Day News Recap: Democrats seize Congress in sweeping US midterm upset

Democrats have won control of both the House and the Senate in a sweeping midterm result that marks a major setback for President Donald Trump and leaves Republicans blaming him for the scale of the defeat. The party also picked up a string of surprise Senate wins, including Texas, Kansas, Maine, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, turning the night into one of the most significant election reversals in years.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

The result gives Democrats control of Congress for the first time in this cycle and is being described as a historic sweep, with several reports saying the party widened its gains as counting progressed. Among the standout races, Jon Ossoff held Georgia, Amy Acton won the Ohio governorship, and Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

There were also notable firsts and demographic breakthroughs across the map, with Democrats celebrating a broader shift in representation alongside their congressional gains. Florida Republicans held off a series of challenges, while state officials in other places were braced for possible federal interference and the Justice Department expanded its probe into the Alaska Senate race.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Reaction was immediate at home and abroad. Iran said anyone expecting a change in Washington's policy was seriously mistaken, while other reports said the election result could reduce Trump's leverage and make US foreign policy more erratic. Foreign leaders and officials also moved quickly to assess the implications of a Congress now controlled by Democrats.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, Israeli politics remained deadlocked as President Isaac Herzog received the official election results and prepared consultations on who should be asked to form a government. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces withdrew from Hebron after a 10 day siege that left widespread destruction, while Ukraine said it had awarded Melania Trump its highest honour for women after what it described as her role in ceasefire and White House talks.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere in the region, Yemen's government said its forces had advanced in the al Jawf offensive, even as a missile strike killed recruits in al Dhalea, and it accused Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah of sending 21 experts to help the Houthis. Iran also issued fresh threats against European countries hosting US bases, warning of missile strikes if attacked.  🔗  🔗  🔗

On the war in Ukraine, overnight strikes killed three people in Russia's Belgorod region, while both sides reported fresh damage and power cuts spread across parts of Ukraine and Crimea. Kyiv also said it was investigating unrest outside a National Guard linked building near the capital, and the European Commission prepared urgent talks in Brussels with the US, France, Germany, Britain, NATO and the World Bank on support for Ukraine.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Security and public health developments also featured elsewhere. The World Health Organization approved clinical trials for two new Ebola vaccine candidates as health workers try to contain a deadly outbreak in DR Congo, North Korea fired missiles into the Sea of Japan while denying involvement in a Binance crypto theft, and Hong Kong activists said the punishment from 2019 protest convictions has continued long after prison release.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Europe and beyond, bomb threats disrupted at least seven flights and an Israel bound cruise ship, French blood bank refrigeration systems were hit by a cyberattack but no products were lost, Germany weighed pulling out as host of the 2027 Ice Hockey World Championship over refusal to face Russia, Greenland approved a trilateral security deal with the US and Denmark, and the EU said it would discuss new measures against Georgia in January as Tbilisi's EU accession path remained blocked.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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