Shahzada Irfan Ahmed Since 2003, Shahzada Irfan Ahmed, 37, has been assistant editor and special correspondent for The News International, covering the economy, health, human rights, information technology, law, social issues and telecommunications. He also works as a visiting lecturer at state-owned Punjab University where he teaches master's students in Development Journalism. From 2003 to 2006, he was the news editor for Southasianmedia.net, an online news outlet promoting peace and harmony among the nations of South Asia. Prior to 2003, Ahmed worked for the Daily Times as senior staff reporter (2001-2002), for Pakfree Limited as a content writer and designer for www.mypakfree.com (2000-2001), for The Sun International as commerce editor (1999-2000) and The News International as a sub-editor (1997-1999). In 1991, Ahmed received his B.A. in mathematics and economics from Punjab University, followed by a M.A. in political science from Bahawalpur University in 1994. In 2006, he received his B.A. in law from Pakistan College of Law, Lahore. Assignment: Houston Chronicle 2009 Daniel Pearl Fellow
	Sherine El Madany Sherine El Madany, 27, joined The Daily News Egypt in 2007 as a business reporter covering local and regional business news, including banking, corporate affairs, foreign exchange, inflation, investment, poverty, privatization and trade. From 2005 to 2007 she worked as a reporter for Egypt’s only independent business title, Business Today Egypt magazine. After receiving her B.A. in journalism and mass communications from The American University in Cairo in 2004, El Madany worked as a reporter and assistant to the editor at Al-Ahram Weekly where she began as a journalism trainee in 2003. Assignment: Los Angeles Times 2009 Daniel Pearl Fellow
	Jaideep Hardikar, India Since 2005, Jaideep Hardikar, 33, has worked as the Nagpur special correspondent for The Daily News and Analysis, an English language daily newspaper published in Mumbai. During his tenure, his reporting on continuing suicides among farmers caught the attention of the federal government of India and, in part, motivated the creation of government relief packages for the farming community. From 2002 to 2005, he worked for the Hitavada, the largest circulated English language daily of Central India, where he covered agriculture, defense, education, health and politics. Also during 2004 and 2005, Hardikar was a contributing writer for the BBC Online South Asia. From 1997-2002, Hardikar worked as a reporter and sub-editor for Lokmat Times. He received a B.S. in physics, chemistry and math from the Institute of Science, Nagpur in 1996, as well as a B.A. in mass communication from Nagpur University in 1997. Assignment: Sun-Sentinel
	Marc Lourdes, Malaysia Marc Lourdes, 26, began as a reporter for the New Straits Times in 2007 covering current events with a special focus on human rights and politics. He began his journalism career at The Star in 2004 writing for the Maritime section. He also wrote book and music reviews and lifestyle and human interest pieces. In 2005 he moved to the crime desk where he reported on the greater Kuala Lumpur area for two years. He completed his ‘A’ levels in business and law at Brickfields College in 2005. Assignment: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
	Rodney Muhumuza Senior Political Reporter Rodney Muhumuza, 27, has been working at the Daily Monitor since 2005. In his current position as head of the court and crime section of the news desk, he has redirected its coverage towards human-interest stories. During his time at the Daily Monitor, Muhumuza has covered art, culture and the environment as well as corruption in the army, churches and government. From 2006 until early 2009, he also wrote a column about the week’s top news stories. Muhumuza was named News Reporter of the Year in 2007 at Uganda’s annual Golden Pen Awards. He earned his Bachelor of tourism from Makerere University in Kampala, graduating with first-class honors in 2004. Assignment: The Kansas City Star
	Rodrigo Muzell, Brazil While still a college student, Rodrigo Muzell, 29, got his start in journalism in 1998 as an intern/trainee at Gazeta Mercantil. After receiving his B.A. in journalism in 2000 from Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, he worked for a year as a copywriter at Zero Hora before assuming his current reporter position in 2001. Muzell specializes in business, technology and telecommunications. He also edits for the paper’s finance pages and contributes to the Sunday economic magazine called Dinhiero. Muzell was awarded the Case New Holland Economic Journalism Award in 2007 for the series of articles “Economy Hit by Crime.” Assignment: The Philadelphia Inquirer
	Myoung Hoon Suh, South Korea Since joining Money Today in 2000, Myoung Hoon Suh, 34, has worked in both the economy and finance departments. He has covered information technology companies and the international stock market as well as non-banking financial companies, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service. In 2005 he received the 176th Press Award of the Month from the Korean Journalists Association for his coverage of tax audits on the LoneStar Fund, the largest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank. After serving in Korea’s military, Suh attended Pusan National University from which he received his B.A. in public administration in 2000. Assignment: Los Angeles Business Journal
	Huyen Thi Vu, Vietnam Huyen Thi Vu, 30, has worked for The Guide magazine since 2006 as an editorial assistant and staff writer. She writes investigative features covering cultural, economic and social issues as well as writing travel journals. Vu also translates articles from Vietnamese into English for The Guide. She previously worked for Vietnam Investment Review as a staff reporter (2005-2006) and as a freelancer (2003-2005). Vu received a B.A. in English from Vietnam National University in 2005 and a teaching diploma from Thai Binh Teacher Training College in 2000. Assignment: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 2009 Helen Baldwin Fellow
	Zhiming “Diego” Xin, China Zhiming “Diego” Xin, 33, has been working for China Daily since 1999. From 1999 until 2006, he was an opinion page writer. From 2006-2007, he was an editorial writer for theChina Daily commentary column, responsible for writing comments on economic issues. Currently, Xin leads the paper’s macroeconomic reporting team and covers issues such as economic growth, economic policy making, exchange rate and inflation. He also coaches young reporters. He received his B.A. in English literature from Peking University in 1999. Assignment: Saint Paul Pioneer Press Top of Page