Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has caused criticism from Bernice King, daughter of famous civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, after he invoked her father's legacy to attack the NAACP, an American anti-racist institution. Cruz had taken issue with the body's decision to issue a "travel advisory" warning people against racist attitudes in Florida, following Governor Ron DeSantis's recent efforts to ban so-called "woke" lessons in schools." Dr King's daughter accused him of being guilty of the "harmful, discriminatory legislation in Florida".
Universities must “rediscover the spirit of radical questioning” they encouraged in the past or become irrelevant, argues Iain Martin in The Times. He highlights the recent example of academic and feminist campaigner Dr Kathleen Stock, who has attracted criticism for her emphasis on biological gender differences, as exemplifying a current reluctance to confront challenging views. Martin suggests that modern students and censors would likely oppose a writer like Martin Amis, who was celebrated during his own student years for his radicalism.
Hungary's talks with Brussels to release nearly a third of its EU funding have progressed swiftly, according to János Bóka, Hungary’s EU negotiator and junior justice minister. Political tensions and state reforms had frozen funds for over a decade but the country adopted a justice reform that fulfilled preconditions for nearly €13bn under the cohesion policy. The remaining funds are unlikely to be granted due to unresolved ideological differences over reforms on academic freedoms, LGBTQ rights and asylum rules. To access a share of its regular cohesion funds and €12.4bn worth of loans and grants from the post-pandemic recovery fund, Hungary requires transparency and accountability guarantees and further measures against corruption and embezzlement.
