The Week Unwrapped: Rare earths, Jordan and dishonour

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

Greenland’s election

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After a snap general election in Greenland this week, the future of a proposed rare-earth mineral mining operation is in doubt. The largest party in the new government has said it will block the Kvanefjeld mine, which was expected to provide Greenland with financial security - and the rest of the world with a non-Chinese source of raw materials for electric car batteries. But campaigners said the environmental benefits would come at too great a local cost.

Jordan’s split

Jordan’s former Crown Prince Hamzah was briefly placed under house arrest this week after he was accused of conspiring with foreign powers - and tribal leaders opposed to King Abdullah - to undermine the country’s government. The attempt to silence the popular prince appears to have backfired, however, after he issued a series of defiant statements on social media.

Dishonourable mention

The UK has an ancient and complex honours system, with the Queen bestowing titles and awards on 2,000 British and Commonwealth citizens every year. But an investigation from The Times has found an increasing number of honours recipients have had their awards stripped from them, in a process critics say is mysterious and secretive. Is it time for reform?

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