Democrats have seized control of both chambers of the US Congress in a sweeping midterm victory, flipping seven Republican-held Senate seats and 25 House districts in a stinging defeat for President Donald Trump and his party.

According to the latest tally, Democrats hold 54 Senate seats to 44 for the Republicans, surpassing the 51 needed for control. In the House, Fox News reports 228 Democratic seats against 139 Republican seats, with 68 races still undecided and 218 needed for a majority. Republicans entered election night controlling both chambers.

The Republican losses reached deep into traditionally conservative territory. Democrats flipped Senate seats in Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, and Maine, including states Trump carried comfortably in 2024.

Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal is part of a network of ‘special envoys’ launched by key pro-Israel bodies and the US State Department. Cathy Peters and Wendy Bacon investigate.

Civil liberties and Palestinian supporters are calling for the sacking of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, after her latest ‘Priorities’ report accused them of using ‘human rights’ to hide their antisemitism.

Foreign agency. Antisemitism Envoy Jillian Segal a US tool for Zionists

by Cathy Peters and Wendy Bacon

Para la presidenta de México, la victoria de Lula en Brasil representa un balón de oxígeno en su casi solitaria resistencia regional a la monroeización de América Latina.

Finland is on the verge of becoming the first nation to bury spent nuclear fuel rods deep underground for the long term. Erika Benke visits the Onkalo site to find out more.

"Onkalo" is a Finnish word for a cave or a hollow. It implies something big and deep: you don't know where an onkalo ends or whether it ends at all.

Russia will not be drawn into an arms race with Europe and is instead pushing for a new security agreement, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Speaking at the Fourth Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security on Tuesday, Lavrov warned against further confrontation and urged European nations to reconsider their approach to relations with Moscow.

He called on countries to “honestly and realistically assess the situation and work together to overcome the accumulated mistakes and misunderstandings, paving the way for a genuinely fair system of mutual security guarantees.”

The Reserve Bank has developed a twist on the “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” proverb. It’s tossing the baby, hoping the child will take some bathwater with it, writes Michael Pascoe.

In fairness, our central bank is between the proverbial rock (inflation higher than it wants) and a hard place (high and rising unemployment threatening a per capita recession). The Melbourne Cup Day rate rise confirms the bank has forsaken “the narrow path” between those difficult alternatives, deciding to throw the economy (the baby) at the rock.

When in doubt, throw the baby out. RBA’s latest strategy revealed

by Michael Pascoe

The independent public inquiry into AUKUS reports this week, and gives Australians an important opportunity to examine a decision that could fundamentally reshape Australia’s security and public finances.

The public inquiry in AUKUS really matters because we have never had a full account of the deal.

The Australian Government has taken on far-reaching military commitments without a full explanation of their costs, risks or consequences. AUKUS represents the largest single defence investment and military commitment in Australian history.

Jonathan Pilbrow

As the US midterms unfold Robert Reich reminds us that Trump isn’t the single cause of America’s woes. He is a symptom of decades of neglect and a broken system.

Years ago, my dear friend the late Alan K. Simpson, Republican senator from Wyoming, explained to me how America viewed our two major political parties. “Democrats think Republicans are stupid, and Republicans think Democrats are evil,” he said with a grin. “You’re in the evil party. I’d rather be a member of the stupid party.”

Robert Reich

Through its myriad of agencies, the United States government has recruited and groomed rappers from around the world to further its political interests. Washington has spent tens of millions of dollars funding, training, and promoting artists who foment public discontent, organize protests, and lead color revolutions in nations in its crosshairs. 

Rappers For Regime Change: How the CIA Recruits Hip Hop Artists Around the World
ALAN MACLEOD.  MINTPRESS NEWS

Europe Borrows, Kiev Benefits: Brussels’ New Push to Fund Ukraine Through Defence Loans

Adrian Korczyński, November 02, 2026

Australian jockey Ethan Brown has ridden Point of Law, a horse previously owned by King Charles, to victory in this year's Melbourne Cup, the country's most prestigious race.

Point of Law, which was bought from the King earlier this year for an undisclosed sum, was considered an early favourite.

Brown pushed Point of Law from the middle of the pack to take the lead with just a few hundred metres to go.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has accused Russia of supporting his political opponents amid an escalating dispute over the country's Constitutional Tribunal, warning that the crisis threatens the rule of law in Poland.

In a televised address to the nation on October 31, Tusk blamed the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, President Karol Nawrocki and former President Andrzej Duda for contributing to the prolonged institutional confrontation.

The prime minister claimed that Russia had an interest in destabilizing Poland and was using online influence operations to support those opposing his government.

“In this conflict, they are currently utilizing the support of Russia’s army of internet bots. Furthermore, they have even received public backing from a key ideologue of the Kremlin,” Tusk said.

“Should we just have done nothing?!” The former question is a common incensed objection whenever someone dares to question the wisdom, appropriateness, or success of the War on Terror. Part of this is because many hold to an unrealistic and idealized “War on Terror”—which was just and, despite mistakes, imperfectly accomplished most or all its stated objectives—instead of the historical War on Terror.

In 1902, a founder of Zionism wrote a utopian novel. Theodor Herzl’s Altneuland imagines European Jews, with the blessing of European imperial powers, conquering Palestine. They make its desert bloom, prompting such universal acclaim (including from the land’s existing inhabitants, even as their villages are destroyed) that the settlers find no need for an army at all.

BARNABY RAINE
OCTOBER 1, 2026