Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist.

In New York, I'm John Fastman.

And in London, I'm Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

There was a time when Mark Zuckerberg would do anything to ensure growth at Facebook,

the social network he found it.

Now, not so much.

We ask what will become of it now that new generations of users just aren't showing up.

And you don't have to know anything about black holes to know that getting a picture of

one is going to be tricky.

They're black, real black, none more black.

That's why a new image of the one at the heart of our home galaxy is so impressive.

First, Sweden's ruling Social Democrat Party announced last night that it supports joining

the NATO military alliance.

The news came shortly after its neighbor Finland formally announced its wish to join.

Both countries have stayed out of the 30 strong mutual defense pact set up in 1949,

but Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has prompted them to act.

The Social Democrats are clear that the military alliance is free.

Sweden's Prime Minister, Magdalena Anderson, said non-alignment had served the country well

in the past, but its future security would be best served by joining NATO.

NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Finland and Sweden joining would be

an historic moment.

...