<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Iraq extends ban on al-Jazeera TV


</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> Iraqi police closed al-Jazeera's Baghdad operations on 7 August

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Iraq's interim government has indefinitely extended a month-long ban on Arabic TV news channel al-Jazeera.

It says there has been no response to fears that broadcasts incite violence.

A statement issued by the office of the interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, also accused al-Jazeera of continuing to operate from Iraq despite the ban. The government has complained that Arabic satellite channels encourage kidnappings by showing pictures of hostages threatened with execut1on. Al-Jazeera's reporters in Iraq have said they treat such events only as news stories, and have suggested the ban is an attempt to suppress unwelcome news.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3628398.stm