Al Jazeera International reveals its Latin American appointments

International award winning journalist Mariana Sanchez also joins the new channel's line up as correspondent for the Caracas, Venezuela bureau.

Newman joins the channel from CNN, where she was most recently CNN's Havana bureau chief and correspondent, since the bureau was opened in 1997. Prior to her Havana posting, Newman was CNN's senior correspondent in Latin America, and bureau chief in Mexico from 1993-1997, Chile from 1989-1993, Nicaragua from 1985-1989 and Panama in 1987.

Sanchez, a former news anchor for Panamericana Television, ATV and stringer for the Los Angeles Times in Peru, has freelanced extensively for many international news organisations, including The Wall Street Journal Americas, CNN Espanol, UNIVISION and Agence France Presse, to name just a few.

Speaking on the appointments from the Americas regional headquarters in Washington D.C., bureau chief Will Stebbins stated, "In English language broadcasting, there is no more experienced journalist in Latin America than Lucia Newman, which is why we are overjoyed that she has agreed to come on board."

As for Mariana Sanchez, she "has a unique perspective that is both local and international, gained from news anchoring in her native Peru, and covering major events from Kosovo to East Timor, which makes her the perfect candidate for the way in which we plan to cover Latin America," says Stebbins.

As an experienced and fearless journalist, Newman has covered many of the most dangerous and significant events in Latin America since the 1980s. She has reported on the Contra war in Nicaragua, South America's drug involvement and unrest in Panama under former dictator Manuel Noriega, which resulted in her ejection from the country in 1987. While based in Havana, as chief of the only U.S. network bureau in Cuba, Newman covered many historic events from the 1998 Papal visit to Cuba to the 1998 bomb attacks on Havana hotels; Newman also conducted several exclusive interviews with Cuban President Fidel Castro.

On her move to Al Jazeera International, "I'm very excited about having the chance to report on a wide range of issues from a part of the world that has been largely overlooked by the international media for too long," said Lucia Newman. "I really wanted a change and a chance to work from a part of Latin America that I find fascinating. The possibility of being part of a new project that has a fresh perspective on what is relevant in the world is very exciting.''

Newman attended the University of Chile, and earned a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of South Wales in Australia.

Internationally renowned and experienced, Sanchez has travelled the world, covering many of the most challenging and critical world events such as the war in Kosovo, the conflict in East Timor, the conflict in Macedonia, the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the war on terrorism from both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sanchez has further covered stories on Haiti, Columbia and Chechnya, and participated in coverage of the 2000 U.S. presidential elections and the United Nations from New York.

"Al Jazeera International offers a unique opportunity to bring Latin America to the world radar. As many forgotten regions in Asia or Africa, Latin American can also contribute to enrich the exchange of experiences around the world," said Sanchez. "The challenge to give it a regional perspective will be most exciting."

An Emmy award winner for her special series on children and guns in the streets of New York, Sanchez also has extensive radio experience, reporting for Radio Monitor on the 2004 Afghanistan elections, and for Radio France International and Radio Mexico, among others, for almost ten years.

Sanchez is a graduate of the Universidad de Lima, Peru with a degree in Mass Communications and Journalism, and is fluent in both English and Spanish.