Cleric mends fences

Shi’ite Muslim cleric Muqtada alSadr reached out to Iraq’s religious minorities yesterday, visiting a Baghdad church desecrated in a deadly 2010 attack and a prominent Sunni Muslim mosque, as tens of thousands of Sunni protesters angry over perceived secondclass treatment rallied in cities across Iraq. Al-Sadr appears to be trying to capitalise on the political turmoil by attempting to portray himself as a unifying figure ahead of provincial elections.