Crypto News: The Trump indictment, NATO’s expansion: Weekend Reads

Former US President Donald Trump's indictment over his alleged role in paying hush money to a porn star may reshape the American political landscape ahead of next year's election.

The first-ever criminal charges against a former commander-in-chief could aid Trump's bid to reclaim the White House, running as the aggrieved victim of a Democratic-run Deep State determined to keep him out of power.

Finland is poised to join NATO in a matter of days, dealing a blow to President Vladimir Putin's stated aim to deter the defense alliance from encroaching on Russia's border.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang is ready to use nuclear weapons "anytime and anywhere," delivering a new threat as a US aircraft carrier group arrived in South Korea.

Delve into these and other top stories in this edition of Weekend Reads. — Karl Maier

Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2021. Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg

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Trump's Indictment Is the First in a String of Potential Legal Troubles
The case isn't the only legal challenge confronting Trump. As Zoe Tillman and Zijia Song report, he faces possible prosecutions in a number of other cases, including his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and trying to overturn the election results in Georgia.

Trump probably won't be handcuffed or led before a scrum of clicking camera shutters in the traditional "perp walk."
The indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office caught Trump and his circle of advisers off guard, a source says.

Trump Indictment Is Going to Make US Politics Even More Divisive
With Trump's arrest apparently imminent, the country is rocketing forward into an even more bitterly divided partisan era. Joshua Green explains that his urging of his supporters to conduct protests and warning of "potential death and destruction" if he was charged echoed his call to arms in the days before the attack on the US Capitol.

Read the full statement by Trump after he was indicted by a grand jury in New York.

Protesters in front of Trump Tower in New York on Friday. Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

China Seeks to Calm CEOs Worried About Potential War Over Taiwan
Premier Li Qiang, who became China's No. 2 leader last month, sought to calm the nerves of the business community about a possible war over Taiwan, stressing Beijing's commitment to peace. The speech underscored the push to counter growing perceptions in boardrooms of foreign firms that China is becoming too risky in the face of increased geopolitical tensions.

The Joe Biden administration went to unprecedented lengths to play down the importance of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the US this week, as officials try to keep an already soured relationship with China from getting any worse.

Israel's Master Contortionist Netanyahu Tests Political Limits
Benjamin Netanyahu's ability to pull off political escape acts and outmaneuver rivals is legendary in Israel. As Amy Teibel and Ethan Bronner report, the man who has dominated Israeli politics for the past three decades is testing limits like never before.

The US and Israel clashed after Biden rebuked Netanyahu's administration for its efforts to weaken the judiciary.

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on March 18. Photographer: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Photo

Macron's Headstrong Bent Imperils His Plans for France Reforms
Like former leader Charles de Gaulle, Emmanuel Macron has said the people of France are obstinately opposed to change. While that's probably not true, Alan Katz explains, when they contest a particular policy such as Macron's plan to raise the retirement age to 64, opponents only have one way to really make a difference: head to the streets.

Protesters climb the Triumph of the Republic sculpture in central Paris on Tuesday. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

Europe's Era of Agitation Heralds More Clashes on Spoils of Work
Public-service strikes in Britain, Germany and France signal an intensifying struggle by workers to halt the decline in their share of their countries' national incomes. William Wilkes, Tom Rees and Wilfried Eckl-Dorna write that their fightback has been incited by a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living crisis.

Russia Detains American Journalist in 'Dark Turn' for Ties
American journalist Evan Gershkovich was detained for alleged espionage while he was on a reporting trip, the first time a US reporter has been held on spying charges since the Cold War. The Wall Street Journal denied the allegations and asked for his immediate release.

Putin approved a new Russian foreign policy concept that set out to confront the US and its allies, claiming an "era of revolutionary changes" was under way in international relations.

Evan Gershkovich. Source: Getty Images

Putin's War Is Intensifying Russian Economy's Labor Shortage
Putin's drive to expand Russia's armed forces is adding to labor shortages as his war in Ukraine draws hundreds of thousands of workers into the military from other sectors of the economy.

Russia's grip on global food supply is tightening after two of the biggest international traders said they would halt grain purchases for export from the country.
US Congressional Republicans said billions of dollars in American assistance for Ukraine risks being misspent and could be better used for domestic priorities.

The rising probability of military action near a Russian-occupied nuclear plant in Ukraine is forcing international monitors to shelve a proposed security zone around the site and concentrate on making its reactors more resilient to attack.

Bolsonaro's Brazil Return Draws Fans and Security Concerns
A small crowd of supporters welcomed former President Jair Bolsonaro as he returned to Brazil after a three-month vacation in Florida. Daniel Carvalho writes that while he will attempt to establish himself as a right-wing leader of the opposition to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who narrowly defeated him in October, he is also facing legal scrutiny.

Bolsonaro greets supporters in Brasilia on Thursday. Photographer: Evaristo Sa/Getty Images

North Korean Defectors Are Dying Lonely Deaths in Wealthy South
After fleeing poverty and hunger in North Korea, defectors to South Korea often struggle to survive when government support runs out. Sangmi Cha and Jon Herskovitz explain that, while resettlement should be easy in theory because they're moving to a country with a common language, culture and traditions, some from North Korea experience deep isolation — and even starvation — in cases that end in tragedy.

And finally … India risks approaching the limit of human survival as it experiences more intense and frequent heat waves. Bhuma Shrivastava writes that while temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) are unbearable in any condition, the damage is made worse for those of India's 1.4 billion population who are stuck in tightly packed cities and don't have access to well-ventilated housing or air-conditioning.