URL: NPR

World News

Monday, February 9, 2026

• Japan's Takaichi to pursue conservative agenda after election landslide
  Japan's first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, brought the ruling Liberal Democratic Party its biggest-ever electoral victory, fueling her ambitions to pursue to a political agenda which she says could "split public opinion."
  
• Japan's ruling party wins a supermajority in country's lower house
  Japan's ruling party scored its biggest electoral win in its seven-decade history Sunday, due mostly to the popularity of its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
  
• Ukrainian president says US set June deadline for Russia and Ukraine to end war
  Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said the U.S. has set a June deadline for Kyiv and Moscow to end the war, even as Washington and Russia discuss $12 trillion in economic deals that could affect Ukraine.
  
• Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison
  A Hong Kong court sentenced 78-year-old activist and publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty under China's national security law.
  
• Iran's crackdown on dissent widens to ensnare reformist figures
  Detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has received another prison sentence of over seven years.
  
• China critic and former media tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in Hong Kong
  Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison in the longest punishment given so far under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city's dissent.
  
• Center-left Socialist candidate wins over populist in Portugal's presidential runoff
  Center-left Socialist candidate António José Seguro recorded a thumping victory over hard-right populist André Ventura in Portugal's runoff presidential election Sunday, according to official results.
  

Sunday, February 8, 2026

• U.S.-India trade deal improves relations, but strain still shows
  After months of wrangling and much tension, India and the US have finally released a framework for an interim trade agreement
  
• Investigating one of the worst train accidents in Spain's history
  More than a week after one of the worst train accidents in Spain's history, many questions remain unanswered, and survivors struggle to move on.
  
• U.S. gave Ukraine and Russia June deadline to reach peace agreement, Zelenskyy says
  "The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer," Zelenskyy said, speaking to reporters on Friday.