MUMBAI: Veteran journalist Ibrahim Helal has been appointed deputy managing director news and programmes of the soon to be launched news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera International.

Helal is a former editor-in-chief at Al Jazeera’s Arabic language channel and most recently served as a project director on the Middle East North Africa dialogue programme for the BBC World Service Trust.

Prior to his joining Al Jazeera International, he worked in London for the BBC’s Arabic service.

"Having Ibrahim join us at the English-language channel not only further professionalises our staff with a top-flight newsman, it also solidifies us as a family built around the core spirit of Al Jazeera," said Al Jazeera managing director Nigel Parsons.

Helal will oversee the Middle East desk and ensure close working relations with the Arabic news channel. "Ibrahim will have a quality-control responsibility to assure that news content across the channels is consistent—and consistently good," said Parsons.

Al Jazeera’s English-channel promises agenda-free news from every corner of the globe carried across fibre-optic HDTV technology. The channel plans to launch later this year.