Finland officially joins NATO

The accession of the nordic country adds more than 800 miles to the bloc’s frontier with Russia. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Finland officially joins NATO [Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, center left, shakes hands with Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto as they attend the NATO-Ukraine Commission in Brussels, April 4, 2023.] Credit: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Finland Finland has officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), [becoming the 31st member]( of the military alliance. The move adds more than 800 miles to the bloc’s frontier with Russia. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Finland’s minister for foreign affairs, Pekka Haavisto, at a [formal ceremony in Brussels](. It’s a further blow to Russia amid its war in Ukraine. Moscow has warned that further expansion of the bloc will not bring more stability to Europe. United States Former President Donald Trump will [appear in a Manhattan court]( on Tuesday to face more than two dozen felony charges. Trump’s indictment is the first for any sitting or former US president. The allegations stem from a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels that was made ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump is expected to plead not guilty to the charges. He is also expected to [address his supporters]( later at night from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Australia Australia has become the [latest country to ban TikTok]( from federal government devices. The announcement comes after a string of countries issued similar bans over concerns of potential cybersecurity breaches, including the US, Canada, India and the UK. Western governments say the app could also be used to promote pro-Beijing narratives and misinformation. TikTok’s general manager, Lee Hunter, responded by saying the decision was “[driven by politics](, not by fact,” and urging the Australian government to treat all businesses fairly. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Impeachment trial begins against Ecuador's President Lasso]( [Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso is surrounded by security as he exits the Metropolitan Cultural Center, located next to the presidential palace in Quito, Ecuador, March 30, 2023.]( Credit: Dolores Ochoa/AP ​​​​​​​Ecuador’s National Assembly is debating the future of President Guillermo Lasso. If it does vote to remove him, it [would be the first impeachment]( of an Ecuadorian president since the country’s return to democracy in 1979. [Argentines wage ‘mental war’ against inflation as prices double in a year]( [In Argentina, annual inflation tops 100%, a 30-year high, with the cost of meat and fruit skyrocketing.]( Credit: Alan Ruiz Terol/The World As annual inflation tops 100%, a 30-year high, with the cost of meat and fruit skyrocketing, many Argentines are [keeping their savings in dollars]( to resist devaluation of the peso. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot NASA’s announcement for its first crew heading to the moon in 50 years includes the first female, Christina Hammock Koch, and the first African American, Victor Glover, selected for a lunar mission. They were chosen from a pool of more than 40 active astronauts and will join the four-member crew of Artemis II on its 2024 mission. 🚀 [Screenshot of Amazing Astronomy tweet]( Credit: Twitter In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.