Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a landslide victory in Sunday's general election, potentially reshaping Japan's relationship with China and ushering in significant economic reforms, while in other global developments, a study revealed record-breaking sea level spikes along African coastlines, and shifts in social media usage were observed in the U.S. between 2020 and 2024.
Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was projected to win as many as 328 of the 465 seats in the parliament's lower house, according to Time, giving her a supermajority. She had called for a snap election months after becoming Prime Minister, citing a need for a mandate to pursue "responsible, proactive fiscal policy," as she told public broadcaster NHK late Sunday.
Meanwhile, in Thailand, vote counting was underway in an early general election on Sunday, as reported by NPR News. The election was seen as a three-way race among the People's Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai, with 53 million registered voters participating amidst slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment.
A study published on Phys.org found that the 2023-2024 El Niño triggered the largest sea level rise anomaly on record for Africa, surpassing even the stronger 1997-1998 event. The research highlighted the growing threat to Africa's coastlines due to rising sea levels.
In the U.S., social media usage experienced a decline and fragmentation between 2020 and 2024, according to a paper on Hacker News. The study, using data from the 2020 and 2024 American National Election Studies, noted that overall platform use had decreased, with younger and older Americans increasingly abstaining from social media. Facebook, YouTube, and TwitterX lost ground, while TikTok gained popularity.
The Super Bowl, typically a highlight for gambling companies, saw a cloud descend over the industry, as reported by Fortune. The stock of Flutter Entertainment Plc, which runs FanDuel, experienced an eight-week skid, and DraftKings traded near its lowest levels since 2023. The rise of prediction markets like Kalshi, which offer a new way to bet on sports, was cited as a major concern.
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