Mitchel Stuffers
Assistant Editor at CIGH Exeter & PhD Candidate in History, University of Exeter

From a post-Viktor Orbán Europe to the ongoing advancements in Holocaust archive research, here are this week’s top picks in imperial and global history.

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After Orbán loss, Europe’s far right reassesses MAGA endorsement

Vincenzo Genovese, Peggy Corlin, and Maïa de La Baume
EuroNews

Viktor Orbán’s defeat in the Hungarian elections suggests that political endorsements from Donald Trump or JD Vance do not necessarily boost European far-right campaigns, as the MAGA message increasingly struggles to resonate in Europe. At best, JD Vance’s pre-election visit last week to Hungary did little to help Viktor Orbán. At worst, it may have backfired, as his rival Péter Magyar secured a historic victory.

Two days after Hungary’s seismic election, which ended Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power, parts of Europe’s far right are beginning to question the value of endorsements from Donald Trump and JD Vance. That reassessment reflects a broader concern: Trump’s rhetoric and unpredictable geopolitical agenda are increasingly seen as a liability rather than an asset for his political allies across the Atlantic, especially close partners such as Orbán’s Fidesz party. “Hungarians have always been very close to the United States,” French National Rally MEP Thierry Mariani told Euronews. “That is not our case.” [Continue reading]

Carney didn’t win a majority, he built one. Now comes the test

Mickey Djuric, Zi-Ann Lum, and Mike Blanchfield
Politico

One year after rescuing Canada’s Liberal Party from electoral disaster, Mark Carney has strengthened his hold on power. The rookie prime minister clinched a majority in special elections on Monday night, bolstered by five defections during the past five months from progressive and conservative parties. Liberal candidates Danielle Martin and Doly Begum both claimed victory in their Toronto districts — putting Carney over the top. Much later in the evening, Tatiana Auguste completed the trifecta in Terrebonne, Quebec — a razor-thin win that bested last year’s one-vote margin in a riding where Liberals typically do not compete.

No modern majority government in Ottawa has ever been built this way. The unprecedented feat will keep Carney in office until 2029. It gives him runway to execute his ambitious “Canada Strong” agenda, including a slate of protectionist policies focused on reducing Canada’s economic reliance on the United States. [Continue reading]

Most beautiful bride, $1 bn: Uganda army chief’s bizarre demand from Turkey

Shounak Sanyal
India Today – World Desk

The army chief of Uganda, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has demanded two things from Turkey. Kainerugaba’s first demand is $1 billion for Uganda’s long military contributions in Somalia in combating Islamic militants. The second, which, in all likelihood, was made in jest is, hand over “the most beautiful woman in that country,” who Kainerugaba said would be his wife.

While Kainerugaba’s demand has attracted backlash, it is not the first time he has made such a bizarre and sexist demand. In 2022, Kainerugaba offered 100 cows to Italy in exchange for marrying its Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Now, years later, Uganda’s Kainerugaba has demanded the most beautiful Turkish woman to be his wife. Should Ankara fail to comply within 30 days, Kainerugaba has threatened severe diplomatic consequences, including the closure of Turkey’s embassy in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. [Continue reading]

Vance calls end of Ukraine aid ‘one of the proudest’ achievements of Trump administration

Martin Fornusek
Kyiv Independent

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on April 14 that he is proud of Washington cutting off funding to Ukraine amid Russian aggression, listing it among the Trump administration’s top achievements. Speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia, Vance recalled being confronted by a Ukrainian-American over his calls to halt funding for Ukraine.

“And this person got really agitated at me because I was saying we should stop funding the Ukraine war,” Vance said. “And I still believe that, obviously, and it’s one of the things I’m proudest that we’ve done in this administration is we’ve told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore.” In a stark shift from the previous administration, U.S. President Donald Trump ended nearly all new aid to Kyiv, leaving Europe to foot the bill for Ukraine’s defense.[Continue reading]

Yom HaShoah: The mission to uncover the names and fates of a million murdered Jews

 Lianne Kolirin
Jewish Chronicle

The words “never forget” have become almost synonymous with the Holocaust, but the act of remembering can be a challenge for those who still don’t know what happened to their relatives. Yad Vashem recently announced that it has recovered five million names of those who perished, following decades of tireless work. But more than eight decades after the camps were liberated, a further million murdered Jews remain unidentified. The reasons are not difficult to understand. Chaos on an unimaginable scale reigned in 1945.

As survivors, displaced people and other distraught relatives scoured for proof of life of loved ones or evidence of their fates, some charities and agencies did their best to assist, their efforts forming the basis of the Central Tracing Bureau, renamed the International Tracing Service (ITS) in 1948. The physical archive, comprising 30 million pages of perpetrator documents, is today based in Bad Arolsen in Germany, but the UK government has a digital version, which is managed by the Wiener Holocaust Library in London. [Continue reading