Al Jazeera International announces Barnaby Phillips as European correspondent

Barnaby joins Al Jazeera International from the BBC where his last position was as Southern Africa Correspondent for television and radio based in Johannesburg. He has extensive global experience having also worked in the Middle East, West Africa and Asia. Barnaby 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.

Barnaby 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.

With the BBC Barnaby has 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 from the channel's headquarters in Doha, Director of News Steve Clark said, "Barnaby Phillips is a great addition to our news team and I am pleased to have him on board as European correspondent."

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

Barnaby first joined the BBC in 1991 and has remained with them until leaving to take up his post with Al Jazeera International this year. In London he worked mainly at the BBC World Service. He was a BBC stringer in Mozambique and Angola in the mid-1990's, where he began his career as a reporter, covering civil wars and peace processes, and learning Portuguese. In 1998 he became the BBC correspondent in Nigeria until 2001 when he moved to Johannesburg with the BBC, as Southern Africa Correspondent.