CNN continues to grow its reporting strength with the appointment of Ivan Watson as an international correspondent based in Istanbul, Turkey. Watson returns to CNN from NPR where he has reported from many of the world’s trouble spots in recent years.

Prior to joining NPR, Watson was a producer for CNN based in Moscow. In this new position, he will continue to cover major international stories around the world as well as from Turkey. CNN’s Istanbul bureau complements CNN’s other operations in Turkey, which includes CNN Turk, a Turkish-language news service, jointly operated by Turner Broadcasting International and Turkey’s Dogan Media Group.

“Having Ivan back in the CNN family is a great coup for us,” said Parisa Khosravi, senior vice president for international newsgathering. “As we continue to invest in and grow our newsgathering strength, Ivan will be an important part of our international reporting team.”

Over the past year, CNN has announced the opening of new newsgathering operations in Abu Dhabi, which will include a new production center; Chennai, India; Lagos, Nigeria; Mumbai, India; Nairobi, Kenya; and Santiago, Chile, where CNN Chile launched last month. In addition, CNN has placed new and additional correspondents in Islamabad, Pakistan; Johannesburg, South Africa; London and Tokyo.

Watson has reported extensively from many countries in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He worked for CBS News, before joining CNN and then NPR.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.