By Matt Roper Alexander the Great had just led his armies to victory in India when he decided to take a shortcut back to Babylon through the Gedrosian desert. Some 30,000 men followed him into the blistering wasteland, where Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan now meet. Fewer than half emerged alive from what was then – and still is – the most dangerous corner on Earth. The rest perished from starvation, thirst and heat exhaustion. Since Alexander’s misfortune in 324BC, the merciless dustbowl has gained a reputation as a place to be avoided at all costs. And this week, a new and deadly danger emerg…