NEW YORK: New York City’s mayor-elect Bill de Blasio seeks to push ahead with an ambitious liberal agenda aimed at easing the economic inequality that he hammered in his “tale of two cities” campaign, which propelled him to a landslide victory that signaled a break with the 12-year era of billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Voters were drawn to the contrast that the Democratic de Blasio made with Bloomberg, the outgoing mayor whose policies helped make New York one of the nation’s safest and most prosperous big cities but also one that has become increasingly stratified between the very rich and the working class.
On Wednesday, de Blasio met privately with Bloomberg at City Hall.
The mayor-elect said he “feels great.” When a swarm of media followed him up the City Hall steps, he marveled: “All this, it’s incredible.” De Blasio, the city’s public advocate, was trouncing Republican rival Joe Lhota 73 to 24 percent in incomplete, unofficial returns that were on pace to post one of the largest routs in the history of the nation’s largest city. He will become the first Democratic mayor of New York City in a generation when he takes office Jan. 1.
Bloomberg, who first ran as a Republican and later became an independent, guided the city through the US financial meltdown and the aftermath of 9/11. He is leaving office after three terms.
Though polling shows New Yorkers largely approve of Bloomberg’s policies, those same surveys revealed the city was hungry for a change.
“Today you spoke loudly and clearly for a new direction for our city,” de Blasio told a rollicking crowd of supporters at the YMCA in his home neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn, a far cry from the glitzy Manhattan hotel ballrooms that usually host election night parties.
Lhota, a former deputy mayor, spent much of the campaign slamming de Blasio’s “tale of two cities” appeal as class warfare and argued that de Blasio’s time in the 1980s with the left-wing Sandinistas in Nicaragua as an aid worker and activist made him a Marxist.
De Blasio, 52, reached out to New Yorkers from the city’s four outer boroughs, who he contended were left behind by the often Manhattan-centric Bloomberg administration. He pledged to improve economic, educational and quality-of-life opportunities in minority and working-class neighborhoods.
He decried alleged abuses under the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy that allows police to question people deemed suspicious. De Blasio enjoyed a surge when a federal judge ruled that police had unfairly singled out blacks and Hispanics.
A white man married to a black woman, de Blasio also received a boost from a campaign ad featuring their son, a 15-year-old with a big Afro hairstyle.
He will need the capital from his commanding victory to tackle his signature campaign promise: to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers in order to fund universal early education known as pre-kindergarten.
Democrat Bill de Blasio elected mayor of New York
Democrat Bill de Blasio elected mayor of New York
Putin ‘playing for time’, says German FM in Kyiv
- ‘Ukraine is ready for an immediate ceasefire. It is Putin who is playing for time …’
- ‘He is feigning a willingness to negotiate, but not deviating an inch from his goals’
“Ukraine is ready for an immediate ceasefire. It is Putin who is playing for time, does not want peace and is continuing his war of aggression, which is a violation of international law,” Baerbock said in a statement shared by her ministry.
“He is feigning a willingness to negotiate, but not deviating an inch from his goals,” she said on her ninth visit to Ukraine since the start of the war.
On March 11, Ukraine, whose army is struggling on the frontline, and the United States agreed a plan for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
But Putin has rejected the US proposal and has upped his rhetoric on Moscow wanting to install new leadership in Ukraine.
Baerbock was visiting Kyiv for the first time since the re-election of US President Donald Trump, who has upended US-Europe relations by reaching out to Russia over European heads to seek an end to the conflict.
The shift in policy has sparked concern over the future of the NATO alliance and prompted Europe to focus on boosting its own defense capabilities and upping its support for Ukraine.
Germany in March approved three billion euros ($3.25 billion) in new military aid for Ukraine after adopting a major new spending package that eased its traditionally strict debt rules.
“In view of the deadlock between the United States and Russia, it is absolutely vital that we Europeans show that we stand by Ukraine’s side... and support it now more than ever,” Baerbock said.
Commemorations were held in Ukraine on Monday in the city of Bucha, where Russia’s army is accused of murdering hundreds of civilians three years ago.
Malaysia gas pipeline inferno injures 100: fire officials
- The inferno, which was visible kilometers away, was caused by ‘a gas pipeline leak stretching approximately 500 meters’
- The valve to the affected pipeline belonging to Malaysia’s state-run oil firm Petronas has been shut off
KUALA LUMPUR: A massive fire caused by a gas pipeline leak forced people from their homes and injured more than 100 during Eid celebrations near Malaysia’s capital on Tuesday, fire officials said.
The inferno, which was visible kilometers away, was caused by “a gas pipeline leak stretching approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet),” said fire officials in Selangor state near Kuala Lumpur.
The valve to the affected pipeline belonging to Malaysia’s state-run oil firm Petronas has been shut off, the fire officials said in a statement.
While the early morning blaze was coming under control in the afternoon, more than 100 people were injured, the fire department said.
About 60 of the injured were hospitalized, Selangor deputy police chief Mohamad Zaini Abu Hassan was quoted as saying by local broadcaster Astro Awani.
No deaths were reported but about 50 houses were affected by the blaze, the fire department said.
Residents were enjoying a public holiday for Eid celebrations in Muslim-majority Malaysia when they were forced to flee the suburban area.
Nizam Mohamad Asnizam, 49, who lives 100 meters from the site of the fire, fled from his house with his family in his car.
“When I woke up, I saw the fire raging, with an extraordinary sound. I have never experienced a fire with this kind of sound. The sound was terrifying. It felt like a jet engine was next to me,” he said.
“Stepping on the floor was like stepping on a hot wok. The heat was like putting your head in an oven, it felt like I was burning.”
Dashcam footage shared online showed a column of fire from what appears to be an explosion, creating a massive fireball that shot into the sky.
Another video shared online showed a residential area covered in smoke while a huge fire blazed in the background. Singed trees and melted cars are also seen in the video.
Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari said in a Facebook post that a temporary relief center had been set up at a nearby mosque.
He warned the public to stay away from the area affected by the fire while investigations and rescue work were being carried out.
India forecasters warn abnormally hot summer looms
- India usually experiences four to seven heatwave days between April and June
- India sweltered through its longest-ever heatwave last year
NEW DELHI: India can expect hotter-than-usual temperatures this summer with more heatwave days taking a toll on lives and livelihoods, the weather office warned.
The country is no stranger to scorching summers but years of scientific research has found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
Summer in India lasts from April to June, when temperatures often soar past 45° Celsius (113° Fahrenheit) at the season’s peak.
This year, the hot weather season will see “above-normal” maximum temperatures over most parts of the country, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a forecast late Monday.
The number of heatwave days, when abnormally high temperatures several degrees above the long-term average are recorded, will also increase.
“Up to 10 heatwave days or even more can be expected, especially over east India,” leading to heat stress, weather bureau boss Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told reporters.
India usually experiences four to seven heatwave days between April and June.
Infants, the elderly, people with health problems and outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable to hotter temperatures.
The resulting heat stress can cause symptoms ranging from dizziness and headaches to organ failure and death.
City dwellers surrounded by concrete, brick and other heat-absorbing surfaces also face an elevated risk.
Prolonged periods of extreme heat can also strain infrastructure such as power grids and transportation systems.
The IMD said heat action plans must be devised to address those challenges.
“This includes providing access to cooling centers, issuing heat advisories, and implementing strategies to alleviate urban heat island effects in affected areas,” it said.
India sweltered through its longest-ever heatwave last year, with temperatures regularly passing 45° Celsius.
The World Health Organization has calculated that heat kills a minimum of half a million people every year, but warns the real figure could be up to 30 times higher.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court to issue ruling on Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment on Friday
- Yoon’s December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule plunged South Korea into political chaos
- Lawmakers defied the troops to vote the measure down and impeached Yoon soon after
SEOUL: South Korea’s Constitutional Court will issue its long-awaited ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment Friday, months after he was suspended for declaring martial law.
Yoon’s December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule plunged South Korea into political chaos, after he sent armed soldiers into parliament.
Lawmakers defied the troops to vote the measure down and impeached Yoon soon after, but the months of political instability have hit South Korea’s economy and left the country in leadership limbo, even as US President Donald Trump targets the region with tariffs.
The court has held weeks of impeachment hearings to determine whether to officially remove Yoon from office, and then took weeks to deliberate on the case, giving rise to a surge in speculation with some suggesting the justices must be experiencing intense disagreements.
“The president’s impeachment case verdict will be on April 4, 2025 at the Constitutional Court,” the court said in a statement Tuesday.
For Yoon to be removed from office, at least six of the court’s eight justices must vote in favor. Confirmation of his impeachment would trigger elections which must be held within 60 days.
Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have been rallying for and against Yoon every weekend in central Seoul.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, was detained in January on insurrection charges but was released in early March on procedural grounds. He has remained defiant throughout and blamed a “malicious” opposition.
He is also the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case, facing charges of insurrection over the martial law bid.
“After four long months of waiting, the Constitutional Court has finally responded to the people,” the opposition Democratic Party’s spokesperson said.
“We believe the Court will demonstrate its firm resolve to defend the constitutional order and founding principles of the Republic of Korea by removing Yoon Suk Yeol, the insurrectionist, from office.”
Yoon’s party said it welcomed the court’s move to issue a ruling, saying it hoped the verdict would be “fair and impartial” and would not lead to further social unrest.
The People Power Party “will respect and accept the court’s decision, and after the ruling, both the ruling and opposition parties... must take the lead in easing public divisions and promoting national unity,” Kweon Seong-dong PPP party floor leader said.
If the Constitutional Court decides to formally dismiss the president, it would trigger elections, which opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is currently frontrunner to win.
An appeals court last week overturned an election law conviction against Lee, potentially clearing the way for him to mount a presidential campaign.
But if it is reinstated on appeal before the election, he will be stripped of his parliamentary seat and barred from running for office for five years, including the next presidential vote.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the ruling on Lee may have appeared “to many Koreans to be reading the political tea leaves.”
“This is the judiciary trying to unwind the lawfare of the past three years to allow South Korea’s political crisis to be resolved by an election rather than by the courts.”
In a separate case, the Constitutional Court last week dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating him as acting president – a role he took after the president was suspended for declaring martial law.
Experts said the ruling did not have a direct legal correlation with the pending decision on Yoon’s impeachment, as it was not focused on the legality of martial law itself.
Trump urged to dismiss vaccine-skeptic Kennedy as health chief
- “HHS cannot be led by an anti-vax, conspiracy theorist with inadequate training,” analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald assert
- Kennedy last week announced plans to reshape the federal public health agencies, a move that could involve firing thousands of workers
Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald, formerly headed by the Trump administration’s Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, called for the dismissal of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, a well-known vaccine skeptic, last week announced plans to reshape the federal public health agencies, a move that could involve firing thousands of workers.
Cantor analysts Josh Schimmer and Eric Schmidt said in a note on Monday that Kennedy was “undermining the trusted leadership of health care in this country. HHS cannot be led by an anti-vax, conspiracy theorist with inadequate training.”
The note came after reports that the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official, Peter Marks, was forced to resign, the highest-profile exit at the regulator amid the Trump administration’s health agency overhaul.
Lutnick, Cantor’s CEO for 40 years, stepped down last month to run Trump’s commerce department. His sons, Brandon and Kyle Lutnick took over as chairman and executive vice chairman of the brokerage, respectively.
“The views expressed in our Equity Research reports are solely those of the analyst(s). As always, we pride ourselves on the independence of the analysts within our Research division,” Cantor Fitzgerald said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The ouster of Marks led to a decline in biotech and vaccine stocks on Monday. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF closed down 3.9 percent.
The Cantor analysts noted the fall in the stocks, but said their note had nothing to do with politics, stocks and biopharmaceutical sales, but with keeping lives out of jeopardy.
They said they had learned from sources that Marks, who was willing to stay at the FDA, took a scientifically driven review of vaccine safety and did not yield to an anti-science agenda that undermined public health. The same could not be said about Kennedy, they said.
The analysts also said the “administration has shown an ability to correct course, to compromise and to make changes where needed,” adding they are “hopeful that the leaders in Washington will recognize and appreciate the benefits that vaccines can and should play in protecting US citizens.”
