Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer. Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

There are good reasons that social media giants try to scrub their platforms of violent and extremist

material, but they may be removing crucial evidence. We examine how war crimes investigations

are being hobbled by algorithms and good intentions. And in the southwest of England,

there's a proud history of mining, one that seemed finished by the end of the 20th century.

But the demand for minerals changes over time, and Cornwall may soon be going down the mines again.

First up, though, today, today hundreds of thousands of people are flooding Iraq's holy city of Karbalah for the Arbaeim pilgrimage.

It's one of the world's largest annual gatherings,

and although foreign pilgrims have been barred this year, not even the pandemic could stop Arbaein

from going ahead. There were some outbreaks of violence yesterday as protesters made their way to

the shrines, holding banners and chanting anti-government slogans.

Dozens were wounded in clashes with Iraqi security forces.

The country's elected leaders are losing legitimacy and power.

As their authority has crumbled, Iraq's Shia Ayatollahs and the country's tribes have been able to set their own rules.

That's a problem both for the government's grip on the country and for the country's grip on COVID-19.

Officially, the virus is infected more than 350,000 Iraqis and killed more than 9,000.

Nicholas Pelham is our Middle East correspondent.

That's got to be an undercount. Whenever you speak to

Iraqis, either they or people very close to them seem to have contracted the virus at some point

over the past six months. And yet that figure is still more than in any other Arab country.

In terms of its approach, Iraq is distinct among Arab regimes. Most have dealt with COVID-19

by tightening their grip, whereas

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