Xi Jinping

Democrats won control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US midterm elections, a result that sends a message calling for a check on President Donald Trump's power. Vice President JD Vance said voter opposition to the war with Iran caused the Republican loss, and Trump said he largely agrees. The Iran conflict began after US-Israeli airstrikes in late February 2026 and has cost at least $38 billion and killed 19 Americans. Trump said he would soon decide whether to make a deal with Tehran or order new strikes, and he called Qatar's emir to discuss ending the conflict.

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia will meet in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November for talks mediated by the United States, according to the Kremlin and US envoy Steve Witkoff. The discussions are set to cover post-war security, de-escalation and humanitarian steps. Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, will lead Moscow's delegation. It would be the first US-mediated round since February. Separately, the Kremlin said it is working on a possible trilateral meeting of Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this month, though China has not yet decided whether to proceed.

A US-brokered local ceasefire in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's Kherson region, has held for three days with no reported breaches, officials in Kyiv and Moscow say. The truce began on 27 Oct and is scheduled to run until 1 Nov. It is meant to let humanitarian aid reach roughly 2,000 remaining residents, who have faced food, water and medicine shortages for months, and to allow those wishing to leave to evacuate. Military units have cleared landmines during the pause, and aid is expected to arrive on Friday.