MUMBAI: Doha based Al Jazeera International, the yet to launch 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel has announced the appointment of journalist Barnaby Phillips as their Europe correspondent. He will be based in Athens.

Phillips joins Al Jazeera International from the BBC where his last position was as Southern Africa correspondent for television and radio based in Johannesburg. In an official statement, the company informs that he has extensive global experience having also worked in the Middle East, West Africa and Asia. Phillips has covered major stories such as the AIDS epidemic, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the war in Liberia, the 2002 Southern African food crises, the war in Iraq and the South Asian Tsunami.

Phillips will be based in Athens as European correspondent for Al Jazeera International working directly with the channel’s London broadcast centre – the channel’s principle European bureau after London. The London broadcast centre will be responsible for Europe and Russia bringing news to English speaking viewers around the world for several hours each day as one of four broadcast centres strategically placed around the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC.

While in the BBC, Phillips had reported regularly for BBC World and World Service Radio, the Ten O’Clock News on BBC 1 as well as flagship programmes including Today on Radio 4 and Newsnight on BBC 2.

Speaking on the appointment director news Steve Clark says, “Barnaby Phillips is a great addition to our news team and I am pleased to have him on board as European correspondent.”

Phillips adds, “I am delighted to be joining Al Jazeera International to report on news from across Europe to the rest of the English speaking world.”

He first joined the BBC in 1991 and has remained with them until leaving to take up his post with Al Jazeera International this year.