U.S. midterm elections, Cyclone Murasu, and more: The week in 5 charts

(1) Republicans ousted from Congress in U.S. midtermsThe U.S. midterms changed control of Congress to Democrats after the party flipped Republican strongholds in South Texas, with Democrat winners making several firsts and winning against Republican candidates backed by higher funding.Voters were unhappy about the Iran war, with its effect of increasing oil prices. Besides this, increasing costs of living, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardline migrant crackdown were issues voters weighed Mr. Trump’s term so far.Mr. Trump acknowledged that the Iran war was the key factor in his party’s sweeping midterm election losses, after Vice President J.D. Vance urged Republicans to be “honest” about the unpopular conflict’s impact.Mr. Trump struck a conciliatory note despite his history of questioning election results, telling The New York Times: “I am absolutely willing to accept those results” and promising to “work with the Democrats.”(2) Delhi pollution worsens ahead of DiwaliDelhi’s air quality worsened in the days ahead of Diwali, even as the government implemented GRAP-3 protocols to control pollution.“Severe” level air pollution affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases, as per the CPCB. Every winter, air pollution spikes in Delhi-NCR and many parts of the larger Indo-Gangetic Plains, mainly due to meteorological factors such as lower wind speeds and a drop in temperature. Also, pollution from stubble burning during October and November and bursting of firecrackers during the festive season add to existing pollution from vehicles and dust, worsening the air quality.The Supreme Court on November 2, 2026 described bursting of firecrackers during Deepavali as a “religious practice” while permitting the use of green firecrackers for two days, on November 7 and November 8, in Delhi-NCR. The “complete ban” had not only facilitated the illegal sale of firecrackers but had also prevented people from purchasing authorised green crackers, the court said.(3) Paraguay President impeached after banking crisisParaguay President Santiago Pena was impeached by the country’s Senators in a vote of 44 Senators of 45 in total on Friday last week (November 6) after the collapse of a major bank that locked almost half the population out of their accounts and triggered widespread protests.The bank in question, ueno, served close to 60% of the country’s population. The President’s impeachment came on the back of investigations by Paraguay’s central bank into ueno’s excessive lending to companies linked to controlling shareholder, Grupo Vázquez. Mr. Pena was a Grupo Vázquez shareholder until March 2025 when he sold ​his stake. Opposition lawmakers have accused Peña of conflict of interest, misuse of ​pension funds and institutional cover-up.A central bank investigation into ueno led to reclassifications that tanked its solvency ratio below the minimum regulatory requirement, triggering the shutdown of ueno’s operations.(4) Cyclone Murasu makes landfall in Andhra PradeshCyclone Murasu made landfall near Ongole in Andhra Pradesh on the heels of Cyclone Arnab last month. At least two people were killed. A graphic showing the predicted path for Cyclone Murasu Standing crops spread over 52,459 hectares and 312 houses were damaged. Around 12,230 people were in rehabilitation centres. Murasu, which crossed the coast near Ongole in Prakasam district between 3.30 a.m. and 8.30 a.m., brought heavy rain to the parched districts of Prakasam and Palnadu, and left a trail of destruction in Guntur, Bapatla, and Palnadu districts.The inclement weather disrupted transport and left commuters stranded at several locations. More than 35 trains were cancelled, 14 were diverted, and eight were rescheduled. A number of flights were also cancelled.(5) Cristiano Ronaldo retires from national teamPortugal’s star football player Cristiano Ronaldo announced his decision to step back from the Portugese national team on social media on Thursday last week (November 5). At 41, his football career saw many milestones over a career of more than two decades. A graphic showing Portugese football player Cristiano Ronaldo’s headline statistics Ronaldo will continue to play for his current club in Saudi Arabia, Al-Nassr, where he is under contract until June 2027.The announcement came after a falling out with his coach Jorge Jesus in late September when he abruptly left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen shortly after Mr. Jesus acknowledged tensions between the pair. Earlier, Mr. Jesus admitted that Mr. Ronaldo was upset over being benched in a match against Norway, but dismissed it as “water under the bridge.”(With inputs from Reuters, Nellore Sravani)