• Mamdani leads Cuomo in polls, backed by endorsements and small donors.
• Cuomo’s campaign could gain from Adams’s exit, attracting business donors.
• Trump’s attacks on Mamdani may boost his appeal among New Yorkers.

NEW YORK: The decision by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to suspend his sputtering reelection bid is unlikely to slow the upstart candidacy of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, political analysts said on Monday.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old Uganda-born state assembly member, has polled well ahead of his main rival, former New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo, with five weeks to go before Election Day, and persistent attacks by President Donald Trump may only serve to burnish Mamdani’s image with New Yorkers opposed to the president’s policies.

Since he scored a stunning upset in the June primary to become the Democratic Party’s standard bearer in the November 4 general election, Mamdani’s candidacy has been on a roll, winning endorsements from party holdouts such as former Vice President Kamala Harris and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and a steady stream of financial backing from small donors.

Adams confirmed weeks of speculation on Sunday by announcing he was suspending his independent bid for a second term. He had decided against seeking the Democratic nomination in June.

His departure creates what is essentially a two-candidate race between Mamdani and Cuomo, a veteran of New York politics attempting to make a comeback after his 2021 resignation as governor amid sexual harassment allegations. Cuomo is running as an independent after his loss in the June Democratic primary.

Mamdani “is well ahead of Cuomo and something would have to dramatically change the narrative of the race for there to be a shift in the polling to suggest Mamdani could lose, and I don’t see that happening right now,” said Basil Smikle, political analyst and professor at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.

Mamdani on Monday said he was not interested in commenting on what Adams’ departure meant for his campaign.

“A lot of the focus has been on the question of the impact it may have on Election Day, what it means for the horse race,” he told reporters at a campaign event in uptown Manhattan. “What it loses sight of is that for New Yorkers who are struggling to afford the most expensive city in the United States of America, nothing has changed.”

Before Sunday’s news, a Marist University poll showed Mamdani leading with 45% support, compared with around 24% for Cuomo. Adams, who withdrew too late to remove his name from the ballot, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa trailed with 9% and 17%, respectively.

While no new polls have been conducted since Adams dropped out, a Marist poll released September 16 asked potential voters to consider that possibility. It showed Mamdani would receive the support of 46% of likely voters compared with 30% for Cuomo and 18% for Sliwa. That suggests the benefits to Cuomo from Adams’ departure would help the former governor, but not enough to narrow Mamdani’s lead significantly.

Trump attacks Mamdani again

Adams’ bid for reelection had been plagued from the start. 

Elected during the pandemic, his popularity withered amid a steady drumbeat of corruption allegations involving himself and his associates. He became the first sitting mayor in New York history to be indicted on federal bribery charges.

The mayor pleaded not guilty, but Trump’s Justice Department dropped the case, saying it interfered with the mayor’s ability to support the president’s aggressive deportation agenda. That angered many New Yorkers, who overwhelmingly say they oppose the president’s policies.

On Sunday, Trump welcomed the mayor’s move, saying it gave Cuomo a “much better chance” by concentrating the anti-Mamdani vote.

On Monday, Trump then reacted with another attack on Mamdani. In a social media post, he said Mamdani “needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”

Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University in New York, says such threats may backfire, giving an unintended boost to Mamdani.

“The president makes miscalculations,” she said. “The more he tries to meddle in this race, the more it highlights the fact that actually we do want this type of representation because there’s such a draconian backlash coming from Washington, DC.”

Mamdani maintained his solid edge on Cuomo in fund-raising over the summer, having collected some $15 million versus $9 million for the former governor on the strength of a record number of small donations, according to the most recent data, which included August disclosures.

To be sure, Cuomo’s campaign could benefit from Adams’ departure if donations pick up again from powerful business interests concerned about Mamdani’s progressive agenda, which focuses on affordability issues at the expense of wealthy New Yorkers.

Before the primary, big donors poured millions of dollars into the pro-Cuomo political action committee Fix the City, which operates independently of direct campaign funding.

“We have seen an uptick in interest from donors and supporters over the past 24 hours and will be working to maximise our resources to ensure that Andrew Cuomo is elected in November,” said a source familiar with the PAC’s planning but unauthorised to speak on the record.

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates has announced sweeping changes to its visa rules, introducing new categories aimed at attracting talent and supporting people in need.

A special visa for artificial intelligence (AI) specialists has been launched, alongside a new event visa for those attending festivals, exhibitions, conferences and sporting activities.

Tourists arriving via cruise ships or leisure boats will now be eligible for a multiple-entry maritime visa.

In a major humanitarian move, the UAE will grant one-year residence permits to people fleeing wars or natural disasters – without requiring a sponsor. Widows and divorced women will also be able to obtain residency without sponsorship.

For visit visas, sponsors must meet minimum income thresholds: AED 4,000 for first-degree relatives, AED 8,000 for second or third-degree relatives, and AED 15,000 to sponsor a friend.

Business visas will require proof of financial solvency or ownership of a company abroad, while foreign lorry drivers will be eligible for visas only under the sponsorship of licensed freight or transport companies.

Officials said the reforms are part of the UAE’s wider strategy to attract global talent, enhance technology sectors, and expand its role as a hub for trade, tourism and innovation.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump published on Monday a 20-point peace proposal for Gaza that would end the war between Israel and Hamas and require the return of all hostages living and dead within 72 hours of a ceasefire.

The plan leaves many details for negotiators to hash out and hinges on acceptance by Hamas fighters who launched the war against Israel on October 7, 2023. It refers to a redeveloped Gaza as “New Gaza.”

Here are the main elements of the plan that resulted from intense negotiations in recent weeks between Trump and his team, and Israeli and Arab leaders:

• If both sides agree to the proposal, the war will end immediately. Israeli forces will withdraw partially to prepare for a hostage release. All military operations will be suspended and battle lines will be frozen in place until conditions are met for the “complete staged withdrawal” of Israeli forces.
• Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting the proposal, all hostages, alive and dead, will be returned. Once all hostages are released, Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences plus 1,700 Gazans arrested after the start of the conflict on October 7, 2023. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 dead Gazans.
• Once all hostages are freed, members of Hamas “who commit to peaceful coexistence” and give up arms will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided with safe passage to receiving countries.
• Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip, with quantities consistent with the levels mandated under a January 19, 2025, accord. Aid deliveries will proceed without interference from Israel or Hamas through the United Nations and related agencies.
• A “deradicalised” Gaza will not pose a threat to its neighbours and will be “redeveloped” for the benefit of Gazans.
• The Trump plan envisions a “Board of Peace” of international overseers led by Trump himself and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in an undefined role. Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a “technocratic, apolitical” committee made up of Palestinians and international experts, to be overseen by the Board of Peace. This group will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until the Palestinian Authority has undergone major reforms.
• A Trump economic development plan to rebuild Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts “who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East.” A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
• Under the plan, no one will be forced to leave Gaza, which has sustained heavy damage during the war, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. “We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza,” the plan says.
• Hamas and other factions would agree to have no role whatsoever in governing Gaza, directly or indirectly. All military infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons production facilities, will be destroyed. Independent monitors will supervise the demilitarisation of Gaza.
• “New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbours,” according to the plan.
• Regional partners will work to ensure that Hamas and related factions comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat.
• The US will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force to immediately deploy in Gaza.
• Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. The Israeli Defence Forces will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the International Stabilisation Force.
• The plan is vague on a pathway to Palestinian statehood. It says that while Gaza redevelopment advances and when the Palestinian Authority is reformed, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”
• The US will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a “political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.”