Hard Numbers: White rabbit can’t land, Erdo targets Kurds, Spain needs drought aid, Sudan biolab seized

April 25, 2023

A model of the Hakuto lunar lander on display in Tokyo.

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

33: A Japanese startup on Wednesday lost contact with its spacecraft when it was just 33 feet away from touching down on the moon, bungling what would have been the first lunar landing by a private company. The lander was named Hakuto, which means "white rabbit" in Japanese.

110: Turkish police arrested 110 people linked to the banned pro-Kurdish PKK party. The sweep, branded as a "counterterror" operation, is likely a classic move by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to stoke nationalist flames ahead of the May 14 election.

890,000: Spain has asked the EU for emergency funds to support its 890,000 farm workers. The country faces a severe drought that affects more than a quarter of national territory, has slashed water reserves by half, and made the price of olive oil skyrocket.

72: Sudan really can't catch a break. Ignoring a 72-hour truce, one of the two warring parties on Tuesday seized a Khartoum biolab that holds measles and cholera pathogens. What could go wrong?

Has the world made progress in tackling poverty?

Signage for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) 2024 Annual Meetings is seen at the IMF secondary headquarters, in Washington, D.C., on Monday, October 21, 2024.

(Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA)

The last time the World Bank and International Monetary Fund held their landmark conference in April, speakers placed great emphasis on each institution’s role in helping the world’s poorest people get a leg up.

Election Countdown: Harris, Trump, and Musk focus in on the swing states

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks as Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 5, 2024.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Hard Numbers: White rabbit can’t land, Erdo targets Kurds, Spain needs drought aid, Sudan biolab seized

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The last time the World Bank and International Monetary Fund held their landmark conference in April, speakers placed great emphasis on each institution’s role in helping the world’s poorest people get a leg up.

An exiled Turkish cleric who founded a global Islamic movement and was an adversary rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan died Sunday in the United States.

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Since leaping onto the main stage in late July, Harris has been dogged by questions about her foreign policy experience and potential priorities.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is en route to Israel, where he is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday as part of a renewed push for a Gaza cease-fire.

Although markets typically adapt to policies and political contexts, the uncertainty surrounding this year’s global elections outcomes is casting a fog over the future outlook. Get clarity on the investment implications of 2024’s elections from RBC Capital Markets’ leading experts.

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