News brief: Big stories of the day

Democrats began to scent a big night in the US midterm elections Tuesday with early results pointing to them seizing the House of Representatives from the Republicans in what would be a dramatic rebuke to President Donald Trump.

Democrats seized their first two Republican-held seats of the US midterm elections Tuesday, networks projected, flipping House seats in Virginia and Florida seen as crucial to the opposition party's effort to regain a majority in the chamber.

The United States said Tuesday it would exempt Iran's Indian-backed port of Chabahar from new sanctions on Tehran, recognizing the value of the project to Afghanistan.

Greg Pence, the older brother of US Vice President Mike Pence, won a seat in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday soon after polls began closing in the midterm elections.

"Single-use" was named the Collins Dictionary word of the year on Wednesday, following a four-fold increase in usage since 2013 in a reflection of increased concerns about sustainability.