President Saparmurat Niyazov was the head of state for Turkmenistan. He was president for life of the energy-rich former Soviet republic Turkmenistan. He died early Thursday morning, December 21, 2006. He was 66 years old and had heart...
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President Saparmurat Niyazov was the head of state for Turkmenistan. He was president for life of the energy-rich former Soviet republic Turkmenistan. He died early Thursday morning, December 21, 2006. He was 66 years old and had heart disease.
The reclusive Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan has denied entry to dozens of Peace Corps volunteers, the organization's country director said Friday. The decision to bar 47 volunteers from the U.S. government-run program from the former Soviet state comes amid fears energy-rich Turkmenistan is reneging on commitments to open up after years of isolation under an eccentric autocrat. "We had the paperwork in place, and they were approved to come, but the day before they were due to leave... Read Full Story
Ex-Soviet Turkmenistan has barred an incoming group of aid workers from the Peace Corps, a US government programme for aid volunteers, from entering the country, an agency official said Friday. The Peace Corps, which has operated in Turkmenistan since 1993, was given no explanation for the last-minute decision to cancel the visas of 47 volunteers, acting country director Chris Leal told AFP by telephone from Ashgabat. "They were scheduled to come in on September 30, and we received notice... Read Full Story
The United States expressed its concern Monday over efforts by Turkmenistan to prevent students from traveling to U.S.-linked universities. A terse statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan said students studying at American-affiliated universities in Bulgaria and Kyrgyzstan were denied permission to leave the country last week. "We are dismayed by the government of Turkmenistan's continued denial of freedom of movement for ... Turkmen students," the statement said. The former... Read Full Story
The president of resources-rich Turkmenistan has sacked several top officials in the energy sector, denouncing their "irresponsible approach" to their jobs, the official news agency reported. At a meeting with the central Asian republic's heads of oil and gas companies, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov "noted with regret that an irresponsible approach by certain leaders to their jobs caused a number of deficiencies and negligences" in their work, the agency said Monday. Berdymukhamedov... Read Full Story
ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a proponent of a global gas suppliers' cartel, will visit Central Asia's main gas producer Turkmenistan on Sunday and Monday, Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said on Saturday. The meeting of the two leaders will be "a good foundation for further development of mutually beneficial long-term cooperation," Berdymukhamedov said on state television. He did not outline the agenda of the meeting but a Turkmen government source told... Read Full Story
The president of this normally reclusive nation staged lavish ceremonies for foreign guests and media Monday to launch a new $1.5 billion resort on the desert shore of the Caspian Sea in a city named after his eccentric and autocratic predecessor. Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov stood on the porch of one of three gleaming white luxury hotels just completed here, and told thousands of guests that the development would help his energy-rich country diversify its economy. He also said the development... Read Full Story
Turkmenistan is planning to build the reclusive gas-rich state's answer to the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty, the chief architect of the capital Ashgabat said on Saturday. "A competition has been announced to design a monument that will become a symbol of Ashgabat just like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in the United States," Bayram Shamuradov told AFP. "The monument will be constructed right in the centre of the city," he said. Turkmenistan has over the last... Read Full Story
China will lend energy-rich Turkmenistan $3 billion to develop its vast South Yolotan natural gas field, Turkmen state media reported Saturday. The loan marks a key step in Chinese efforts to secure long-term energy supplies from ex-Soviet Central Asia and will likely loosen Russia's grip over Turkmenistan's gas exports. Work on a 4,300-mile (7,000-kilometer) pipeline from Turkmenistan to China with the capacity to deliver 52 billion cubic yards (40 billion cubic meters) of gas per year is... Read Full Story
Turkmenistan's president has opened a cancer hospital by performing the first operation himself. State media say President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov removed a benign tumor from behind the ear of the patient at the hospital's opening on Tuesday. He was assisted by German and local doctors. Berdymukhamedov is a dentist by training. Berdymukhamedov was health minister when autocratic leader Saparmurat Niyazov dismissed health workers and closed hospitals. Berdymukhamedov has reversed some of... Read Full Story
Turkmenistan on Thursday defended its "sovereign" right to diversify gas export routes, as the West seeks to loosen Moscow's grip on this energy-rich but reclusive Central Asian nation. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov told foreign energy bosses at a major conference in the nation's flamboyant capital that Turkmenistan, like any energy producer, had every right to look for new customers. "Today we are looking for conditions to diversify energy routes and the inclusion of new... Read Full Story
