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

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

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?

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The Yomiuri Shimbun
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ANO party leader Andrej Babis signs a document on the day he is appointed as the country's new prime minister in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 9, 2025.

Czech President Petr Pavel looks on as the ANO party leader Andrej Babis signs a document on the day he is appointed as the country's new prime minister at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 9, 2025.

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Babiš returns to power in CzechiaThe billionaire is back. Populist tycoon Andrej Babiš officially returns to the premiership of Czechia after decisively winning the election earlier this year. Babiš, a staunch Eurosceptic who last held power from 2017 to 2021, has formed a cabinet with the ultranationalist SPD party and the Motorists movement, [...]