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Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. In London, I'm Jason Palmer.

And in New York, I'm John Fastman.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is back in charge in Brazil.

Quite apart from the insurrectionist turmoil surrounding his return,

there's a huge problem of hunger in the country. Lula is going to have a harder time tackling it

on his second attempt. And almost 30% of Americans claim no religious affiliation. The share of the

U.S. Congress that does?

Less than 1%. We'll discuss why atheism

remains a career-ending proposition

for American politicians.

First up, though.

Thank you. First up, though. It isn't in the news as much as it once was, but Syria's desperate, bloody civil war is still

grinding on.

...