MUMBAI: George Alagiah, one of the BBC's well-known news presenters, will join BBC World to present a brand-new programme NewsHour. Beginning in June, the programme will broadcast each weekday during peak times in the key markets around the world, including the US breakfast peak and Asia evening peak.

Alagiah will present NewsHour at 12 PM (GMT) from Monday to Thursday. He currently co-presents the BBC's Six O'Clock News in the UK, and will continue in that role in addition to presenting NewsHour, informs an official release.

BBC Global News Division director Richard Sambrook says, "We are extremely pleased to have a journalist of George's calibre on board to present our new programme. George has achieved tremendous success in the UK for his objective coverage, in-depth international knowledge, and his sharp interviewing skills. His experience and his ability to uncover the news behind each story will be crucial for the success of NewsHour, which was created to ensure that BBC World delivers continuous and authoritative news programming to its audiences in the US during peak morning hours, and in East Asia in the evening."

"As a foreign correspondent for a decade, I saw first-hand how people around the world turned to the BBC for its sheer breadth of coverage and the authority with which it came. Now, more than ever, American audiences are interested how global events can have an impact on their lives and Newshour will bring them the day's international news stories from an impartial and global perspective."

Alagiah joined the BBC in 1989 and worked as a foreign correspondent specialising in Africa and the developing world. In March 2002, he launched BBC Four's international news programme and began presenting BBC's Six O'clock News in January 2003.

He has reported on many issues and events including the famine in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Liberia, Saddam Hussein's campaign against the Iraqi Kurds and the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York.

Alagiah has won several awards for his reporting and has interviewed many prominent international figures including Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Tariq Aziz of Iraq.

The introduction of NewsHour is part of the channel's plan to establish regular NewsHour programmes throughout the day, to ensure BBC World delivers tailored news programming at the breakfast and evening peak-times across key time zones.