said last week that six of their reporters had been arrested and later released.

On Thursday, ABC News released a comprehensive list of dozens of reporters that either been threatened or detained while doing their jobs.

Since then, Al Jazeera reporters Ayman Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros have also reportedly been arrested.

"We were told by our reporters today that you have arrested another Al Jazeera reporter from Al Jazeera English as well as more human rights activists," Crowley told Shafiq. "Do you have a way to get them to stop those arrests?"

"After our telephone now, our contact now, I will go directly to check this point," the prime minister said. "They are not allowed at all to do something like that."

Shafiq also insisted that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would not leave office before September although demonstrators are calling for him to step down now.

"A lot of points must be covered before he leaves," he said.