international relations".

Top Brotherhood leader arrested in Egypt

Egyptian police have arrested Mohamed el-Beltagy, a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the latest arrest in a widening campaign against the group.

Beltagy, a former member of parliament and head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, was arrested in Giza governorate, just outside of the Egyptian capital, state television reported on Thursday.

Beltagy was wanted on accusations that he incited violence and has been hunted by authorities for nearly three weeks.

In a videotaped message aired by Al Jazeera earlier this week, he said that authorities were trying to turn a "political crisis" into a security problem by accusing his group of orchestrating a terrorism campaign.

"Don't be fooled by these lies and deception that aim to label us with terrorism, violence, [and] killing ... at a time when the hands of the coup regime are drowned in blood," Beltagy said.

He went into hiding earlier this month after authorities violently broke up protest encampments held by supporters of President Mohamed Morsi, who was overthrown by the military on July 3 after days of mass protests against him. Hundreds died in the crackdown, including Beltagy's daughter, Asmaa.

Most of the Brotherhood's top leadership has been arrested in the nearly two months since Morsi's ouster.

The group's general guide, Mohamed el-Badie, was arrested earlier this month. He is facing criminal charges for inciting violence, as is his deputy, Rashad al-Bayoumi; the group's top strategist, Khairat al-Shater; and several other senior officials.

Morsi himself has been held nearly incommunicado since he was forced from office.

More than 60 other members of the organisation have been detained over the past few days, including relatives of senior leaders.

The son of Khairat el-Shater, the Brotherhood's top strategist, was arrested this week, as was Mohamed Soltan, a US citizen who is the son of outspoken Brotherhood leader Salah Soltan.

The Muslim Brotherhood was banned for decades under former president Hosni Mubarak. It set up a political party following the 2011 revolution, and moved to legalise its status as a non-governmental organisation, though members now fear Egypt's new army-backed government will try to ban the group once again.

RUSSIA CALLS URGENT UN COUNCIL MEETING ON SYRIA

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. diplomat says Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the five permanent Security Council members on the crisis in Syria.

The meeting among Russia, the United States, China, Britain and France was expected later Thursday, according to the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

RUSSIA CALLS URGENT UN COUNCIL MEETING ON SYRIA

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. diplomat says Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the five permanent Security Council members on the crisis in Syria.

The meeting among Russia, the United States, China, Britain and France was expected later Thursday, according to the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

Al Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt

Al Jazeera correspondent Wayne Hay, cameraman Adil Bradlow, producers Russ Finn and Baher Mohammed are currently being detained by Egyptian authorities.

They have been held since Tuesday. Wayne, Adil, Russ and Baher were in Cairo covering events.

The arrests follow the detainment of Abdullah al-Shami who was performing his duties as an Al Jazeera correspondent when he was arrested after the raid of the pro-Morsi sit-in at Rabaa al-Adawiya on August 14, along with Mohamed Badr, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr who has been held for more than one month.

These arrests are part of what Reporters Without Borders has called "growing hostility" towards journalists in Egypt.

There has also been a campaign against Al Jazeera in particular, as the channel's offices were raided last month and security forces seized equipment which has yet to be returned.

Al Jazeera calls for the Egyptian authorities to release all our staff unconditionally along with their belongings and equipment.