🌍 Trump becomes the first US president to be indicted

🗺️ AROUND THE WORLD

1. 🇦🇲 Armenia: A top politician from Armenia’s ruling party warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin would be arrested if he visited Armenia. Historically close ties between the two countries have turned frosty since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

2. 🇲🇪 Montenegro: Milo Djukanovic, who has served as either president or prime minister since Montenegro achieved independence in 1991, was defeated in Sunday’s presidential election by Milo Đukanović, a 37-year old banker from the pro-EU Europe Now! party.

3. 🇲🇾 Malaysia: Former prime minister Najib Razak’s corruption conviction will stand, according to Malaysia’s highest court, which rejected his appeal on Friday. Razak was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020 for embezzling $6.1M.

4. 🇨🇷 Costa Rica: The US approved a $25M cybersecurity assistance package to Costa Rica, a month after approving a similar package to Albania. A Russia-based cyber-attack targeted at least 30 Costa Rican government agencies last year.

5. 🇹🇳 Tunisia: Authorities in Tunisia introduced a water quota on Friday, as the country suffers its fourth straight year of drought. Potable water now can’t be used for agriculture there until 30 September.

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES | TRUMP

Trump becomes first US president to be indicted

Briefly: A New York grand jury voted on Thursday to indict former US President Donald Trump. This means they believe there’s enough evidence to bring criminal charges against him, likely related to falsifying business records and election finance violations. Trump is the first US President to be indicted.

As you can imagine, Americans are reaching different conclusions about it all. Many see it as proof of US integrity (‘nobody is above the law’). Others see it as evidence of American decay (‘the US justice system has become politicised’).

But the world is reaching different conclusions, too:

• Predictably, state media outlets in China and Russia see Trump’s arrest as evidence of a US sinking into disorder and disarray.

• Western officials say Trump is a “stress test” which US institutions are passing (though in private, they fret about America’s trajectory).

• And world leaders have mostly stayed silent, though El Salvador’s president thinks Trump’s indictment undermines US credibility abroad.

Intrigue’s take: Throughout its history, the US has shown an ability to inspire us (touching the moon) but also shock us (a Civil War leaving 620,000 dead). It’s veered between wanting to save the world (Woodrow Wilson), tame the world (Roosevelt) and retreat from the world (Jefferson).

And this bewildering blend of creative and destructive impulses continues today: in a single week, you’ll see an update on the mission to Mars; a drop in life expectancy; stunning progress in AI; and another school shooting.

Meanwhile abroad, you’ll see the US leave Afghanistan, defend Ukraine, host a Summit for Democracy, then fist-bump an autocrat. So to quote a certain ex-president… what the hell is going on? Are we watching another period of US renewal? Or is the US in terminal decline?

It’s a fair question. And yet, if you try and shoe-horn the US into an answer, you’ll just break your shoe. Both answers are playing out. They’re the same opposing, centrifugal forces that drive the US to inspire us one day, then shock us the next.

So… what exactly is holding the US together right now? US values. If Americans can hold firm to those values, the US will be okay. If not, then strap yourself in.

Also worth noting:

• China’s netizens on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) responded to the news in some creative ways, with a little help from AI.

• A conviction wouldn’t prevent Trump from running for president in 2024. In the latest polls, he extended his lead over the likely challenger for the Republican nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Today’s briefing is sponsored by Todoist

🇫🇮 FINLAND | SECURITY

Finland gets NATO green light, days before election

Briefly: The Turkish parliament approved Finland’s NATO membership in a late-night vote last Thursday, clearing the final obstacle to Helsinki’s accession to the military alliance. NATO will formalise Finland’s membership in coming days.

Finland, which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia, decided last year to end its history of non-alignment and join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Thursday’s news came just days before Finland’s general election yesterday (Sunday), which saw centre-left Prime Minister Sanna Marin ejected from power. The right-leaning Petteri Orpo will now seek to form a coalition government.

Intrigue’s take: Putin trotted out a bewildering array of justifications for invading Ukraine, ranging from Nazis and the oppression of Russian-speakers, through to NATO’s alleged expansion towards Russia’s borders.

Even if we took his NATO justification at face value (we don’t), Putin has failed spectacularly at achieving it. He’ll now have six immediate NATO neighbours instead of five. The total length of his NATO border now more than doubles to 2,553 km. And the queue of aspiring NATO members has only gotten longer.

For this reason, former Swedish PM Carl Bildt amusingly tweeted a year ago that Putin was NATO’s “salesperson of the year”. He was spot on. And still is.

Also worth noting:

• Putin reportedly warned Finland against joining NATO in 2016: “When we look across the border now, we see a Finn on the other side. If Finland joins NATO, we will see an enemy.”

• Finland’s decision to vote out Prime Minister Marin yesterday was not related to her NATO policy, which has been extremely popular.

👀 EXTRA INTRIGUE

We’re back with some amusing news to put a spring in your Monday step.

• An Australian cultivated meat company created a meatball out of woolly mammoth meat.

• Four cheetah cubs were born in India last week, 70 years after going extinct.

• After a three-month self-exile, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reportedly flew home in a Harry Potter-branded plane.

• Amsterdam has made clear in its latest tourism campaign: it does not welcome hard-drinking young British men.

• And finally, a compilation of dogs showing no remorse after committing crimes against private property.

📊 CHART OF THE DAY

Chips aren’t as hot anymore…

… and the trend is being reflected in Korea’s falling semiconductor figures. In February, ​semiconductor production dropped by 41.8% from a year earlier, a sign global demand for chips is slowing down more than expected.

🗳️ POLL TIME!

Thursday’s poll: Do you think the UK's accession to the CPTPP is really worth celebrating?

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚢 Yes, it's a step in the right direction (35%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🇪🇺 No, it'll never come close to replacing what the UK lost with the EU (62%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🖋️ Other (write in!) (3%)

Your two cents:

• 🖋️ E.C.G: “Yes it is a strategic move to having access to block China while simultaneously giving UK a tiny growth boost. Negligible, but not negative.”

• 🚢 J.M.C: “UK is playing the long game. It’s a win. We may not be here to see the benefits, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

• 🇪🇺 H: ”Joining the CPTPP is a Tory attempt at sprinkling glitter on the steaming turd of Brexit.”