Shahzada Irfan Ahmed, 37, is the first Daniel Pearl Fellow to work at the Houston Chronicle. He has been Assistant Editor and Special Correspondent for The News International since 2003, 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.

Sherine El Madany, 27, is the third Daniel Pearl Fellow to join the staff of the Los Angeles Times. She has been at The Daily News Egypt since 2007, as a business reporter covering local and regional business news, including banking, corporate affairs, foreign exchange, inflation, investment, poverty, privatization and trade.

Utku Çakirözer, age 37, is the second Daniel Pearl Fellow to join the staff of the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Çakirözer works in Ankara for the English language newspaper Milliyet, reporting on politics, defense and foreign policy.  He has interviewed dignitaries including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Saudia Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal.

Related Articles:

• Los Angeles Times Articles by Utku Çakirözer

Umar Cheema, age 29, is the first Daniel Pearl Fellow to work at the New York Times. Mr. Cheema works in Islamabad for Karachi based The News International, reporting on politics, jihadi outfits and terrorism. He served as the Secretary General of the Islamabad chapter of the South Asia Free Media Association, and is working on a book about the history of suicide bombing.

Related Articles:

• New York Times Articles by Umar Cheema

Amr Emam, age 28, is the first Daniel Pearl Fellow from Egypt and the first to be placed  at the San Francisco Chronicle, working from March to August this year.  Mr. Emam recently spoke at a Daniel Pearl Foundation event and said, “I am a completely changed man and it is all thanks to the family who, once losing a dear and exquisite son, decided to trade good for evil. Instead of grieving, they decided to change the world and put understanding in place of ignorance, light in place of darkness."

Related Articles:

• San Francisco Chronicle Articles by Amr Emam
• Article About Amr Emam

The 2006 winners of the Daniel Pearl Fellowships were Ghanashyam Ojha (Nepal), Senior Reporter for The Kathmandu Post and. Shahid Hussain Shah (Pakistan), business reporter for The News International.

Ghanashyan Ojha, age 34, is the first Daniel Pearl Fellow from Nepal and the first to work at the North Adams Transcript/Berkshire Eagle, where Danny began his career.

• North Adams Transcript/Berkshire Eagle articles by Ghanashyam Ojha
• Articles about Ghanashyam Ojha

Shahid Hussain Shah, age 29, is the third Daniel Pearl Fellow to work at the Washington DC Bureau of the Wall Street Journal.

Walid Al-Saqaf, editor-in-chief of The Yemen Times, Yemen’s first English-language newspaper will work at the Washington, DC bureau of The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Al-Saqaf, age 31, will be the second Daniel Pearl Fellow hosted by The Wall Street Journal, where Daniel Pearl worked.

Ammara Durrani, assistant editor of The News International, Pakistan’s most widely distributed English daily, will join the staff of the Los Angeles Times. Ms. Durrani, age 28, will be the first Daniel Pearl Fellow at Daniel Pearl’s hometown paper.