The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television network announced Monday that it is preparing to launch a news channel in Britain.

"We are currently working to launch a news channel from the United Kingdom," said the network's Director General Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al-Thani in Doha, adding it will be called Al-Jazeera UK.

Al-Thani also said that studies were at an "advanced stage" to launch a French-language channel aimed at "building bridges with other cultures and peoples,” according to AFP.

The network, which opened Al-Jazeera Balkan in Sarajevo in 2011, is also preparing to open Al-Jazeera Turkish, Al-Thani added.

In January, American television channel Current TV, co-founded by former US president Al Gore in 2005, said it was acquired by Al-Jazeera, providing the Qatar-owned network with a wide distribution platform in the United States.

Al-Thani said on Monday that Al-Jazeera, which has faced repeated accusations of being biased, notably in coverage of the state of Israel, has got "the right to broadcast nationwide in the United States."