Zero's Briefs

Foreign Affairs and Geopolitics — Democrats regain House and Senate — The midterm elections of November 3 handed Democrats control of both chambers of the American Congress, in one of the most decisive victories of recent years. The party flipped seven Senate seats, including Iowa, Ohio and Texas, and reached 218 confirmed seats in the House; Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become the new speaker in January. President Donald Trump stated that he accepted the result and could work with Democrats on certain issues. Wall Street futures rose sharply, with the Dow Jones up more than 1,500 points, according to NBC News and The Hill.

Europe — Montenegro heading toward accession signing in 2027 — The European Commission adopted its annual enlargement package on November 4, with indicative roadmaps for the four candidate countries furthest along in negotiations. Montenegro could sign the EU accession treaty in June 2027, if it manages to complete the steps still required under the published timetable. Brussels believes negotiations with Podgorica could conclude as early as December, leaving work on the treaty text for the following spring. President Ursula von der Leyen linked the package to the progress made by some candidate countries over the past year, according to the European Commission Representation in Italy.

Europe — Brussels withdraws 18 legislative proposals for 2027 — The European Commission adopted its 2027 work programme on November 4, focused on the single market, defence and security, quality of life and democracy. At the same time, it decided to withdraw 18 legislative proposals in the banking, transport, housing and digital policy sectors, deeming them outdated amid resistance from national governments. President von der Leyen presented the programme as part of the strategy to make Europe more competitive by cutting red tape, according to Eunews and AgenSIR.

News — Strong earthquake shakes Central Asian border — A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck a mountainous area on the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, not far from China, during the night between November 3 and 4. The epicentre was located in the Gorno-Badakhshan region of eastern Tajikistan, about 258 kilometres northeast of the city of Khorugh. According to the seismic archives consulted, it was the most intense tremor recorded near the epicentre in over six years, reports FullSwing, citing USGS and EMSC data.

Economy and Markets — Eni loses 6% over three trading sessions — Eni shares fell from €27.135 on Friday October 30 to around €25.5 in the afternoon of November 4, a drop of nearly 6% over three sessions. On November 2 the stock was the worst performer on Piazza Affari, down 2.28%, followed by declines of 1.92% and 2% in the following days. The drop accompanies the fall of Brent crude oil below $100 a barrel, with a daily decline of 4%, according to Economia Italia and ANSA.

Tech & AI — NASA’s Swift telescope re-enters Earth’s atmosphere — NASA’s 1.5-tonne Swift space telescope made an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere between November 3 and 4. According to NASA, most of the structure burned up during re-entry, with the possibility that some fragments reached the ground in a band around the equator. The agency ruled out any danger for Italy, estimating the re-entry time at 17:18 Italian time on November 3, with an uncertainty margin of 12 hours, reports ANSA Scienza, citing the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Tech & AI — OpenAI signs agreements in Abu Dhabi with ADNOC — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman signed four agreements in Abu Dhabi with oil company ADNOC, sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, Inception42 and the government of the United Arab Emirates. On the same occasion, Altman offered some details about the company’s upcoming GPT model. OpenAI also announced the acquisition of Pierre Computer Company, a code storage specialist, to integrate its tools into the Codex development agent, stating that Pierre’s open source projects will retain that status after the deal, according to Smartphonology.

Cinema & Entertainment — Two European festivals open the autumn film season — The Thessaloniki International Film Festival opens its 2026 edition today, November 5, in Greece, with an international selection of independent and auteur films running until November 15, according to the calendar from Screen Daily. During the same period, from November 6 to 15, the Arras Film Festival is being held at the Cinéma Megarama, the Casino and the Chapelle du Conservatoire in the French city. The Arras edition opens with a screening of ‘CLAUDE’, pays tribute to Volker Schlöndorff on November 11 with the preview of his film ‘Le Bois de Klara’ in the director’s presence, and hosts a masterclass by Jean-Pierre Jeunet on November 13, according to JDS.fr.

Europe — National strike in France, government weighs minimum wage move — Eight French unions called for a day of strikes and demonstrations on Thursday, November 5, over wages, public services, employment and industry. Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou opened the door to moving up the automatic revaluation of the minimum wage, the Smic, from its originally scheduled date of January 1 to December 1. The government is also considering an additional discretionary increase to the minimum wage, on top of the automatic adjustment, reports Le Monde.