Japan's ruling party secured a supermajority in the country's lower house on Sunday, February 9, 2026, marking its most significant electoral victory in seven decades, according to NPR. The win was largely attributed to the popularity of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the country's first female leader. Meanwhile, in Iran, security forces expanded a crackdown on dissent, arresting reformist figures following nationwide protests that resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests, as reported by The Associated Press via NPR.
The Japanese election results, heard on NPR's "Morning Edition," highlighted the ruling party's dominance. The victory underscored the public's confidence in Prime Minister Takaichi's leadership. No further details were provided regarding the specific policies or platforms that contributed to the win.
In Iran, the crackdown on dissent intensified after authorities suppressed widespread protests. The arrests of reformist figures widened the scope of the government's response to the demonstrations. The Associated Press reported that the protests, which took place earlier, led to a violent crackdown, resulting in a significant loss of life and mass detentions.
In other news, Lyft introduced a new feature, "Lyft Teen," designed to help teenagers get out into the real world. Launched on Monday, the feature allows teens aged 13 to 17 to request rides, with parental control features, including PIN verification, audio recording, and live ride-tracking, according to Fortune. The feature is available in over 200 major markets, including New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., with plans for further expansion throughout the year. "The problems of 2026 are social isolation and too much screen time," said a Lyft representative, according to Fortune.
In technology news, Ploum released Offpunk 3.0, a command-line browser for Web, Gemini, and Gopher, designed for offline use. The browser, which has been in development for four years, now includes contributions from a community of developers. "Offpunk 3.0 is probably the first release that contains code I didn't review line-by-line," Ploum wrote on Hacker News.
Finally, a list of recommended books was posted on Hacker News, including "The Moviegoer" by Walker Percy. The novel, which won the National Book Award, explores themes of searching for meaning, according to the source.
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