Orla Barry

Europe correspondent

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.

This club in the Netherlands offers a much-needed break from technology

June 13, 2024Internet

Most people are at least a little addicted to their phones. In the Netherlands, three young Dutchmen came up with an idea to counteract that. It’s called the Offline Club, where attendees pay for the opportunity to spend an evening phone-free.

As Dutch residents struggle to find housing, some are trying new initiatives

May 30, 2024Economics

A view of Paris, France, with the iconic Eiffel Tower in the distance.

20 years after France’s hijab ban, the issue remains divisive

May 2, 2024Women & Gender

This Paris suburb gets a facelift amid controversy ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games

April 25, 2024Summer Olympics 2024

Brett Griffin Young with his partner and three children.

Surrogacy advocates fear pope’s position will create stigma

January 16, 2024Reproductive rights

Nolotil painkillers are still prescribed in Spain, but is banned in many other countries.

‘People are dying’: A popular painkiller in Spain may have killer side effects

December 15, 2023Health & Medicine

In Spain, the government is facing legal action over one of the country’s most popular prescription painkillers. A patients’ advocacy group claims the drug can have potentially fatal side effects. And Britons traveling in Spain may be most at risk.

Åsa Koski started the Säg hej! campaign in Sweden to get people to interact more with each other to combat widespread loneliness.

The ‘Say Hi’ campaign in Sweden is helping to combat loneliness

November 30, 2023Lifestyle

Åsa Koski, a social strategist with the Luleå municipality in northern Sweden, started the Säg hej! (“Say hi!”) campaign to try and get people to interact more with each other to combat widespread loneliness.

The Crooked House before it got demolished.

Demise of ‘Crooked House’ pub is cautionary tale about loss of British heritage

August 21, 2023Development

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 changing landscape for Sweden’s successful music industry

August 3, 2023Music

The Nordic nation is the third-largest exporter of pop music in the world, after the US and the UK. But musicians in Sweden are worried that the country’s changing political climate could endanger this great Swedish success story.

Gang shootings in Sweden are on the rise. But local communities and former gang members are fighting back.

July 25, 2023Violence

Sweden’s gun homicide rate is 2 1/2 times higher than the European average and 75% to 80% of deadly shootings remain unsolved. But local communities and former gang members are working together to find answers and fight back.