Correspondent from Syria new Foreign Correspondents Club chief
NEW DELHI: Dr Waiel Awwad, a senior Syria-born foreign correspondent based in India, was elected as the new President of the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) of South Asia and Veteran editor, political commentator and author Prakash Nanda was re-elected as the Secretary of the Club for the 2025–27 term.
P. M. Narayanan, a television journalist with German TV, was re-elected as the Treasurer, a statement form FCCSA said.
Dr Awwad succeeds Venkat Narayan, another highly respected foreign correspondent. The elections followed the Annual General Body Meeting, held within the FCC premises.
A total of nine members were also elected to the General Council. The elected members are Mayank Bhardwaj (Reuters), Krishnan P. Nayar (Emirates News Agency), Anoop Saxena (German TV), Devina Gupta (BBC), Eshani Mathur (Bloomberg), Ruslan Imaev (Russia Today), Sidhartha Srivastava (CAN), C. K. Nayak (Jan Aastha Abroad), Amitav Srivastava (SABC).
Polls held within FCC premises
The elections followed the Annual General Body Meeting, held within the FCC premises. A total of nine members were also elected to the General Council. The new team will serve for two years form 2025 to 2027.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
35 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Elon Musk slams ‘ingratitude' after Trump's ‘very disappointed' remark
Tensions between Donald Trump and Elon Musk exploded into public view Thursday, as the US president said he was "very disappointed" by his billionaire former aide's criticisms and Musk hit back in real time on social media. "Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after Musk slammed his tax and spending mega-bill as an "abomination". The world's richest man responded by live-tweeting on his X social media platform as Trump spoke on television, saying that the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without him and slamming him for "ingratitude." In an extraordinary rant as visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sat mutely beside him, 78-year-old Trump unloaded on SpaceX and Tesla boss Musk in his first comments on the issue. "I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here... All of a sudden, he had a problem," Trump said when asked about Musk. The clash comes less than a week since Trump held a grand Oval Office farewell for Musk as he wrapped up his time leading the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). South African-born Musk, 53, hit back minutes later, saying Trump's claims he had advance sight of the bill were "false." "Whatever," he added above a video of Trump saying Musk was upset about the loss of subsidies for electric vehicles. Musk then ratcheted up the public spat even further, saying the Republican would have lost the election without his support. He was the biggest donor to Trump's campaign, to the tune of nearly $300 million. "Without me, Trump would have lost the election," Musk said on X. "Such ingratitude." Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025 Tesla shares fell sharply on Wall Street, down eight percent, after his comments, in a sign of the huge stakes for a falling out between the world's richest man and its most powerful. 'A little make-up?' A wistful-sounding Trump took reporters through the break-up with Musk on live television, in what at times sounded more like a therapy session than a meeting with a foreign leader. Trump talked about Musk's farewell appearance in the Oval Office on Friday, when he turned up with a black eye that he said was caused by a punch from his son. Musk at the time was also facing reports of drug use on the Trump campaign trail. "You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval desk, and even with the black eye. I said, you want a little makeup? We'll get you a little makeup," Trump said. "But he said, 'No, I don't think so,' which is interesting and very nice. He wants to be who he is." Trump said he could understand why Musk was upset with some steps he had taken, including withdrawing a nominee to lead the NASA space agency whom the tech tycoon had backed. Through it all, the visiting German chancellor sat silently. Merz had prepared to avoid a repeat of the ambushes that Trump unleashed on the Ukrainian and South African presidents in the Oval Office -- but in the end it was Musk that the US president ambushed. At the center of the bitter row is Trump's "big, beautiful bill" on tax and spending. The centerpiece of his domestic agenda, it aims to continue tax cuts from his first term -- and could define his second term and make or break Republican prospects in the 2026 midterm elections. Musk however called it a "disgusting abomination" on Tuesday, on the grounds that it will increase the US deficit. A day later, the magnate called for Republicans to "kill the bill," and for an alternative plan that "doesn't massively grow the deficit."
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
EU official says €175 million Syria recovery package 'clear message' of support
Visiting EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said Thursday (June 5, 2025) that a 175 million euro package for war-torn Syria was a "clear message" of support for its reconstruction. Ms. Suica announced the package in Damascus on Wednesday (June 4, 2025), saying it would focus on sectors including energy, education, health and agriculture, helping rebuild Syria's economy, support its institutions and promote human rights. "I came here... with a clear message that we are here to assist and help Syria on its recovery," Ms. Suica told AFP in an interview on Thursday (June 5, 2025). "We want that reconstruction and recovery will be Syria-owned and Syria-led," she said, on the first visit by an EU commissioner since a transitional government was unveiled in late March. "We want to see Syria to be a regular, normal, democratic country in the future," she added. Syria has been navigating a delicate transition since Islamist-led forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December after nearly 14 years of civil war. The European Union announced last month it would lift economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help its recovery. "This is a pivotal moment — a new chapter in EU-Syria relations," Ms. Suica said on X, calling her meeting with interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa "constructive". Like Syria's neighbours, Western governments are keen to steer it onto the road to stability after the war triggered an exodus of millions of refugees. Refugee returns should be "safe, voluntary and dignified", Ms. Suica said. The EU has not designated Syria as a safe country for returns "because we don't want to push people to come here and then they don't have a home", she said. The EU last month sanctioned three Syrian militia groups and two of their leaders for serious human rights abuses over their alleged involvement in sectarian massacres in the costal heartland of the Alawite minority, to which Assad belongs, in March. "We cannot pronounce one part of Syria safe and another not," Ms. Suica said, noting that designating Syria a safe country needs "unanimity among 27 European member states". She said Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani would attend a ministerial meeting involving almost a dozen Mediterranean countries in Brussels on June 23. A statement released on Wednesday (June 4, 2025) said that the European Commission was "actively pursuing the integration of Syria into several key initiatives with its Mediterranean partner countries". "We want to see Syria united" and inclusive, Ms. Suica told AFP. "This is a process. It will happen step by step."
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Kill Bill, says Musk, as he emerges as alternative power center to Trump
TOI correspondent from US : Elon Musk has not only parted ways with President Trump but is emerging as a political challenger to the MAGA supremo after clashing with him on the so-called Big Beautiful Bill that the tech-tycoon says will bankrupt America. "Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL!" Musk said on a second day of attacks on Trump and his legislative flock, planting a banner of revolt in the Republican Party, and emerging as a new power center to challenge Trump. Although Musk is not eligible to run for the White House because he is not US-born, he has allied with Republican Senators who share his alarm over America's mounting debt and who can scupper the bill as it comes to the Senate before the July 4 recess. "This spending bill contains the largest increase in the debt ceiling in US history! It is the Debt Slavery Bill," Musk said in one of several posts on a legislation that Trump owns, repurposing a poster from the movie Kill Bill. Musk went on to pin reactions from Fox News to illustrate that his stand on spending cuts to contain the deficit had more support from the rank and file than Trump Republicans had for the BBB. Musk also went on to endorse a proposal by GOP Senator Mike Lee to draft a constitutional amendment to oust every member of Congress whenever inflation exceeds 3 per cent, an idea once mooted by Warren Buffett to eliminate the US deficit. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Trump has been unnaturally quiet about Musk attacks over the past 24 hours, atypically holding back fire although he is usually quick on the draw when attacked. Democrats are rejoicing over Musk attacks on Trump, who, in an ironic twist, reached out to a liberal Democratic senator, Elizabeth Warren (who he has long derided as "pocohontas' and a "radical left loony) to work on legislation to scrap the debt ceiling. "I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING. The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe," Trump said on his social media platform. "@realDonaldTrumpand I agree: the debt limit should be scrapped to prevent an economic catastrophe. Let's pass a bipartisan bill and get rid of it forever," Warren responded, indicating new alignments centering on fiscal policy.
