[🇺🇸] USA News/Views

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/views/news/when-will-the-us-gain-independence-israel-3630511

When will the US gain 'independence' from Israel?

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin during a meeting in New York City, US on September 20, 2023. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

In a video recorded in 2001, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said, "The main thing, first of all, is to hit them [Palestinians]. Not just one blow, but blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be borne." Dismissing the possibility that the United States would be an obstacle to the perpetration of such gruesome crimes, he added, "I know what America is. America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way."

When the above statement was first reported in various media outlets in 2010, Netanyahu's claim of Israeli influence over the US was met with disbelief and, in some quarters, with ridicule. Many thought it was inconceivable. How could Israel exercise such control over a country like the US?

More than a decade on, if we unpack the intricacies of US-Israel relations, we may not characterise Netanyahu's statements as hyperbolic or counterintuitive. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear understand that the US-Israel relationship is asymmetrical and lopsided in favour of the latter's interests. Successive US governments have been acting against the stated values and principles of their country in order to offer unconditional support for inhuman Israeli policies against Palestinians. US governments—both Democratic and Republican—have been routinely ignoring their own human rights stance by using the veto power at the UN Security Council to protect the Israeli state from criticism of its gross violations of human rights and international laws.

The US's acquiescent submission to Israeli authorities has become more conspicuous, and the magnitude of its catastrophic consequences more evident, since early October 2023 when Israel launched its ongoing genocide against Palestinians. At the expense of its domestic and international interests as well as its global standing, the US has been providing Israel with economic incentives and military munitions, which the latter has been using to slaughter innocent Palestinian children, women, and men and to demolish educational institutions and other critical facilities—all designed to trigger a mass exodus of the surviving Palestinians from their land.

There are instances when the US government treated its own citizens' lives as less valuable than the interests of Israel.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link below.​

 

[Bilal9]

New York Mayor Mamdani vows to enact democratic socialist agenda

Democrat Zohran Mamdani became New York City's mayor on Thursday, vowing during a public swearing-in ceremony on the steps of City Hall to enact an aggressive agenda aimed at making the nation's largest city more affordable for working people. Mamdani, a member of his party's left-wing democratic

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

New York Mayor Mamdani vows to enact democratic socialist agenda

REUTERS
Published :
Jan 02, 2026 23:20
Updated :
Jan 02, 2026 23:20

View attachment 23368
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech during his inauguration ceremony in New York City, US, Jan 1, 2026. Photo : REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

Democrat Zohran Mamdani became New York City's mayor on Thursday, vowing during a public swearing-in ceremony on the steps of City Hall to enact an aggressive agenda aimed at making the nation's largest city more affordable for working people.

Mamdani, a member of his party's left-wing democratic socialist faction, was elected last November in a prominent victory that could influence this year's midterm elections that will determine control of the US Congress. Some Democrats have embraced his style while Republicans portray him as a foil on the national political stage.

The 34-year-old campaigned heavily on cost-of-living issues and was sharply critical of Republican President Donald Trump, whose approval rating has fallen over the past year amid economic concerns.

Many of New York's 8 million residents - some with hope, some with trepidation - expect him to be a disruptive political force. In a speech following his public swearing-in, Mamdani promoted core campaign promises of universal childcare, affordable rents and free bus service.

"We will answer to all New Yorkers, not to any billionaire or oligarch who thinks they can buy our democracy," he said. "I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist."

CROWD CHANTS 'TAX THE RICH'

The programme for Mamdani's inauguration included remarks by US Senator Bernie Sanders and US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, fellow democratic socialists at the vanguard of the Democratic Party's liberal wing.

Sanders, whom Mamdani calls his inspiration, defended Mamdani's agenda.

"Making sure that people can live in affordable housing is not radical," Sanders said. "It is the right and decent thing to do."

The crowd of several thousand cheered loudly when Sanders called on America's millionaires and billionaires to pay more in taxes, breaking into a chant of "tax the rich."

Even with temperatures well below freezing, the city set up a viewing area along Broadway to allow thousands more to watch a livestream of the ceremony, which included musical performances.

Mae Hardman-Hill, 27, volunteered for Mamdani's campaign and said it felt like his political momentum was growing.

"I'm a native New Yorker. I've watched the city like you just become less and less affordable, less and less livable," Hardman-Hill said. "I'm really excited for ... regular people to get some power back again."

Prior to the public ceremony, Mamdani was privately sworn in as New York City's mayor in the first minutes of the New Year on Thursday at the historic City Hall subway station, which was decommissioned decades ago and is accessible only a few times a year through guided tours.

Reflecting his Muslim faith, he used a Quran, Islam's holiest book, for his swearing-in, a first for a New York City mayor.

REPUBLICANS BLAST MAMDANI

Hours after Mamdani took office, the lead group tasked with electing Republicans to the US House of Representatives sought to portray him as a "radical socialist."

"Every time Mamdani opens his mouth or swipes his pen, he tattoos the Democrat Party’s failures onto every House Democrat facing voters in 2026," spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement that signalled the sizable role Mamdani is likely to play on the national campaign stage.

Mamdani, a former state lawmaker, promised a freeze on rents and free buses and childcare, building a campaign around affordability issues that some have seen as a path forward for the Democratic Party around the country ahead of November midterm elections.

Dean Fuleihan, the incoming deputy mayor, told the Financial Times that Mamdani will move ahead with plans to increase taxes on millionaires to pay for his campaign promises and balance New York's budget. He added that he doesn't expect rich people to leave the city as a result of potentially higher taxes.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said she opposes raising personal income taxes but is considering raising corporate taxes to pay for a potential budget shortfall amid federal cuts.

In one early reversal, Mamdani said on Wednesday that he would no longer seek to end mayoral control of New York City's public school system, the largest in the US, naming veteran educator Kamar Samuels as chancellor.

Mamdani inspired a record-breaking turnout of more than 2 million voters and took 50% of the vote in November, nearly 10 points ahead of Andrew Cuomo running as an independent and well ahead of Republican Curtis Sliwa.

INAUGURATION OF A NEW ERA

The Uganda-born Mamdani has been a sharp critic of Trump on issues such as immigration and said his differences with the president were numerous after a warm White House meeting.

Mamdani raised $2.6 million for the transition and celebrations from nearly 30,000 contributors, more than other mayors on record this century, both by the total and single donations, according to official campaign data that presents disclosures of inaugural expenses beginning with Michael Bloomberg's first term in 2001.

As mayor, Mamdani will move from his one-bedroom Astoria apartment, protected from sharp price hikes by the city rent-stabilisation programme, to Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City mayors on Manhattan's upscale Upper East Side.

Bankers and others in New York, the nation's financial capital, had expressed concern about Mamdani, but since his election many have explored how to work with him.​

This is currently where Mamdani resides, in the middle of Manhattan.

The house once served as the residence of Alexander Hamilton (until his death) and various other historical luminaries of the US including most NYC mayors.

 

[Saif]

US withdraws from the World Health Organization

The United States officially left the World Health Organization on Thursday after a year of warnings that doing so would hurt public health in the US and globally, saying its decision reflected failures in the UN health agency's management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

en.prothomalo.com

US withdraws from the World Health Organization
US owes WHO USD 260 million in fees. WHO faces budget crisis, staff cuts linked to US exit.

Reuters London
Published: 23 Jan 2026, 17: 06

A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, 6 February 2020. Reuters file photo

The United States officially left the World Health Organization on Thursday after a year of warnings that doing so would hurt public health in the US and globally, saying its decision reflected failures in the UN health agency's management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Donald Trump gave notice that the US would quit the organization on the first day of his presidency in 2025, via an executive order.

According to a press release from the US Health and State Departments, the US will only work with the WHO in a limited fashion in order to effectuate the withdrawal.

"We have no plans to participate as an observer, and we have no plans of rejoining," a senior government health official said. The US said it plans to work directly with other countries - rather than through an international organization - on disease surveillance and other public health priorities.

Dispute over US-owed fees

Under US law, it was supposed to give one-year notice and pay all outstanding fees - around USD 260 million - before departing.

But a US State Department official disputed that the statute contains a condition that any payment needs to be made before withdrawal.

"The American people have paid more than enough," a State Department spokesperson said in an email earlier on Thursday.

The Department of Health and Human Services said in a document released on Thursday that the government had ended its funding contributions to the agency.

Trump had exercised his authority to pause the future transfer of any US government resources to the WHO because the organization had cost the US trillions of dollars, the HHS spokesperson said.

The US flag had been removed from outside the WHO headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, according to witnesses.

In recent weeks, the US has moved to exit a number of other United Nations organizations, and some fear that Trump's recently launched Board of Peace could undermine the UN as a whole.

Several WHO critics have also proposed setting up a new agency to replace the organization, although a proposal document reviewed by the Trump administration last year instead suggested the US push for reforms and American leadership at WHO.

Quick return unlikely

Over the last year, many global health experts have urged a rethink, including most recently WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO also said the US has not yet paid the fees it owes for 2024 and 2025. Member states are set to discuss the US departure and how it will be handled at the WHO’s executive board in February, a WHO spokesperson said.

“This is a clear violation of US law,” said Lawrence Gostin, founding director of the O’Neill Institute for Global Health Law at Georgetown University in Washington, a close observer of the WHO. “But Trump is highly likely to get away with it.”

Bill Gates – chair of the Gates Foundation, a major funder of global health initiatives and some of the WHO’s work – told Reuters at Davos that he did not expect the US to reconsider in the short term.

Gates said he would still advocate for the US to rejoin. “The world needs the World Health Organization,” he said.

What the departure means

The US departure has sparked a financial crisis that has seen the WHO cut its management team in half and scale back work, cutting budgets across the agency.

Washington has traditionally been by far the UN health agency's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18 per cent of its overall funding. The WHO will also shed around a quarter of its staff by the middle of this year.

The agency said it has been working with the US and sharing information in the last year. It was unclear how the collaboration will work going forward.

Global health experts said this posed risks for the US, the WHO and the world.

“The US withdrawal from WHO could weaken the systems and collaborations the world relies on to detect, prevent, and respond to health threats,” said Kelly Henning, public health programme lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies, a US-based non-profit.​