Orla Barry is the Europe correspondent for The World. She has been a producer with the BBC World Service for six years, working on Outside Source, World Have Your Say and Newsday. Orla has been a national broadcaster on the Irish radio station Newstalk, where she presented the daily morning show and a weekend arts and culture show.
Orla has produced a series of documentaries from East Africa, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. She also presented a BBC Radio 4 documentary on the Irish women who built Britain. She previously worked as an independent producer for NBC and Arte. Orla has been a columnist with two Irish national newspapers, the Irish Examiner and the Irish Independent. She has a Master’s degree in politics and development studies.
The mysterious demolition of a lopsided 18th-century pub in England has infuriated the local community and raised questions about the loss of British heritage and the demise of the country’s famous pub culture.
The Romanian blouse, IA, is one of the best-known symbols of Romania’s culture. But cheap replicas manufactured in China and India threaten the future of the homegrown industry.
Ukrainian refugees who fled abroad often struggle to find work and a suitable school for their children. In Bucharest, Romania, two Ukrainian mothers came up with a solution: create their own school.
A row over cheap Ukrainian grain threatens to fracture a show of solidarity between the EU and Ukraine. Romanian farmer Ionut Spiță said his profits took a hit due to a glut of cheaper Ukrainian grain and oilseeds intended for Africa and the Middle East that flooded Eastern European markets.
“An Cailín Ciúin” (“The Quiet Girl”) is Ireland's first film to be nominated for best foreign language film in the Academy Awards. Language enthusiasts in Ireland are hoping that the new film will give their mother tongue a much-needed boost in a country where less than 2% of the population speak it on a daily basis.
Poland has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than any other European nation. But from March 1, the Polish government has ruled that Ukrainians living in state-funded accommodation will have to start contributing toward their housing and food costs.
“Tár,” about a virtuoso female conductor, has shone a spotlight on the continuing dearth of women leading major orchestras worldwide.
Countries across Europe are experiencing unseasonably warm weather this January, causing a headache for ski resorts and broader concern for what it might mean for the year ahead.
Pastor Gábor Iványi is one of Hungary’s best-known religious leaders. He officiated over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s wedding and baptized two of his children. Today, he is one of Orbán’s fiercest critics.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been accused of using anti-Semitic tropes to promote his vision of Hungarian nationalism. Some members of the Jewish community say this makes them uncomfortable, but Jewish leaders have been slow to speak out about it.
Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, portrays himself as a defender of Christianity, a religion which he says is under threat as a result of immigration, globalism and liberalism. Orbán’s critics question the sincerity of the Hungarian leader’s faith and wonder if his pro-Christian rhetoric is simply all about staying in power.