On election day, over a million voters elected Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, mayor of New York City. It was the biggest turnout in a municipal election in New York since 1969, driven by the city’s first South Asian Muslim immigrant mayor’s promises of free bus fare, universal childcare and freezing the rent for regulated apartments. While the political establishment and corporate media were critical of such pledges, these public services have been the norm in many European cities for decades.
(“Europeans Recognize Zohran Mamdani’s Supposed Radical Ideas As ‘Normal,’” Guardian, Nov. 6, 2025)
Thomson Reuters, a Canadian-based multinational company, whose data collection products are being used by U.S. government agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, have raised serious questions about surveillance, due process and the rights of migrants and asylum seekers. Data brokers, like Thomson Reuters’ tools have been used to gather information that identifies the possible location of ICE targets, such as addresses, phone numbers and employers – as well as information on immigrant rights activists, making them targets for harassment and retaliation.
(“The Data Brokers Fueling ICE’s Deportations Machine and Union Shareholders Fighting Back,” In These Ties, Oct. 23, 2025)
In late October the government of South Africa announced a new energy policy with the goal of cutting the nation’s dependence on coal and end rolling blackouts, both of which have hampered economic growth for more than a decade. South Africa’s Electricity and Energy Minister said coal use would drop from 58 percent to 27 percent of the country’s energy mix over the next 15 years.
(“South Africa Unveils New Energy Plan,” Foreign Policy, Oct. 22, 2025)
