Highlights of the week in the world — April 3-9
Finland joins NATO
After many years of neutrality, Finland has been talking about joining the NATO alliance since 2022. However, from the moment of application to the final decision, quite a lot of time has passed.
Now there are 31 countries in NATO. Finland's accession will greatly change the balance of power in northern Europe. In addition, the border between the alliance and Russia has now almost doubled.
Moscow reacted negatively to its neighbor's joining the alliance. This is not surprising, given that one of the main political ideas of the Russian Federation is to move NATO away from its borders. The Kremlin has already pledged countermeasures, but it is not specified what they will be.
Trump arrested in U.S.
Ex-president Trump became one of the most scandalous presidents not only during his administration but afterward as well. In fact, he is the first former head of state to be indicted on 34 counts of falsifying documents.
The primary reason for the initiation of the criminal proceedings was the $134,000 the mogul had paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels. As the case file says, "for her silence." This happened on the eve of the 2016 presidential election.
American society was split into two camps. The right wing sincerely believes that politicians want to silence "their man" this way. The left wing, on the other hand, is pleased that the former president has been brought face-to-face with justice.
However, when Trump left the courtroom on bail, he gave a fiery and rather provocative speech, accusing his political opponents and calling for action. It's likely that Trump supporters will be able to turn this story into political PR, as the billionaire also noted that he plans to run for office in 2024.
Israel and Lebanon are shooting rockets
According to officials, another conflict began after the Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This is the third holiest shrine of Muslims, so the appearance of the police during the holy month of Ramadan provoked excessive frustration in the Palestinian community.
The case was not confined to a confrontation with the police. As early as Thursday, 34 rockets were shot at Israel, making it the heaviest attack in 17 years. Most of the rockets were picked up by Israeli air defense systems. Hamas was held responsible for the attack.
Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, has not confirmed that Hamas was involved in the shelling but he claimed that the Palestinians would never tolerate any aggression from their neighbors.
The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) have reported on strikes on Hamas facilities in Lebanon and Gaza.
