Democrats Take Control of US Congress as Trump's Republicans Lose Midterms

Donald Trump's Republican Party suffered a heavy defeat in the US midterm elections, and the country's Congress, its national legislature in Washington, is now controlled by the Democrats. A Guardian analysis published on 11 November asks whether the result could also mark a turning point for Europe.

Midterm elections are held in the middle of a US president's term, and they determine which party controls Congress. Their outcome shapes how far a president can push laws and policies through the legislature, which is why the results are closely watched abroad.

On the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Guardian reports that US-mediated talks opened in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. A mediator is a go-between that helps parties negotiate. Delegations from Germany, France, the UK and the European Union were sidelined in those talks, the Guardian says, a position that European governments have been watching closely.

In Poland, the conservative president, Karol Nawrocki, has the backing of the opposition Law and Justice party. The party is Eurosceptic, a term for political movements that are critical of the European Union and of deeper integration among its members.