IVP617 - June 2026

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, 34, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who took office on January 1, 2026, has already advanced his agenda and become a political king-maker. Mamdani ran promising universal childcare, lowering rents, and making buses free. He hasn’t achieved all, but he is well on his way. At the same time, he was able to dominate the recent elections in New York City.

“Socialists will need to adapt our campaigns and demands to relate to the new political issues and debates that are emerging. We still need to build our eco-socialist alternative independent of the Labour Party and the Greens.”

Strait of Hormuz: Nice oil shipping lane there. A real pity if something would happen to it…

“It is a matter of basic social justice that those who have more should pay more in taxes and that workers receive higher and better wages, pensions, and working conditions. In the last year, Mexico’s 24 wealthiest individuals earned US$100 billion, an astronomical figure that contrasts sharply with the stagnation of real wages.”

The 1976 Soweto uprising sparked a resurgence of militancy and helped to undermine apartheid in South Africa.

A man who does Nazi salutes and promotes race wars has become the world’s first trillionaire. Simon Hannah makes the case for a political revolution

Faced with abysmal levels of debt, Senegal’s leaders are divided on the measures to be adopted, although in both orientations, the consequences for the populations are harmful.

Russia is continuing its war of attrition against the Ukrainian people, but is struggling to make significant progress on the ground. In response, Kyiv is intensifying its strikes against Russian military infrastructure while civil society continues to keep democratic and social mobilizations alive.

President Donald Trump signed what he called “the Iran peace deal” during a dinner at the Versailles Palace on June 17 to the applause of the G-7 heads of state. But there is no peace. And no one else is applauding.

The tightening of anti-LGBTI laws in West Africa continues in Niger. On 11 June 2026, the Niger government published its revised Penal Code, which had been initiated by Mohamed Bazoum, the country’s former president, overthrown in a coup in July 2023. The country is now led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.