Politics
Zohran Mamdani takes oath as Mayor of New York
Zohran Mamdani, the young upstart of the US left, was sworn in Thursday to take over as New York mayor for a term sure to see him cross swords with President Donald Trump.
After the clocks struck midnight, bringing in 2026, Mamdani took his oath of office at an abandoned subway stop to begin managing the United States’ largest city. He is New York’s first Muslim mayor.
His office said the understated venue beneath City Hall reflected his commitment to working people, after the 34-year-old Democrat campaigned on promises to address the soaring cost of living.
“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani told reporters after taking his oath.
But it remains to be seen if Mamdani — virtually unknown a year ago — can deliver on his ambitious agenda, which envisions rent freezes, universal childcare and free public buses.
Once an election is over, “symbolism only goes so far with voters. Results begin to matter a whole lot more,” New York University lecturer John Kane said.
How Trump behaves could be a decisive factor.
The Republican, himself a New Yorker, has repeatedly criticized Mamdani, but the pair held surprisingly cordial talks at the White House in November.
Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst and professor at Columbia University, said the meeting “couldn’t have gone better from Mamdani’s perspective.”
But he warned their relationship could quickly sour.
One flashpoint might be immigration raids as Trump wages an expanding crackdown on migrants across the United States.
Mamdani has vowed to protect immigrant communities.
Before the November vote, the president also threatened to slash federal funding for New York if it picked Mamdani, whom he called a “communist lunatic.”
The mayor-elect has said he believes Trump is a fascist.
Block party
Mamdani’s private swearing-in to start his four-year term was performed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Trump for fraud.
A larger, ceremonial inauguration is scheduled later Thursday with speeches from left-wing allies Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Around 4,000 ticketed guests are expected to attend the event outside City Hall.
Mamdani’s team has also organized a block party that it says will enable tens of thousands of people to watch the ceremony at streetside viewing areas along Broadway.
In a first for the city, Mamdani is using several Korans to be sworn in as mayor — two from his family and one that belonged to Puerto Rico-born Black writer Arturo Schomburg, The New York Times reported.
The new job comes with a change of address as he swaps his rent-controlled apartment in the borough of Queens for the luxurious mayor’s residence in Manhattan.
Some had wondered if he would move to the official mansion given his campaigning on affordability issues. Mamdani said he is doing so mainly for security reasons.
Born in Uganda to a family of Indian origin, Mamdani moved to New York at age seven and enjoyed an elite upbringing with only a relatively brief stint in politics, becoming a member of the New York State Assembly before being elected mayor.
Compensating for his inexperience, he is surrounding himself with seasoned aides recruited from past mayoral administrations and former US president Joe Biden’s government.
Mamdani has also opened dialogue with business leaders, some of whom predicted a massive exodus of wealthy New Yorkers if he won. Real estate leaders have debunked those claims.
As a defender of Palestinian rights, he will have to reassure the Jewish community of his inclusive leadership.
Recently, one of his hires resigned after it was revealed she had posted antisemitic tweets years ago.
THE HAGUE: A huge inferno gutted a 19th-century Amsterdam church Thursday, as the Netherlands endured an unsettled New Year’s Eve with two dead from fireworks and “unprecedented” violence against police.
The blaze broke out in the early hours at the Vondelkerk, a tourist attraction that has overlooked one of the city’s top parks since 1872.
The 50-metre-high (164-foot) tower collapsed and the roof was badly damaged but the structure was expected to remain intact, Amsterdam authorities said.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.
The head of the Dutch Police Union, Nine Kooiman, reported an “unprecedented amount of violence against police and emergency services” over New Year’s Eve.
She said she herself had been pelted three times by fireworks and other explosives as she worked a shift in Amsterdam.
Shortly after midnight, authorities released a rare country-wide alert on mobile phones warning people not to call overwhelmed emergency services unless lives were at risk.
Reports of attacks against police and firefighters were widespread across the country. In the southern city of Breda, people threw petrol bombs at police.
Two people, a 17-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man, were killed in fireworks accidents. Three others were seriously injured.
The eye hospital in Rotterdam said it had treated 14 patients, including 10 minors, for eye injuries. Two received surgery.
It was the last year before an expected ban on unofficial fireworks, so the Dutch bought them in massive quantities.
According to the Dutch Pyrotechnics Association, revellers splashed out a record 129 million euros ($151 million) on fireworks.
Some areas had been designated firework-free zones, but this appeared to have little effect.
An AFP journalist in such a zone in The Hague reported loud bangs until around 3am.
Steeper US tariffs on some imported furniture items took effect Thursday, in a move that could add pressure on households already feeling the pinch from elevated costs of living.
The increase was planned under an earlier tranche of sector-specific tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, as the US leader widened a slate of duties he has rolled out since returning to the White House.
Trump’s tariffs in 2025 have affected goods ranging from steel to autos, and more investigations — that could lead to even more levies — are underway.
In October, a 10-percent duty on imported softwood timber and lumber came into effect, along with a 25-percent duty on certain upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets.
These tariffs, justified by the Trump administration as a means to boost US industries and protect national security, also included a planned increase come January 1, 2026.
Effective Thursday, the rate on certain upholstered furniture rises to 30 percent, while that on kitchen cabinets and vanities doubles to 50 percent.
The measure is likely to impact imports from countries like Vietnam and China, which have been key suppliers of imported furniture to the United States.
But the tariff levels for wood products from Britain will not exceed 10 percent, while those from the European Union and certain other trading partners who reached deals with Washington face a 15-percent ceiling.
Products subject to sector-specific tariffs are also not doubly hit by countrywide “reciprocal” levies that Trump has separately imposed, which are in some cases higher.
The Supreme Court is due to rule on the legality of these countrywide tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
But the high court’s eventual decision does not affect sector-specific duties.
GENEVA: Several people were killed and others injured when an explosion ripped through a bar in the luxury Alpine ski resort town of Crans Montana, Swiss police said early Thursday.
“There has been an explosion of unknown origin,” Gaetan Lathion, a police spokesman in Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland told AFP.
“There are several injured, and several dead.”
He said the explosion took place at around 1:30am (0030 GMT) in a bar called Le Constellation, which is popular with tourists, as revellers rang in the new year.
Images published by Swiss media showed a building in flames, and emergency services nearby.
“The intervention is still ongoing,” he said.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.
Historic Amsterdam church destroyed in New Year’s Eve fire
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