MUMBAI: The yet to launch 24-hour English news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera International has announced that they have appointed Barbara Serra as presenter in their London broadcast centre.

Serra will report from across Europe during the week and will present the news on weekends.

Before joining Al Jazeera International, Serra was one of the main presenters on the UK’s Channel Five News. She was the first, and to date the only, second-language English speaker to present a flagship news programme on terrestrial British television, informs an official release.

Speaking on Barbara’s appointment news director Steve Clark said, “I am pleased to confirm that Barbara Serra has joined the news team in London. Over the coming weeks we will be announcing more of our on-air talent around the world.”

Al Jazeera International London bureau chief Sue Phillips said, “I am delighted that Barbara is joining the team here in London. She brings a wealth of experience and talent to our impressive line-up of presenters.”

Barbara Serra said, "Much of today’s international politics focuses on the Middle East, so it’s great to be a part of the only global news channel headquartered in the region. Al Jazeera International’s journalists come from all over the world and we’ll be able to give a truly global perspective on the news to a potential world audience of one billion English speakers.”

Seera's career started at the BBC, where she worked as a presenter/reporter for BBC London News, produced on Radio 4's Today Programme and regularly presented EuroNews on BBC Radio Five Live.

In 2003, she joined Sky News as a reporter, working on both domestic and international assignments. She has covered a wide range of stories, from the death of Pope John Paul II in Rome, to the Michael Jackson trial in California. She trained as a journalist at London’s City University.