World, in brief

A Hong Kong judge sentenced Joshua Wong, 30, to 10 more years on Thursday for colluding with foreign forces. [1]

Wong was due to walk free in January 2027, about 2 months away. [2]

Wong was the teenage face of Hong Kong's democracy movement, and on Time magazine's cover in 2014. [3]

He pleaded guilty in September, and the judge cut 13 years to 10 for that and other mitigating points. [2]

Observers say the sentence shows the authorities want prominent activists in prison for as long as possible. [6] That scares other people away from activism, they say. [6]

China's government sees Wong as an anti-China figure who backs Hong Kong's independence, a red line for it. [6]

Legal scholars call this rule by law: repeat charges can keep one critic jailed, as Eric Lai of Georgetown says. [6]

Human Rights Watch says Hong Kong appears to be stacking charges against influential leaders. [1] Wong's new charge, from 2025, covers acts from 2020. [6]

A teacher adds a new detention whenever one pupil's old one is nearly over, so that pupil never leaves.

The judge cited a US trip before the law came in, and social media posts Wong shared. [3]

Hong Kong says its enforcement is based on evidence and the law keeps the city stable. [6] Critics say the law silences dissent. [1]

In Hong Kong, where choice in elections has been cut since 2019, Joshua Wong got 10 more years two months before his release. [6][1]

One famous face in black-rimmed glasses stands in for more than 400 arrests, so a reader remembers Wong and forgets the rest. [5]

Its best-known critic stays in jail past January 2027, instead of speaking in public on release. [6]

Observers say each long sentence scares more people away from civic work. [6]

With about 12% of votes counted, the ANC had about 32%, just ahead of the Democratic Alliance on 31%. [7]

The ANC led South Africa out of apartheid under Nelson Mandela in 1994. [8] The Democratic Alliance, or DA, is a centre-right party. [8]

Few districts have reported from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, home to some of the biggest cities, so the picture could change. [7]

A research body, the CSIR, projects a final tally of about 32% for the ANC and 26% for the DA. [7]

The ANC won 46% in the last local elections in 2021, down from 62% in 2011. [7]

About 12 million of 29.2 million registered voters had voted by 5pm, the election commission said. [9]

South Africans are fed up with dry taps, power cuts and unemployment above 30%. [9]

Big cities like Johannesburg are not expected to have a clear winner, so parties get 2 weeks for coalitions. [7]

The result could shape the fight to succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose term as ANC leader ends in 2027. [7]

Political scientists call this coalition bargaining: no party can rule alone, as in Johannesburg, so each trades posts and policies. [7]

The ANC can partner with the DA, as it does nationally, though they disagree on racial redress. [7] Or it can join the leftist EFF and Jacob Zuma's MK party. [7]

Three friends who want different films agree on one tonight, and another next week.

Reuters warns the early count may not mirror the final result. [7] The research body says the ANC's share will hold while the DA's falls. [7]

The declaration of results is expected on Sunday. [7]

Voters angry at the ANC give it a chance to share power in cities where no party can rule alone. [7]

Whether the ANC stays ahead of the DA in South Africa.

The count was at about 12%, few big-city districts had reported, and one projection gives 32% and 26% while the count shows 32% and 31%. [7]

JD Vance, the US vice-president, blamed the Iran war on Wednesday for his party's midterm defeat. [10] 'The reason we lost is the war,' he wrote. [10]

Vance dared others to argue that 'losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it'. [11]

President Trump then said Vance's view was 'largely true', because the war pushed up petrol prices for a short time. [11]

But Trump also said he would do it again. [11] He told the New York Times that going to war was 'very wise'. [12]

The US and Israel attacked Iran in February. [10] Vance backed the war in public and reportedly opposed it in private meetings. [10]

Vance has not said he will run for president in 2028, but has been seen as his party's frontrunner. [11]

So the post is widely read as Vance moving away from an unpopular war before that race. [10]

An AP survey of over 100,000 voters says the war was not top. [12] About 1 in 3 called it crucial, and about half said that of costs or corruption. [12]

Vance has said he will decide after this election whether to run in 2028. [12]

Why a beaten leader's allies walk away the next morning

Allies back a leader because he can reward or punish them later

Game theorists call that later 'the shadow of the future'

A defeat, or a term about to end, shortens that shadow

Each ally starts weighing the next leader, not this one

Every public break makes the next break safer

A leader's hold on his allies rests on the years he has left, not on his title. So his hold can shrink overnight while his title stays the same.

Trump cannot run again, and Vance might. Vance's future runs on past Trump's, and his post came the day after the vote.

He has a 2028 race to think about and Trump does not, so he broke in public on Wednesday over a war he had defended.

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, said out loud that the defence chief has 'a reckoning' coming.

Degel HaTorah, a faction from Netanyahu's own camp, chose on Wednesday to name no one rather than name him.

Analysts say Kim now has less reason to meet Trump after the US defeat, because Trump can deliver less.

A beaten leader still holds real powers, such as a veto and wide room in foreign policy.

Vance, Tillis, Degel HaTorah and Kim each did these sums from their own seat, and none of them can see how much power the leader really has left.

Asked if he would replace Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said: 'No, I think he's doing a very good job.' [13]

Hegseth runs the US military for Trump, who has called him a champion of the Iran war. [13]

But one Trump adviser said Hegseth 'could be on the chopping block' because of the war. [13]

In 2006, President George W Bush fired his defence chief the morning after a midterm loss over the Iraq war. [13]

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, said Hegseth has 'a reckoning' coming. [13] Tillis said strained ties with lawmakers hurt a $1.5 trillion defence spending plan. [13]

Democrats have promised to investigate Hegseth, including how he handled the Iran war. [13]

Sociologists call this scapegoating: a group loads its failure on one member, as the adviser predicted when he named Hegseth. [13]

The adviser said: 'Someone is going to get blamed for this and you know it's not going to be him.' [13]

A team loses badly and the owner sacks the coach, though the owner chose the players.

The US Defence Department says Hegseth is '100 percent committed' to staying until Trump's term ends in January 2029. [13]

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, said out loud that the defence chief has 'a reckoning' coming.

JD Vance, the US vice-president, blamed the Iran war for his party's defeat one day after the vote, and Trump's adviser named the defence chief as a possible sacking. [10][13]

Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi by 1,138 votes, with almost 96% counted. [15]

That lead was just 28 votes a day earlier. [16]

Democrats have not won a Mississippi Senate seat since 1982, and Trump carried the state by 22 points in 2024. [15]

Mississippi still has about 3,600 mail ballots to count, plus an unknown number of provisional ones. [17]

In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by 637 votes, with nearly a quarter uncounted. [17]

Democrats have already won at least 54 Senate seats. [17] Winning both would leave them fewer votes short of the 60 that stop a filibuster, a delaying tactic. [17]

Election scholars call Alaska's method ranked-choice voting: voters number the candidates, so counts can take days or weeks. [17]

If nobody passes 50% in Alaska, the last candidate goes out and those ballots pass to second choices. [17]

Friends vote on a pizza topping, drop the least liked, and vote again with the rest.

Mississippi is the only state with no formal rule for an automatic recount. [17] A candidate would need a court order. [17]

Mississippi's counties have until 13 November to send in certified results. [17]

Who wins Mississippi's Senate seat, and Alaska's.

About 3,600 mail ballots and an unknown number of provisional ones are uncounted in Mississippi, and nearly a quarter of the vote in Alaska. [17]

Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, won Michigan's open Senate seat, media projections say. [18] He is the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. [18]

'Michigan, we did it!' he told supporters in Detroit, after beating Republican Mike Rogers. [19]

El-Sayed, 42, is a doctor and former public health official. [18] He ran on lower costs and universal health care. [19]

Haley Stevens, a Democrat he beat in the primary, backed Rogers at the last minute. [19] The seat was held by retiring Democrat Gary Peters. [19]

El-Sayed made opposing US military aid to Israel a central promise. [20] Trump named him when he said on election day that the aid would stop. [20]

The Hindu reports that Trump himself cited the political cost of the aid for Republicans. [20] Its report does not put a number on how many votes that moved. [20]

Democrats will hold at least 54 of 100 Senate seats and gained at least 30 House seats. [14]

It is the first time Trump has faced a Democratic Congress in both chambers. [14]

Trump's first public event after the vote marked the final steel beam of his new White House ballroom. [21]

Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, is on track to be the first Black speaker of the House. [14] 'We don't work for Donald Trump,' he said. [14]

Robert Garcia, a Democrat due to lead a House oversight committee, said 'Lawyer up' as results came in. [22]

Garcia named targets including Trump's family, immigration officers and the handling of the Epstein files. [22]

From January the US Senate can block Trump's cabinet and judge nominees, and the US House could start an impeachment. [22]

Political scientists call this divided government: one party has the presidency, another Congress, as in the US now. [22] Trump can reject what Democrats pass. [22]

So Democrats can investigate and block, but their promised cuts to health and fuel costs need Trump's signature. [22]

Two parents must both sign a school form, so one can stop the trip the other wants.

Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat, warned the win is not 'a mandate', saying his party is 'deeply unpopular'. [22]

The new US Congress meets on 3 January. [17]

Five Republicans who cast doubt on the 2020 result lost races for governor in swing states on Tuesday. [23]

They were Andy Biggs, John James, Stacy Garrity, Tom Tiffany and Rick Jackson. [23] Their states were Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Georgia. [23]

Before the vote, Trump's officials would not rule out sending immigration agents to polling places. [24] Many of those efforts never happened. [24]

Trump said he was 'absolutely willing' to accept the outcome and would work with Democrats. [24]

In some US states, governors play a major role in running elections, and these states matter in 2028. [23]

An unnamed Trump adviser told CNN the result was 'too big to rig'. [24] Trump has doubted nearly every election since 2016 except 2024, which he won. [24]

Election lawyers call a gap close enough to fight the margin of litigation, and this gap was far wider. [24]

A football team can argue about one offside goal, but not about a 7-0 defeat.

EU officials fear Trump may turn to foreign policy now that Congress will fight him at home. [25]

One EU diplomat said he 'will be more a mad dog than a lame duck'. [25]

But EU diplomats also say a Democratic Congress could push Trump to keep sending Ukraine air defence. [25]

European politicians read a warning at home: anger over prices can sink whoever is in power. [26]

Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Poland all have elections coming. [26] Italy's Giorgia Meloni has already faced protests over fuel costs. [26]

Marine Le Pen, France's far-right leader, is polling high for the 2027 presidential vote. [27] Politico says the US result helps challengers like her. [26]

Irene Tinagli, an Italian opposition politician, says Trump's fall shows what happens when populists fail on promises. [26] She is from Italy's opposition, so she has a stake in that reading. [26]

Politico says anger at living costs hurts whoever is in power, and she is the challenger for 2027. [26][27]

Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said it had 'no need to sit face to face' with the US. [28]

The same day North Korea tested a new air-defence missile and ran a cruise missile drill at a pretend airport. [29]

It was North Korea's 4th weapons launch in a month. [29]

Trump said he 'may' meet Kim Jong Un during his Asia trip this month, then backed off in October. [28]

Her words came after the FBI accused North Korea of stealing $6 billion from Binance, a crypto exchange. [28]

Analysts say Kim has even less reason to meet Trump after the US midterm defeat. [28]

Negotiators call this your best alternative to a deal, and professor Lim Eul-chul says Kim's is staying as he is. [28]

In 2019 Kim rode home 60 hours by train after a failed summit. [28] Now Trump makes the offers and Kim holds back. [28]

If you are happy with your old bike, you can wait for a buyer to offer more for it.

Analysts say Kim now has less reason to meet Trump after the US defeat, because Trump can deliver less.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, its elite force, said 2 oil tankers and a tugboat burned on unauthorised routes through Hormuz. [30]

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital route for the world's energy, and Iran claims control of it. [31]

They said one tanker hit a mine on the southern route. [30] A tug sent to fight a second fire also burned. [30]

A day earlier the Guards said 4 tankers were destroyed by mines and 2 other ships were stopped. [31]

A 25-year-old Indian sailor, Nahim Gandhar, died when a suspected drone hit a cargo boat of dates off Oman. [32]

The war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February and has been stuck for months. [31] Iran says it will reopen the strait only if its demands are met. [31]

Iran's chief negotiator says it is 'ready for battle', while its president says nobody gains from more war. [31]

Every count of burned tankers comes from the Guards, who also claimed the fires hurt the US politically. [30] None of these reports names the tankers. [30][31]

They carry the danger of crossing, and a family in Gujarat will bury its son in Oman. [32]

How many ships burned in Hormuz, and whose they were.

The Guards said 4 tankers on Wednesday and 2 tankers and a tug on Thursday, and the reports we read rely on them. [31][30]

South Korea plans to send its anti-piracy navy unit near Duqm in Oman, about 650km from the Strait of Hormuz. [33]

The Cheonghae unit has patrolled the Gulf of Aden since 2009. [34] It has a 4,400-tonne destroyer, a helicopter and about 300 sailors. [34]

South Korea's defence ministry says the mission is non-combat, and the unit will work separately from allied forces. [33]

Its patrol planes may not target or watch Iranian territory, its waters or the inside of the strait. [33]

The move follows pressure from Trump, who complained that South Korea gave too little help in the Iran war. [33]

Scholars of alliances call this abandonment and entrapment: a smaller ally dreads being dropped, and being dragged in. [33]

South Korea shows both: Trump scaled back joint drills, so it moves closer, yet it bars its planes from Iran. [33]

You help a friend who is in a fight by holding his coat, but you will not throw a punch.

The cabinet is due to back the plan next week, then lawmakers vote. [34]

The US Treasury sanctioned companies and people in India and Turkey on Wednesday for supporting Iran. [35] The Turkish firm served Iran's airlines, and the Indian network served oil ships. [35]

It says a network run by Suniel Kumar Sharma gave false flags and certificates to sanctioned ships carrying Iranian oil. [35]

Ships like that carry no insurance for damage, so an accident could cost billions, the report says. [35]

Treasury calls the campaign Operation Economic Outcast, and said last week Iran's inflation was around 90%. [35]

Iran's own figures show its economy down more than 10% from a year earlier. [36]

A Tehran businessman says many Iranians are pleased by the Democrats' wins, and some hope they rein Trump in. [36]

Economists call these secondary sanctions: they punish outsiders who help the target, as with Sharma's firms in India. [35]

Each helper removed makes it harder for Iran to move oil to buyers. [35] That is the stated aim: to cut the money that funds the war. [35]

A shop bans you, and then bans your friend for buying things for you.

Treasury warned it will keep going after anyone who helps Iran, a day after voters punished the war. [35] A Tehran analyst blames US calls for 'unconditional surrender' for stalled diplomacy. [36]

An Iranian lawmaker told Euronews that Iran's missiles would hit Europe if the US used bases in Italy or Germany. [37]