Hard Numbers: Danes spare minks, Brazil vax trials resume, offshore cash for Venezuelans,Trump grift exposed

A mink is seen at the farm of Henrik Nordgaard Hansen and Ann-Mona Kulsoe Larsen near Naestved, Denmark

15: The Danish government has scrapped plans to cull all of the country's nearly 15 million minks, which are believed to carry a mutation of the novel coronavirus. The massive undertaking — which would have required military assistance and a mass mink burial — triggered a political scandal and failed to win sufficient backing in parliament.

2: Two days after Brazil paused a Chinese company's COVID-19 vaccine trial because of a "severe adverse incident," authorities have allowed the trial to resume, revealing that the death of a trial volunteer was not in fact linked to the vaccine. The drug, made by Sinovac Biotech, is one of China's most advanced COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

62,700: Around 62,700 Venezuelan health care workers will receive additional compensation for their heroic efforts to treat COVID-19 patients amid a crippling economic crisis. But the payments aren't coming from the government. Instead, they are being arranged by opposition leader Juan Guaidó who, because he is recognized by the US as president, has gained access to Venezuelan offshore funds in the United States that were seized under sanctions against the regime of strongman president Nicolas Maduro.

8,000: The Trump campaign has been flooding supporters with calls to contribute to its legal fund, as part of its efforts to overturn election results in key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania. But an investigation shows that only donations over $8,000 are in fact going towards the legal fund, while most of the money is in fact being funneled elsewhere, including the Republic National Committee, and a Trump leadership PAC which doles out cash to cover other Republican races, as well as staff travel expenses.

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.