Confirmed: CNN Correspondent Shuffle

Here’s the memo from Tony Maddox yesterday:

“Dear colleagues, Today I am pleased to announce a number of significant appointments within CNN’s international newsgathering operations. I’m particularly delighted to have been able to make such a large number of strategically important changes from within the CNN family. This is a testament to the depth and expertise of the staff we have working at CNN.

Aneesh Raman has been appointed Middle East Correspondent and will be based in Cairo. This new title reflects his role in reporting from across the Middle East. Previously based in Baghdad, Aneesh has reported from numerous places in the past few months including Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

Also on the move is John Vause, currently in Jerusalem, who is taking on the challenging job of covering China. Based in Beijing, John will bring his extraordinary storytelling talents to this increasingly influential country. Replacing him as a Jerusalem-based correspondent is Atika Shubert, who is currently based in Tokyo. She joins the formidable team led by Bureau Chief Kevin Flower and correspondent Ben Wedeman, working in one of our most demanding news bureaus. In the coming weeks we will announce our coverage plans for Tokyo.

Joining the CNN family is Frederik Pleitgen who takes up the position as our Berlin correspondent. Some of you will know him from his time here on attachment to our international desk, or through his work with our former colleagues at n-tv. Frederik comes to CNN from German network broadcaster ZDF where he was the Political Editor.

Please join me in welcoming and congratulating our colleagues into their new positions.”