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The FIFA World Cup 2026™ group stage has been mapped out during a dazzling Final Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.
Group A
Mexico
South Africa
Korea Republic
Winner UEFA Play-off D
Group B
Canada
Winner UEFA Play-off A
Qatar
Switzerland
Group C
Brazil
Morocco
Haiti
Scotland
Group D
USA
Paraguay
Australia
Winner UEFA Play-off C
Group E
Germany
Curaçao
Côte d'Ivoire Ecuador
Group F
Netherlands
Japan
Winner UEFA Play-off B
Tunisia
Group G
Belgium
Egypt
IR Iran
New Zealand
Group H
Spain
Cabo Verde
Saudi Arabia
Uruguay
Group I
France
Senegal
Winner FIFA Play-off 2
Norway
Group J
Argentina
Algeria
Austria
Jordan
Group K
Portugal
Winner FIFA Play-off 1
Uzbekistan
Colombia
Group L
England
Croatia
Ghana
Panama
The newly elected mayor of New York City is Zohran Mamdani, who captured the mayoral seat in the November 4, 2025 general election.
Here’s a detailed background on Zohran Mamdani — his early life, family, education, career, and major milestones.
Early Life & Family
• Born October 18, 1991 in Kampala, Uganda. 
• His father is Mahmood Mamdani, a scholar/anthropologist (of Indian descent) who grew up partly in Uganda. 
• His mother is Mira Nair, a filmmaker (of Indian origin). 
• His full name includes Kwame (Zohran “Kwame” Mamdani) — named in honour of Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah. 
• He spent early childhood in Uganda, then his family moved: when he was about five the family was in Cape Town, South Africa, and by about age seven they settled in New York City (U.S.). 
• He attended elementary/early schooling in New York, including the Bronx High School of Science, where he co-founded his school’s first cricket team. 
• He became a U.S. citizen (naturalized) in 2018. 
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Education
• He earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College (Maine), graduating in 2014. 
• While in college, he co-founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and was politically active on issues like U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine. 
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Early Career & Political Entry
• After college, he worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counselor in Queens, helping low-income homeowners of color fight evictions. 
• This work motivated his interest in housing, affordability, and social justice issues. 
• He entered electoral politics and, in 2020, ran for the New York State Assembly in District 36 (Queens: Astoria, Ditmars-Steinway, etc.). 
• He defeated a long-term Democratic incumbent in the primary and then won the general election. 
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Political Identity & Platform
• He identifies as a democratic socialist (member of or affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America) and places emphasis on affordability, housing, mass transit, public services. 
• Some of his policy priorities include:
• Housing affordability and rent-stabilized protections
• Public transit improvements and fare-free bus pilot programs
• City-owned groceries / tackling cost-of-living pressures 
• He is proud of being one of the first South Asian men, first Ugandan-born, and one of the few Muslims in the NY State Assembly. 
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Personal / Miscellaneous
• He speaks multiple languages aside from English (including Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Luganda) to varying degrees. 
• He has had creative pursuits: for example, he once rapped under the name “Young Cardamom” and collaborated with Ugandan rapper HAB. 
• He lives in Astoria, Queens (NY) in a rent-stabilized apartment, per his profile. 
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Significance
• His background is globally mixed (born in Uganda, raised partly in South Africa & New York, Indian heritage) which shapes his worldview. 
• His rise from community organizing/housing advocacy into elected office reflects a shift in New York politics toward younger, more progressive leadership.
Official News sources: AP News, Time, Wikipedia, New York State Assembly, Encyclopedia Britannica, Policost, The Times of India, The Indian Express, Washington Post
📷Meta AI Photo illustration
On October 28, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed a multi-part framework covering trade, critical minerals, and technology cooperation.
Key components:
• A framework for securing the supply of rare earths and critical minerals, involving both countries using economic and investment tools, stockpiling, mining & processing cooperation.
• Cooperation in nuclear power technologies: next-generation reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs) and export cooperation.
• A trade / investment component: Japan pledged large investments in U.S. industry and markets while trade tensions/tariffs between the two are being addressed. For example, a previous deal announced in July 2025 included Japanese investment of ~US $550 billion in the U.S. and a tariff reduction to 15% for certain Japanese imports.
• The two leaders reaffirmed economic security cooperation, including in AI, shipbuilding, and other “critical technologies”.
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🎯 Why it matters
• Rare earths and critical minerals are strategically important for defence, electronics, autos, aerospace. Since China dominates a large share of global supply, the U.S. and Japan see this as a way to diversify supply chains and reduce risk.
• The investment and trade side signals a deeper economic alignment between the two allies, beyond just defence.
• The nuclear component marks a shift toward Japan returning to reactor exports after its post-Fukushima hiatus.
• The deal also has geopolitical implications: in the context of U.S.–China competition and the Indo-Pacific security environment. Japan and the U.S. emphasised their “Free & Open Indo-Pacific” vision.
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⚠️ Key caveats & open questions
• The framework is still broadly defined: many details (which projects, exact investment amounts, timing) are not yet fully public.
• Some of the trade/investment promises date back to July 2025, with implementation to follow.
• The rarity element: supply‐chain transitions are long term; the benefit won’t be immediate.
• With Japan pledging heavy investments in the U.S., careful tracking will be needed to see how much is realised, which sectors, what conditions.
• Though China isn’t always mentioned by name in public statements, much of the impetus stems from Chinese supply-chain dominance. This means geopolitical risk and possible retaliation or counter-moves by China may follow.
Trusted official news sources: Reuters, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan 🇯🇵, Mining.com, The Canadian Press 🇨🇦
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