This month marks the 30th anniversary of the accession to power of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. TME looks at the remarkable socio-economic transition he has presided over since the 1970s.

• West Bank chaos
• Iran’s drugs war
• Egyptian Elections
• Europe gets a foot in Libya’s door
• Was Iraq’s water deliberately targeted by bombers?
• A women’s place, Kuwait style

• Back to Beirut
• Azerbaijan eyes the Middle East... and vice versa
• Luxury goods firms target the Middle East
• In Syria the media is the system
• Milipol returns to Qatar

• Casualties of conflict
• Talking ‘bout my generation
• The glory that was Zeugma...