In a new production of George Bernard Shaw’s 1923 play Saint Joan at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, United Kingdom, the titular character Joan of Arc is being played by black actress Mandipa Kabana. This is yet another instance of a white historical figure being portrayed by an actor of colour.
Hungary has joined Donald Trump’s newly unveiled Board of Peace as a founding member in Davos, with Viktor Orbán warning that war brings inflation, sanctions, high energy prices, and economic decline. Balázs Orbán hailed the platform as ‘one of the first institution of the new world order,’ while European powers such as France and the United Kingdom refused to join the new conflict resolution forum.
Dutch right-wing commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek has been barred from entering the United Kingdom days after criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X. According to a notice she shared, her UK ETA was cancelled from 13 January because her presence ‘is not considered to be conducive to the public good,’ leaving her with no right of appeal.
Abu Dhabi has imposed restrictions on scholarships to UK universities, warning of the risk of Islamist radicalization among Emirati students studying in Britain. The United Kingdom was deliberately omitted from the UAE’s revised list of approved foreign universities, underscoring deepening concern over Muslim Brotherhood influence on campuses.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has met with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany in London to secure continued European war aid to his nation. After the meeting, he told reporters that Ukraine has ‘no legal or moral right’ to cede land to Russia. Dr Sándor Seremet from the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs has commented on the latest development in the Russo–Ukrainian war.
A recent piece by The Wall Street Journal points out that right-wing populist parties are leading the polls in all three of the largest European economies: Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement national in France, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the United Kingdom, and Alice Weidel’s Alternative für Deutschland in Germany. What is behind this phenomenon?
‘Critics of the deal highlighted that—although some ridiculed the UK in May for agreeing to 10 per cent tariffs with Washington—the post-Brexit United Kingdom managed to strike a more favourable deal with the US administration than the economically more powerful 27-member European Union.’
‘The United Kingdom has not imprisoned a majority of convicted child sex offenders, burglars, or even low-level terrorists for terms as severe as Connolly’s.’
At a press conference on Thursday, President Trump revealed that the first country to sign a new trade agreement with the US under his second term is the United Kingdom. Per the new deal, the US will have a baseline tariff of 10 per cent imposed on the UK, with certain exceptions, such as UK-made steel. Meanwhile, the UK will drop its tariffs on US goods from 5.1 to 1.8 per cent.
In recognition of her accomplishments in organizing the feminist Congress in Budapest, Schwimmer was asked to join the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in its London office as a press secretary. Soon after her arrival to the United Kingdom World War I broke out, where Hungary and the UK found themselves in opposing trenches. Shaken by the news of war, Schwimmer committed herself to bringing together feminist and pacifist leaders to stop the bloodshed.