Anjali Rao is an award-winning anchor and correspondent for CNN International. She anchors CNN’s morning news program, World Report, live from the network’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong. She is also host of Talk Asia, CNN’s weekly flagship half-hour program that features revealing, in-depth interviews and topical discussion with leading political, business and entertainment figures from across the region.
Since joining CNN in January 2006, Rao has anchored news coverage from Hong Kong of the biggest regional and global stories including the tsunami and earthquake in Japan, the uprisings and unrest across the Middle East, and the Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake. Around the region she has reported live from locations including Beijing before and during the 2008 Olympics, India for CNN’s ‘Eye On India’ week of special programming and the Philippines during a hostage crisis.
In her time at CNN she has interviewed some of the world’s top newsmakers. From the world of politics, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou and Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang. From the sporting arena Wimbledon champions Roger Federer, Venus Williams, Australian cricketer Shane Warne, Olympic gold medal ice skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo and NBA basketball star Yao Ming. In the world of fashion designers including Karl Lagerfield and Jason Wu and entertainment figures including Grammy award-winning singers Rihanna and Usher, Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, music legends Quincy Jones and Slash and Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Prior to joining CNN, Rao worked for a decade at broadcasters in Australia, Asia and Europe. She started her career as a producer and reporter at Hong Kong’s Wharf Cable Television (now i-cable) and worked on Channel 7’s ‘Today Tonight’ program based in Melbourne, Australia. She then joined Hong Kong’s Star News Asia as principal anchor before moving to London to anchor for Sky News and Five News.
Whilst at Star TV she won the top prize at the 2004 Amnesty International Human Rights Press Awards for her story ‘Toxic Trail’, a ‘Focus Asia’ piece on the effects of widespread use of pesticide in southern India.
Born in Hong Kong, Rao was educated mainly in the UK. She received a bachelor’s degree with honors in Sociology and Media Studies from London’s City University.
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