Hard Numbers

300 million: Since its February 15 release, a new Chinese sci-fi blockbuster, Wandering Earth, has brought in more than $300 million at the box office, making it one of the highest grossing films in the country's history. The movie details efforts by Earth's governments to save the planet from an unstable sun by attaching thrusters to the planet and ejecting it into another part of the universe in search of a new home. We leave it to you to decide what world leader the film's writers may have had metaphorically in mind.

$240,500: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is sporting a fancy new limousine just weeks ahead of his second summit with President Trump. The Mercedes Maybach S-600 will doubtless impress Mr. Trump, but we can't help noting that 2018 model's retail price of $240,500 is almost 200 times the per capita income of Mr. Kim's country.

1,000: After winning power in Madya Pradesh, India's fifth largest state, the opposition Congress party announced a plan to build 1,000 new shelters there for cows, an animal widely revered by Hindus. As national elections approach later this year, the resurgent Congress party is trying to chip away at the ruling BJP's bona fides among Hindu nationalists.

86: As he starts his third month in office, Mexico's new president, the left-wing nationalist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, boasts an enviable 86 percent approval rating. His policy of going after fuel thieves remains his most popular initiative.

More from GZERO Media

​Jordan Bardella, president of Rassemblement National or National Rally, gives a speech and flies French flags at a rally in support of Marine le Pen after her conviction on April 6, 2025.

Jordan Bardella, president of Rassemblement National or National Rally, gives a speech and flies French flags at a rally in support of Marine le Pen after her conviction on April 6, 2025.

Bastien Ohier/Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old president of France’s far-right National Rally, aka RN, has announced his readiness to run for the country’s presidency in 2027 if current party leader Marine Le Pen remains barred from contesting the race.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump meet while they attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 26, 2025.
TPX Images via Reuters

At the Vatican on Saturday, US President Donald Trump sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a meeting the White House described as “very productive,” and which Zelensky said had the “potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.”

President Donald Trump raises a fist during a ceremony where he signs two executive orders that will lead to reciprocal tariffs against other countries that charge tariffs on US goods.

Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters

Barely three months in, President Trump has bashed America’s closest European allies and spooked NATO into worrying about its survival, taken a chainsaw to US foreign aid programs, pulled the rug out from under Ukraine, threatened to expand US territory for the first time since the 19th century, and started a global trade war that’s pushed protectionism to its highest levels since the Great Depression. That’s a lot for 100 days, and it seems chaotic, but there are a few basic aspects of Trump’s worldview and commitment to “America First” that are consistent and worth understanding.

- YouTube

Fifty years after the fall of Saigon (or its liberation, depending on whom you ask), Vietnam has transformed from a war-torn battleground to one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies—and now finds itself caught between two superpowers. Ian Bremmer breaks down how Vietnam went from devastation in the wake of the Vietnam War to becoming a regional economic powerhouse.

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