Military hardware, explosions and elections were the main show throughout the region in 2002:

1- Spanish marines intercepting weapons destined for Yemen; 2- a French tank outside a French military base in Djibouti; 3- a US aircraft carrier in the Gulf; 4- Syria's representative to the UN;

5- an election placard of a female candidate running for parliament in Bahrain;

6- demonstrations in Ma'an, Jordan; 7- the aftermath of the explosion at the Paradise Hotel in Mombassa; 8- the Sudanese government and opposition conclude a tentative agreement;

9- Moroccans cast their ballots in parliamentary elections; 10- the aftermath of an attack on a bus in Algeria; 11- reformist students clash with their hard-line counterparts in Tehran; 12- Islamist Tayyip Erodogan of the Turkish ruling party attends the EU enlargement summit in Copenhagen; 13- a French tanker ablaze off the coast of Yemen