Reaching for the stars: Historic visit, historic ruling

Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, makes an historic visit to Iraq - the first by a Pope - from 5-8 March 2021. From Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda to ISIS, the footage beamed onto our screens has often been of terrorist attacks, conflict and destruction - all played out with the people of Iraq trying to survive in the middle. This is the first topic we cover on this 'Middle East Analysis' podcast with our guest Dr Harry Hagopian. Will it be a positive visit that not only supports the country's Christians but all Iraqis? Our second subject sees us call on the legal brain of Dr Hagopian to analyse the International Criminal Court's 5 February ruling of stating that it has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories - a ruling broadly welcomed by Palestinians and criticised by Israel and the US. Finally we look to the stars and delve into the role the United Arab Emirates is playing in global endeavours to explore space. As the famous David Bowie song might go if re-released 'Ground Control to Hazzaa Ali Almansoori'. As we're running to space mission durations today, here are the timecodes to help you pick your topic: Introduction Start to 3m 4s Pope's historic visit to Iraq 3m 5s to 26m 52s International Criminal Court on Palestinian Territories 26m 53s to 51m 24s UAE's role in space exploration 51m 25s to end