Zain Verjee is the co-anchor of CNN Today and World News with Don Riddell, based in the network's London bureau.
Prior to this assignment, Verjee was the news presenter for The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer in Washington, D.C. She reported on a range of news stories and interviewed prominent foreign policy thinkers. Verjee covered the US State Department for CNN for two years closely following American foreign policy. She travelled with with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to more than a dozen countries, including Israel, Turkey, Libya, Russia and South Korea.
During her time in Washington DC, Verjee launched an innovative series called The New Diplomat which looked at the dangers and challenges American diplomats face today.
In January 2008, Verjee returned to her native country of Kenya to cover the post-election violence there. She spent weeks reporting the political and personal stories, as well as the international community's response to the sudden hostilities.
Verjee has interviewed international world leaders, including Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto upon Bhutto's return from exile. Verjee traveled back to Pakistan in December 2007 to cover the ramifications of Bhutto's assassination. In July 2006, she reported from the Demilitarized Zone or DMZ in Korea, and in September, she conducted an exclusive interview with former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami.
Verjee previously co-anchored CNN International's rolling newscast, Your World Today, with Jim Clancy, and hosted the debate program Q&A on that network. Since joining CNN in 2000, Verjee has covered numerous breaking news and world events, such as the India-Pakistan Agra Summit, the conflict in the Middle East, the trial of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Hajj and the war in Iraq.
Previously, Verjee anchored the prime-time news bulletin and compiled, produced and presented documentaries for the Kenyan Television Network. She also hosted The Third Opinion, a political talk show, and freelanced for the BBC, producing several programs including African Perspectives, a documentary on the de-registration of non-governmental organisations after the U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa in 1998.
Verjee's journalistic efforts extend beyond the broadcast realm. She recently published Live and On the Air, a children's book exploring the experiences of a young girl who moves from rural Kenya to Nairobi to work as a broadcaster. Verjee also has produced successful radio campaigns spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS, road safety and violence against women. Her community efforts include work with Street Children and with Operation Smile.
Verjee received her undergraduate degree in English from McGill University in Montreal and studied at York University in Canada. She speaks Gujarati, Kiswahili and conversational French.
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