Clerical era: Iraq in a hard place

A pilgrimage that is sure to become a covid-19 hotspot is a sign of how much the country’s government is <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/10/03/iraq-is-too-broken-to-protect-itself-from-covid-19?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">losing legitimacy</a> to its clergymen and tribal leaders. Social-media giants’ efforts to scrub violent content from their platforms simultaneously <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/09/21/social-media-platforms-are-destroying-evidence-of-war-crimes?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hobbles</a> efforts to bring war criminals to justice. And why south-west England <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/10/03/cornish-miners-hope-to-profit-from-the-shift-to-electric-cars?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">may soon be reviving</a> its long-lost mining industry. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>