Hard Numbers: Ukraine eyes a Qatar ticket, CAR abolishes executions, Croatia gets into the ‘Zone, Conservatives romp in South Korea

Ukraine eyes a Qatar ticket, CAR abolishes executions, Croatia gets into the ‘Zone, Conservatives romp in South Korea
Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces watch the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualification playoff semi-final soccer match between Scotland and Ukraine.
Reuters

1: With their homeland ravaged by war, Ukraine’s national soccer team is putting up a stunning fight of its own at the World Cup qualifiers – the “yellow-blues” are now just one win away from qualifying for a ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year. They play Wales on Sunday.

170: The Central African Republic has become the latest of about 170 countries to abolish the death penalty. Last year executions around the world jumped by about 20%, though overall use of the death penalty has been declining for more than a decade.

20: Croatia will officially join the Eurozone next year, making it the 20th country to adopt the euro as its currency. Croatia has been a member of the European Union since 2013.

12: South Korea's conservative People Power Party of recently elected President Yoon Suk-yeol won 12 out of 17 races for big-city mayors and governors in a significant boost for Yoon’s power just three weeks into his tenure.

More from GZERO Media

The world has its first (North) American pope. Now what? On a new GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jesuit priest and bestselling author Father James Martin to talk about the historic ascendancy of Pope Leo XIV and what his papacy means for the Catholic Church, American politics, and a world in search of moral clarity.

US President Donald Trump is joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Vice President JD Vance while announcing a trade agreement with the United Kingdom in the Oval Office on May 8, 2025.
Emily J. Higgins/White House/ZUMA Press Wire

On Wednesday evening, the US Court of International Trade ruled that President Donald Trump could not impose his “reciprocal” tariffs. GZERO spoke to Eurasia Group’s top analysts to assess what could happen next.

A portrait of former US President Ronald Reagan hangs behind US President Donald Trump as he answers questions from members of the news media in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on May 28, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

Donald Trump’s tariff gamesmanship ran into a legal brick wall on Wednesday when the Court of International Trade ruled that he did not have the authority to impose sweeping “Liberation Day” import duties.