New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to become the US city’s first Muslim mayor, and the youthful optimism of his Democratic Socialist platform will be put to the test as he takes office Thursday for a four-year term that faces high expectations.- Festive swearing in -Just after the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, New York Attorney General Letitia James — friend to Mamdani, foe to President Donald Trump — will swear in the new mayor. In a high-stakes tit-for-tat, James recently sued Trump, and he tried to have her indicted in return.At midday, left-wing icon and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will preside over a ceremony outside City Hall.At a neighborhood celebration, festivities will echo “one of his core messages… that this is a great city, and we like living here,” said Lincoln Mitchell, a Columbia University political science professor. – Policy agenda -The mayor-elect, an avowed socialist, campaigned on addressing the prohibitive cost of living in the metropolis of 8.5 million. One of his key proposals is freezing rent on more than a million apartments, but it’s unclear if the city board that handles rent control — packed with appointees of outgoing Mayor Eric Adams — will be supportive.Details of Mamdani’s other campaign promises — the construction of 200,000 units of affordable housing, universal access to childcare, publicly owned supermarkets and free buses — have yet to be spelled out.But Mamdani has one ace in his pocket: an excellent relationship with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who approves measures like the tax hikes he seeks.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.- Opposition to Trump -Despite expectations to the contrary, the late November Oval Office meeting between Trump and Mamdani was cordial and calm. Mamdani “wisely sought a point of common ground with Trump: wanting to make New York City a better place to live,” Kane said.Trump can “be surprisingly gregarious toward those that he perceives to have little leverage over,” Kane added.Federal immigration officers are increasingly active in New York, which could become a flashpoint.- Reassuring the public -At 34, Mamdani is one of New York’s youngest mayors and his political resume is short — he’s held office once previously, as a local representative in the State Assembly.To compensate, he is surrounding himself with seasoned aides, recruited from past mayor’s offices and former president Joe Biden’s administration.Mamdani has also already opened dialogue with business leaders, some of whom predicted a massive exodus of wealthy New Yorkers if he won. Real estate sector leaders debunked those claims in recent weeks.As a defender of Palestinian rights, the mayor — Muslim and of Indian origin — will also have to reassure the Jewish community of his inclusive leadership style. Recently, one of his hires resigned after it was revealed she had posted antisemitic tweets years ago.- ‘Cultural figure’ -“The mayor of New York is always a cultural figure,” Mitchell said.Mamdani has already captured some of his generation’s cultural trappings with his brief forays into rap music, improv classes in Manhattan, and wearing what the New York Times called “the quintessential entry-level suit for a 30-something striving to be taken seriously.”New Yorkers have also noted his enthusiastic support of his wife, Syrian-born artist Rama Duwaji, with approval.Her Instagram account has gained more than a million followers since November, according to Social Blade statistics.And on the cover of The Cut, New York magazine’s revered fashion and culture publication, she recently marked her own path — the hallmark of every young generation of city dwellers striving to make it there.”At the end of the day, I’m not a politician. I’m here to be a support system for Z and to use the role in the best way that I can as an artist,” she said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Donald Trump in Florida on Monday, with the US president pushing to move to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The crucial meeting at Trump’s lavish Mar-a-Lago resort comes as some White House officials fear both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the second phase of their ceasefire.Trump, who said Netanyahu had asked for the talks, is reportedly keen to announce — as soon as January — a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force.The two leaders are to meet at 1 pm (1800 GMT), the White House said.Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu would discuss the second phase, which involves making sure that “Hamas is disarmed, Gaza is demilitarized.”But Netanyahu will also try to shift the focus onto Iran during his fifth meeting in the United States with Trump this year, amid reports he will push for more US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear program.Netanyahu would also bring up the “danger Iran poses not only to the region of the Middle East, but the United States as well,” Bedrosian said before flying out with the Israeli premier.Netanyahu’s visit caps a frantic few days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday for talks on ending Russia’s invasion.The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major achievements of Trump’s first year back in power, but his administration and regional mediators want to keep up the momentum.Trump’s global envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner hosted senior officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Miami earlier this month.The timing of the Netanyahu meeting is “very significant,” said Gershon Baskin, the co-head of peacebuilding commission the Alliance for Two States, who has taken part in back-channel negotiations with Hamas.”Phase two has to begin,” he told AFP, adding that “I think the Americans realize that it’s late because Hamas has had too much time to re-establish its presence.”  – ‘Going nowhere’ -The first phase of the truce deal saw Hamas release the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, from the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Hamas has returned all but the body of one hostage. Both sides allege frequent ceasefire violations.Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas is supposed to lay down its weapons — a major sticking point for the Islamist movement.An interim authority is meanwhile meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the international stabilization force (ISF) is to be deployed.The Axios news outlet reported on Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new Gaza “Board of Peace” that he will chair at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January.But it said that senior White House officials were growing exasperated with what they viewed as efforts by Netanyahu to stall the peace process.”There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,” said Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think-tank Chatham House.”The question is what it’s going to do about it,” he added, “because phase two is right now going nowhere.”For his part, Netanyahu is set to focus with Trump on Iran’s nuclear program, which the United States and Israel struck in June but which Israel fears Tehran is rebuilding.Israel is also continuing to strike Hamas targets in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon despite a ceasefire there. Syria will also be on the agenda.Mekelberg said Netanyahu could be attempting to shift attention from Gaza onto Iran as Israel enters an election year.”Everything is connected to staying in power,” he said of the long-time Israeli premier.

Near the entrance to the Panama Canal, a monument to China’s contributions to the interoceanic waterway was torn down Saturday night by order of local authorities.The move comes as US President Donald Trump has made threats in recent months to retake control of the canal, claiming Beijing has too much influence in its operations.In a surprising move that has been criticized by leaders in Panama and China, the mayor’s office of the locality of Arraijan ordered the demolition of the monument built in 2004 to symbolize friendship between the countries.The mayor’s office said in a statement that the monument, which overlooked the waterway spanning Bridge of the Americas, had structural damage that posed a “risk.” But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said Sunday that “there is no justification whatsoever for the barbarity committed,” calling it “an unforgivable act of irrationality.”After personally inspecting the demolition, China’s ambassador to Panama Xu Xueyuan said it was a “great pain for bilateral friendship,” noting the insult to 300,000 Chinese-Panamanians.Some members of the Chinese community witnessed the destruction but police prevented them from reaching the lookout to stop it, according to videos published by local media.In a video posted to X, the Chinese embassy called for a “thorough investigation” of the case and to “severely sanction” the “illegal, improper and vandalistic” actions.The US and China are the main users of the 80-kilometer canal, which sees the passage of five percent of global maritime trade.The Panama Canal was under US control from 1914 to 1999, when it was taken over by Panama.Trump has demanded preferential conditions for its use by US vessels.Hong Kong-based Hutchison Holdings operates two ports on the Pacific and the Atlantic, but has agreed to sell them to US-based BlackRock.