Reem Yousuf Al-Harami

Virginia’s status as battleground state in the presidential election, complete with multiple visits to the region from both campaigns and the barrage of political ads, certainly makes working in our newsroom more interesting.

It’s also brought us another perk — the chance to host two international journalists who are here in the United States as part of a program funded by the International Center for Journalists.

Elham Mustafa A.Salih

Reem Yousuf Al-Harami, from Qatar, and Elham Mustafa A.Salih, from Sudan, arrived in Roanoke Sunday and will work out of our newsroom until the day after the election. They are here to report on the presidential race for their home newspapers, offering a uniquely Southwest Virginia perspective.

Elham Salih is head of the coverage department at the Alahdath Daily newspaper in Sudan. She graduated from the University of Khartoum with a science degree and has been a science writer.

The Elections 2012 Visiting Journalists Program is sponsoring 50 journalists, from 44 countries, to report at news organizations in Virginia, Florida, Wisconsin, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio and Washington D.C. You can read more about the program here.