#Donald Trump

Russia arranged to supply Iran with 90 launchers for advanced guided missiles, the Guardian reported on Thursday, citing leaked defence industry documents. Dallas Analytics, a Ukrainian private intelligence firm, obtained the files and shared them with the newspaper. The launchers are for the LMUR, a guided missile fired from attack helicopters. Russian forces have used it heavily against Ukrainian targets since the full-scale invasion in 2022. Vympel, a leading Russian designer of missiles and launch systems, drew up a production schedule in May 2024. It lists an order for 90 launchers under an export contract called "K-10". Deliveries were planned between late 2024 and December 2025. Separate internal paperwork explicitly identifies K-10 as Iran. The records do not prove the launchers reached Iran. However, another schedule in the files lists six Yak-130 jet trainers for Iran in 2023. According to the Guardian, that matches publicly reported deliveries of the aircraft. The May 2024 letter also reveals strain in Russia's arms industry. Vympel warned that late deliveries of key components threatened launcher assembly and Russian state defence contracts. The leak comes as Washington weighs its next steps in its war against Iran after the US midterm elections. President Donald Trump has repeatedly played down Moscow's support for Tehran.…

DR Congo has a stake in Tuesday's US midterm elections, Actualite.cd reported in an analysis published before the vote. For Kinshasa, the key issues are funding for health cooperation and oversight of the Trump administration's economic commitments. The outlet said the vote alone will not decide whether the agreements survive or collapse. Americans voted for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 Senate seats. Governors, state lawmakers and local officials were also on the ballot. The president leads foreign policy, but Congress approves federal funds. Its committees can hold hearings, review spending and question programme officials. According to Actualite.cd, a new majority could change how commitments to Kinshasa are funded and monitored. The outlet stressed that this is an institutional possibility, not a given. Health cooperation shows what is at stake. A five-year memorandum signed on February 26, 2026, has an announced value of $1.2 billion. It provides up to $900 million in US support and a $300 million increase in Congolese national health spending. The programmes cover HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and disease surveillance. Actualite.cd noted that this money has not yet been paid out. The State Department plans to mobilise the aid together with Congress, so budget votes will matter. The strategic partnership signed on December…

Democrats won a sweeping victory in the US midterm elections. According to Semafor, the result could weaken President Donald Trump's leverage over allies who have previously gone along with his demands. A European diplomat told Semafor that "everybody is now obliged to look toward the post-Trump era." Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Europeans did "a lot of bending the knee" in the first two years of Trump's presidency. He predicted that this deference could fade. Allies, he said, feel they no longer need to accept such treatment. Trade deals could also be at risk, said Richard Fontaine,…

South Korea plans to move its anti-piracy naval unit closer to the Strait of Hormuz, The Guardian reported, citing the defence ministry. The government will ask parliament to widen the Cheonghae unit's area of operation. Under the plan, the unit would operate in waters near the port of Duqm in Oman. According to…