Latest news with #mayoral
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Mamdani faces backlash for opulent wedding celebration
The 'Outnumbered' panel discuss New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's trip to Uganda amid critics accusing him of hypocrisy due to his socialist policies.
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Maduro's party sweeps Venezuelan mayoral vote as opposition boycotts
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro casts his vote during municipal elections in Caracas yesterday. (AP pic) CARACAS : Venezuela's ruling party won the majority of mayoral seats yesterday in elections boycotted by the main opposition, coinciding with the anniversary of president Nicolas Maduro's re-election last year. The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 285 of 335 mayoralties, according to Maduro's own projections, which he celebrated with supporters early today in Caracas's Bolivar Square. 'Victory, popular victory!' Maduro shouted. 'Democracy and peace, the unity of the people, have triumphed.' The country's electoral authority, accused of loyalty to Maduro, put turnout at 44%. That represents just over 6 million voters, although polling stations in several cities showed low turnout throughout the day. In one year, Maduro has won the presidency, absolute control of parliament, 23 of 24 governorships and now municipal power. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose candidate lost to Maduro in the presidential election last year, said on X: 'What happened between July 28, 2024, and today?' 'That day, 70% of the country voted for EDMUNDO GONZALEZ, and today, 90% said NO to MADURO,' referring to what she said was the abstention rate. A dissident wing of Machado's movement participated in the elections and, according to Maduro, won 50 mayoralties. 'The new opposition,' the president declared, while the opposition leader branded them Maduro collaborators. Maduro plans to lead a demonstration today to celebrate the anniversary of his victory, which the US and a dozen other countries did not recognise. 'Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government,' US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on X yesterday, calling the president the leader of a 'narco-terror' organisation. This month, Washington and Caracas negotiated a prisoner swap that saw the release of 10 Americans and US residents imprisoned in Venezuela for 252 Venezuelan migrants detained in a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Zohran Mamdani throws lavish wedding party in Uganda
Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani recently celebrated his wedding to his artist wife at a lavish compound owned by his family in Uganda. Mamdani, 33, shocked the political world when he defeated Andrew Cuomo to win the Democrat nomination to run the Big Apple, campaigning on far left policy and drawing controversy for his anti-Israel views. The state assemblyman recently took a break from the campaign to visit Uganda, where he was born and spent the first few years of his life being raised by his filmmaker mother Mira Nair and academic father Mahmood Mamdani. The far-left Queens politician reportedly held a three-day celebration after he eloped with 27-year-old illustrator Rama Duwaji this past February. Not only was the affair held in the wealthy Buziga Hill area of Kampala in a compound owned by his parents - the wedding party was watched by armed and masked security guards, with one witness claiming nine guards were watching one entrance. Security was so tight, the party even had a cellphone-jamming system, The New York Post reports. Invited guests partied past midnight to celebrate Mamdani and Duwaji - who met on the dating app Hinge - and their recent nuptials. One of the locals called the wedding in bad taste as the nation was in mourning for former Ugandan Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, with the party blocking the nation's president from visiting to pay the family his respects. Andrew Cuomo - still in the mayoral race as an independent following his primary defeat to Mamdani - attempted to poke fun at his rival. In a poll posted to X, he asked his followers to vote on whether Mamdani's three-day wedding was 'champagne socialism' or 'trust fund socialism.' has reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment. Mamdani's illustrator wife Rama Duwaji, 27, had been low-key during her husband's social media-driven campaign before joining him on stage when he celebrated victory on primary night. Some critics of the left-wing candidate, 33, had even accused him of 'hiding his wife from NYC ' during his bruising primary against former Governor Cuomo. But Duwaji was all smiles as she marked her husband's victory on stage, and wrote on Instagram that she 'couldn't possibly be prouder' of him as he shocked his establishment opponent. Mamdani, who met his wife on the dating app Hinge, lovingly addressed Duwaji in front of his crowd on primary night, saying 'Rama, thank you' as he kissed her hand. The potential future First Lady of the Big Apple says on her Instagram bio that she is 'from Damascus', however a Mamdani campaign spokesperson told the New York Times that she was actually born in Texas . She is best known for her illustrations and animations, many of which are pro-Palestine themed and criticize Israel and the Trump administration. Duwaji's artwork has appeared in numerous galleries including London's Tate Modern, and has been included in news outlets including the New Yorker, the BBC and the Washington Post. As his wife's lack of presence on the campaign trail became a source of ammunition for his opponents, Mamdani took on his critics with an Instagram post of his own. 'If you take a look at Twitter today, or any day for that matter, you know how vicious politics can be,' Mamdani wrote alongside images from their civil ceremony. 'I usually brush it off, whether it's death threats or calls for me to be deported. But it's different when it's about those you love. 'Three months ago, I married the love of my life, Rama, at the City Clerk's office. Now, right-wing trolls are trying to make this race – which should be about you – about her.' He added: 'You can critique my views, but not my family... (Rama) isn't just my wife, she's an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms.' Among Duwaji's recent artworks shared to her Instagram include calls to release previously detained Columbia student and pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was locked up by the Trump administration for months without being charged with a crime before he was freed in June. In May, she also shared an animation condemning Israel's treatment of civilians in Gaza, which showed a woman holding a bowl that read 'it's not a hunger crisis... it is deliberate starvation.' Duwaji's thrust into the limelight comes as her husband rapidly rose to national prominence with his surprise victory. The 33-year-old has faced mounting questions about his experience since he gained traction and ultimately won the Democratic primary, with his only public service work coming as a state assemblyman. In the state assembly, Mamdani promoted few bills, and his legislative record includes co-sponsoring bills requiring prisons to house inmates based on their self-declared gender, preventing law enforcement from asking about a perp's immigration status, and forcing small businesses to make their product packaging eco-friendly. Critics have said a Mamdani win will see the Big Apple slide back into the type of permissive lawlessness that scarred the city during the COVID crisis, but which woke locals and lawmakers scoffed at. When asked by Good Morning America about his lack of experience, Mamdani avoided talking about his record and turned the question back on his recent run for mayor. 'The experience that I show in this moment is to be able to meet the crisis that New Yorkers are facing, and deliver them a new kind of city,' he said. 'One that is unencumbered by the old ways.' Mamdani has described himself as 'Trump's worst nightmare', and his far-left policy platform sharply divided the nation as he gained traction in the mayor's race. He says he wants to raise taxes on the top one percent of New York earners - something the mayor does not have the authority to do - and make a number of city services free including childcare and buses. The city assemblyman has also proposed spending $65 million on transgender care, freezing rent on rent-stabilized apartments, and creating city-owned grocery stores. He has also advocated for defunding the city's police department, defended pro- Palestine slogans like 'globalize the intifada' - which critics say is an anti-Semitic call for the destruction of Israel - and said he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Champagne socialist Zohran Mamdani weds wife at million-dollar compound owned by his wealthy parents
Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani recently celebrated his wedding to his artist wife at a lavish compound owned by his family in Uganda. Mamdani, 33, shocked the political world when he defeated Andrew Cuomo to win the Democrat nomination to run the Big Apple, campaigning on far left policy and drawing controversy for his anti-Israel views. The state assemblyman recently took a break from the campaign to visit Uganda, where he was born and spent the first few years of his life being raised by his filmmaker mother Mira Nair and academic father Mahmood Mamdani. The socialist Queens politician reportedly held a three-day celebration after he eloped with 27-year-old illustrator Rama Duwaji this past February. Not only was the affair held in the wealthy Buziga Hill area of Kampala in a compound owned by his parents, outside traffic for the anti-ICE leftist's wedding party was watched by armed and masked security guards, with one witness claiming nine guards were watching one entrance. Security was so tight, the party even had a cellphone-jamming system, The New York Post reports. Invited guests partied past midnight to celebrate Mamdani and Duwaji - who met on the dating app Hinge - and their recent nuptials. One of the locals called the wedding in bad taste as the nation was in mourning for former Ugandan Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, with the party blocking the nation's president from visiting to pay the family his respects. Andrew Cuomo - still in the mayoral race as an independent following his primary defeat to Mamdani - attempted to poke fun at his rival. In a poll posted to X, he asked his followers to vote on whether Mamdani's three-day wedding was 'champagne socialism' or 'trust fund socialism.' has reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment. Mamdani's illustrator wife Rama Duwaji, 27, had been low-key during her husband's social media-driven campaign before joining him on stage when he celebrated victory on primary night. Some critics of the left-wing candidate, 33, had even accused him of 'hiding his wife from NYC ' during his bruising primary against former Governor Cuomo. But Duwaji was all smiles as she marked her husband's victory on stage, and wrote on Instagram that she 'couldn't possibly be prouder' of him as he shocked his establishment opponent. Mamdani, who met his wife on the dating app Hinge, lovingly addressed Duwaji in front of his crowd on primary night, saying 'Rama, thank you' as he kissed her hand. The potential future First Lady of the Big Apple says on her Instagram bio that she is 'from Damascus', however a Mamdani campaign spokesperson told the New York Times that she was actually born in Texas. In a poll posted to X, he asked his followers to vote on whether Mamdani's three-day wedding was 'champagne socialism' or 'trust fund socialism' She is best known for her illustrations and animations, many of which are pro-Palestine themed and criticize Israel and the Trump administration. Duwaji's artwork has appeared in numerous galleries including London's Tate Modern, and has been included in news outlets including the New Yorker, the BBC and the Washington Post. As his wife's lack of presence on the campaign trail became a source of ammunition for his opponents, Mamdani took on his critics with an Instagram post of his own. 'If you take a look at Twitter today, or any day for that matter, you know how vicious politics can be,' Mamdani wrote alongside images from their civil ceremony. 'I usually brush it off, whether it's death threats or calls for me to be deported. But it's different when it's about those you love. 'Three months ago, I married the love of my life, Rama, at the City Clerk's office. Now, right-wing trolls are trying to make this race – which should be about you – about her.' He added: 'You can critique my views, but not my family... (Rama) isn't just my wife, she's an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms.' Among Duwaji's recent artworks shared to her Instagram include calls to release previously detained Columbia student and pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was locked up by the Trump administration for months without being charged with a crime before he was freed in June. In May, she also shared an animation condemning Israel's treatment of civilians in Gaza, which showed a woman holding a bowl that read 'it's not a hunger crisis... it is deliberate starvation.' Duwaji's thrust into the limelight comes as her husband rapidly rose to national prominence with his surprise victory. The 33-year-old has faced mounting questions about his experience since he gained traction and ultimately won the Democratic primary, with his only public service work coming as a state assemblyman. In the state assembly, Mamdani promoted few bills, and his legislative record includes co-sponsoring bills requiring prisons to house inmates based on their self-declared gender, preventing law enforcement from asking about a perp's immigration status, and forcing small businesses to make their product packaging eco-friendly. Critics have said a Mamdani win will see the Big Apple slide back into the type of permissive lawlessness that scarred the city during the COVID crisis, but which woke locals and lawmakers scoffed at. When asked by Good Morning America about his lack of experience, Mamdani avoided talking about his record and turned the question back on his recent run for mayor. 'The experience that I show in this moment is to be able to meet the crisis that New Yorkers are facing, and deliver them a new kind of city,' he said. 'One that is unencumbered by the old ways.' Mamdani has described himself as 'Trump's worst nightmare', and his far-left policy platform sharply divided the nation as he gained traction in the mayor's race. He says he wants to raise taxes on the top one percent of New York earners - something the mayor does not have the authority to do - and make a number of city services free including childcare and buses. The city assemblyman has also proposed spending $65 million on transgender care, freezing rent on rent-stabilized apartments, and creating city-owned grocery stores. He has also advocated for defunding the city's police department, defended pro- Palestine slogans like 'globalize the intifada' - which critics say is an anti-Semitic call for the destruction of Israel - and said he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Sadiq Khan has finally met a would-be Mayor worse than him
If New Yorkers needed any more proof that Zohran Mamdani would be a disaster for the Big Apple, the news that he's been comparing notes with Sadiq Khan is surely it. Following Mamdani's shock victory in the Democratic mayoral primary a few weeks ago, in which the self-identified socialist triumphed over disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo, he has reportedly 'been in touch with a number of progressive mayors', including London's. Khan's advice? Move to the centre, apparently. Having won the primary promising rent freezes and free buses, Mamdani needs now to reassure the moderates, just as Khan did in 2016, when he trounced his Left-wing challengers before taking the fight to Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith. Say what you will about Khan, he has managed to win three elections, albeit in a city that has been a one-party state for some time. Beyond that, he should be keeping his advice to himself, given Calamity Khan has been a disaster for London on every conceivable front. Out-of-control knife crime. The effective decriminalisation of petty theft. Anti-social behaviour apparently becoming mandatory. The inability to easily procure a pint past 11pm on a weekday, even in central London, all while our dearly departed 'night tsar' pocketed £132,000 a year. If this sounds like fun to you, NYC, you're welcome to it. Khan might not be a Leftist in the Mamdani or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mould, but his tenure in London has shown us that his supposed 'centrism' can be just as damaging to a great city. While he struggles to handle the fundamentals, from violent crime to building houses to keeping London's nightlife alive, he levies punishing Ulez fines against those who can't afford newer, greener cars, or engages in ostentatious beefs with Donald Trump. His is the politics of virtue-signalling taken to an insulting degree. You might be struggling to pay your rent, but at least we have a mayor who bangs on endlessly about inclusion. You might fear for your son's life as he roams your estate, but at least our Sadiq has told him to call out his 'maaates' if they say anything sexist. When all else fails, we are instructed to shelve all of our piddling concerns and simply bask in the warm feeling of being ruled over by London's first Muslim mayor, as if Khan's faith has anything to do with anything. The crank wing of the Maga crowd were typically hysterical when Mamdani – who is also Muslim – won. Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Green shared an AI image of the Statue of Liberty draped in a burka – just as hard-Rightists over here absurdly suggest that Khan, who has never seen a Pride march he didn't want to join, is some kind of crypto-Islamist. To be honest, having lived in Khan's London for all of his reign, I'd rather go full-blown Sharia than have to sit through another of those insufferable New Year's Eve fireworks displays, celebrating 'diversity' and taking potshots at Brexit. Give me a caliph over a woke troll any day. Who knows? A few severed hands later, shoplifting might finally start getting under control. The Mamdani-Khan confab is yet another reminder of what a mess so-called 'progressives' of various hues seem intent on making of our respective metropolises. The sooner New Yorkers and Londoners alike wake up to this, the sooner we can make our cities great again.
