Who would have thought that a boy from Uganda would become the New York mayor one day? Zohran Mamdani — a 34-year-old democratic socialist — shocked everyone and became the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the biggest city in the United States.

Mamdani was virtually unknown before his upset victory to secure the Democratic nomination over former governor Andrew Cuomo, whom he trounced again on Tuesday.

Unlike his opponents, Mamdani focused on reducing living costs for ordinary New Yorkers, building support through his informal personal style and social-media-friendly clips of him walking the streets chatting with voters.

The son of a filmmaker mother and a scholar father, he arrived in New York at the age of seven. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and later earned a degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College, where he co-founded the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

The mock-election

He was only twelve when he won his first election. Yes, his first — a mock mayoral election at Bank Street School for Children.

The mock election was meant for eighth-graders. Mamdani, who was in seventh grade at that time, asked the school to participate as a third-party. And when the results were announced, Mamdani wiped out the field.

Footballer and rapper

Mamdani’s childhood was a blend of train rides, football fandom, rapping, and political debates.

Before entering politics, he worked as a housing counsellor, helping low-income homeowners in Queens fight eviction.

The love life

Mamdani and his wife, 27-year-old Syrian-American animator and illustrator Rama Duwaji, met on the dating app Hinge in 2021, whom he credits with helping him “to better use social media”.

The improbable campaign

Inspired by Bernie Sanders to become a socialist, Mamdani began his mayoral campaign with a fresh perspective.

Along with in-person campaigning, he used social media platforms to build support through his informal personal style and friendly clips of him walking the streets chatting with voters.

The vote

On Election Day, Mamdani stood outside a polling station in Queens — the same borough whose tenants he once defended — and cast the vote that could make him the first Muslim mayor of New York City.

And finally, Mamdani, capping a meteoric rise from a little-known state lawmaker to one of the country’s most visible Democratic figures, won the New York City mayoral race. 

• US considering Saudi Arabian request to buy 48 F-35 fighter jets.
• US official acknowledges weapons deal moving through system.
• Saudi Arabia has sought fighter jets to modernise its air force.

The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said.

A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”

Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal earlier this year to US President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s (LMT.N), opens new tab fighter, one of the people and a US official said. 

The Pentagon is now weighing a potential sale of 48 of the advanced aircraft, the US official and the person familiar with the talks told Reuters. The size of the request and its status have not been previously reported.

The US official and a second US official, who acknowledged the weapons deal was moving through the system, said no final decision has been made and several more steps are needed before the ultimate nod, including further approvals at the Cabinet level, sign-off from Trump and notification of Congress.

The Pentagon’s policy department worked on the potential transaction for months, and the case has now progressed to the secretary level within the Defense Department, according to one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon, White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said military sales are government-to-government transactions and the matter is best addressed by Washington.

Washington weighs weapons sales to the Middle East in a way that ensures Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge”. This guarantees that Israel gets more advanced US weapons than regional Arab states.

The F-35, built with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection, is considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet. Israel has operated the aircraft for nearly a decade, building multiple squadrons, and remains the only Middle Eastern country to possess the weapons system.

Saudi Arabia, the largest customer for US arms, has sought the fighter for years as it looks to modernise its air force and counter regional threats, particularly from Iran. The kingdom’s renewed push for what would constitute two squadrons comes as the Trump administration has signaled openness to deepening defense cooperation with Riyadh. The Saudi Air Force flies a mix of fighter aircraft including Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab F-15s, European Tornados and Typhoons.

• 35 bodies recovered from flooded areas of Liloan. 
• Grim news brings the toll for Cebu to 76. 
• About 400,000 pre-emptively moved from typhoon’s path.

The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines climbed past 90 on Wednesday as the devastating impact on hard-hit Cebu province became clearer after the worst flooding in recent memory.

Floodwaters described as unprecedented had rushed through the province’s towns and cities a day earlier, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and even massive shipping containers.

On Wednesday, Cebu spokesperson Rhon Ramos told AFP that 35 bodies had been recovered from flooded areas of Liloan, a town that is part of provincial capital Cebu City’s metro area.

The grim news brought the toll for Cebu to 76. Earlier in the day, national civil defence deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro confirmed at least 17 deaths in other provinces.

“It was the major cities that got hit (with floods), highly urbanised areas,” Alejandro said in an interview with local radio, adding that 26 people remained missing.

AFP reporters on Wednesday morning spoke with residents as they cleaned up streets that a day before had been rivers.

“The flood here yesterday was really severe,” Reynaldo Vergara, 53, told AFP, adding that everything in his small shop had been washed away.

“The river overflowed. That’s where the water came from,” he said.

“Around four or five in the morning, the water was so strong that you couldn’t even step outside … nothing like this has ever happened. The water was raging.”

In the 24 hours before Kalmaegi’s landfall, the area around Cebu City was deluged with 183 millimetres (seven inches) of rain, well over its 131-millimetre monthly average, weather specialist Charmagne Varilla told AFP.

On Tuesday, provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro called the situation “unprecedented”.

“We were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but… the water is what’s truly putting our people at risk,” she told reporters. “The floodwaters are just devastating.”

Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen rapidly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, meaning heavier rainfall.

In total, nearly 400,000 people were pre-emptively moved from the typhoon’s path.

Military helicopter crash

The Philippine military confirmed on Tuesday that a helicopter, one of four deployed to assist typhoon relief efforts, had crashed on northern Mindanao island.

The Super Huey helicopter went down while en route to the coastal city of Butuan “in support of relief operations” related to the powerful storm, Eastern Mindanao Command said in a statement.

Hours later, air force spokeswoman Colonel Maria Christina Basco said the remains of six people had been recovered by troops.

“We’re waiting to confirm the identities via forensics in order to ascertain their identities,” she told reporters, saying two pilots and four crew members were on board.

As of 11:00am Wednesday, Kalmaegi was moving westwards towards the tourist hotspots of Palawan, with winds of 130 kilometres (81 miles) per hour and gusts of 180kph.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking disaster-prone areas where millions live in poverty.

With Kalmaegi, the archipelagic country has already reached that average, weather specialist Varilla told AFP, adding at least “three to five more” storms could be expected by December’s end.

The Philippines was hit by two major storms in September, including Super Typhoon Ragasa, which tore the roofs off buildings on its way to killing 14 people in nearby Taiwan.