Hard Numbers: Americans divided, EU slaps tariffs on US goods, Japanese mandarins for sale, Armenia's setback

Supporters of Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden embrace

20: The 2020 US election revealed that Americans are more divided than they have been in decades. But they don't only disagree on policy: only 20 percent of Americans surveyed by Pew believe that supporters of Joe Biden and Donald Trump share the same core American values and goals for the country's future.

4 billion: The European Union said it will impose $4 billion worth of tariffs on US goods, a response to the Trump administration applying levies on European products including French wine and Italian cheese. The EU says it hopes to work with the incoming Biden administration to resolve the trade disputes, which are tied in part to a long-standing disagreement over EU and US subsidies for their respective aircraft giants, Airbus and Boeing.

9,600: A crate (100 pieces) of sweet Japanese mandarins called mikan sold for a whopping $9,600 this week at an agricultural market in Tokyo. The coveted fruits from the southern island of Shikoku are often sold at an inflated price because they are only produced by around 100 farmers. The lucky buyer remains unknown but well-fed.

6: After six weeks of fighting between Azeris and Armenians over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Armenian officials say they have lost control over Shusha (which Armenians call Shushi), the enclave's second largest city. It's a big setback for ethnic Armenians who want to maintain control of the territory, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

More from GZERO Media

Vice President JD Vance participates in a Q&A with Munich Security Conference Foundation Council President Wolfgang Ischinger at the Munich Leaders' Meeting in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2025.
Munich Security Conference.

GZERO's Emilie Macfie reflects on a week of discussions between top European and American leaders at the Munich Security Conference's Washington, DC installment.

Customizing AI strategies for every region, culture, and language is critical | Global Stage

As artificial intelligence races ahead, there’s growing concern that it could deepen the digital divide—unless global inclusion becomes a priority. Lucia Velasco, AI Policy Lead at the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, warns that without infrastructure, local context, and inclusive design, AI risks benefiting only the most connected parts of the world.

AI can only help people who can access electricity and internet | Global Stage

Hundreds of millions of people now use artificial intelligence each week—but that impressive number masks a deeper issue. According to Dr. Juan Lavista Ferres, Microsoft’s Chief Data Scientist, Corporate Vice President, and Lab Director for the AI for Good Lab, access to AI remains out of reach for nearly half the world’s population.

A cargo ship is loading and unloading foreign trade containers at Qingdao Port in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China on May 7, 2025.
Photo by CFOTO/Sipa USA

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Geneva on Saturday in a bid to ease escalating trade tensions that have led to punishing tariffs of up to 145%. Ahead of the meetings, Trump said that he expects tariffs to come down.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks on the phone to US President Donald Trump at a car factory in the West Midlands, United Kingdom, on May 8, 2025.
Alberto Pezzali/Pool via REUTERS

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer achieved what his Conservative predecessors couldn’t.

The newly elected Pope Leo XIV (r), US-American Robert Prevost, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican after the conclave.

On Thursday, Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV and becoming the first American pontiff — defying widespread assumptions that a US candidate was a long shot.