Turkmenistan

15 Stories

It May Soon Be Easier to Visit the 'Gates of Hell'

Barriers may drop as Turkmenistan plans to streamline visa process for travelers

(Newser) - Turkmenistan, long known for its fortress-like borders and scarcity of foreign visitors, is making tentative moves toward welcoming more tourists. In April, the government announced a plan to streamline its notoriously labyrinthine visa process, sparking cautious optimism among tour operators and adventurous travelers, per CNN . For now, though, the...

2 Gas Fields Produce 'Mind-Boggling' Methane Emissions

'Guardian' reports Turkmenistan is worst in the world for 'super emitting' fossil fuel leaks

(Newser) - Satellite data has revealed "mind-boggling" methane emissions from Turkmenistan's two main fossil fuel fields, which caused more global heating in 2022 than all of the carbon emissions in the UK. Data produced by geo-analytics company Kayrros at the request of the Guardian shows Turkmenistan's western fossil fuel...

Putin Hits Back at Western Leaders Over Topless Digs

'Undressed,' they 'would be a disgusting sight,' Russian president tells reporters

(Newser) - Russian President Vladimir Putin shot back at Western leaders who mocked his athletic exploits, saying they would look "disgusting" if they tried to emulate his bare-torso appearances, per the AP . Putin made the comment during a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday when asked about Western leaders joking about him...

Country's President Wants to Close the 'Gates of Hell'

Crater in Turkmenistan has been burning since 1971

(Newser) - The president of Turkmenistan says he wants to close one of the country's best-known tourist attractions—the Darvaza gas crater, better known as the Gates of Hell. The fiery pit, believed to have been burning since Soviet geologists tried to burn off methane gas more than 50 years ago,...

This Is Now the Tiniest Country to Ever Medal

Alessandra Perilli earns bronze in trap shooting for San Marino

(Newser) - Twenty-fifth time’s the charm for San Marino, the European enclave surrounded by north-central Italy, home to fewer than 35,000 people, which was awarded its first-ever Olympic medal on Thursday. Alessandra Perilli shot 29 targets in the women's trap shooting final, coming in third after Kayle Browning of...

He Was Rumored to Be Dead. So He Drove Out to the Fire Pit

Turkmenistan's president has an odd way of proving he's alive

(Newser) - He could've just held up a newspaper with a recent date displayed as proof of life. But that's not how Turkmenistan's president rolls when he wants to quash death rumors and let people know he's very much alive. Last month, a rep for the country's...

Rarely Visited Country Opens Gleaming $2.3B Airport

It's Turkmenistan's latest bizarre building

(Newser) - The capital of Turkmenistan, a country largely closed to outsiders, has opened a $2.3 billion new international airport terminal in the shape of a flying falcon. The terminal, whose roof in profile resembles a bird with spread wings, adds to Ashgabat's vast array of idiosyncratic buildings, the AP...

How 'the Gates of Hell' Emerged in a Soviet Desert

Giant pit has become tourist spot

(Newser) - A fiery pit has been burning in the middle of a Turkmenistan desert for more than four decades, and little has been done to get rid of it. The Darvaza gas crater, nicknamed the "Gates of Hell" or the "Door to Hell," has been on fire since...

J.Lo Has Made $10M Singing for Dictators

Human Rights Foundation uncovers a slew of other instances

(Newser) - After it came out that Jennifer Lopez scored a big payday to sing happy birthday to Turkmenistan dictator Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov , her rep insisted that had J.Lo known of any "human rights issues," she of course would not have attended the soiree. But the Human Rights Foundation implies...

J-Lo Got $1.5M to Sing at Dictator's Birthday: Source

She's still, she's still Jenny from the Bloc

(Newser) - Jennifer Lopez got at least $1.5 million to sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" Saturday night at a 56th birthday party for Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, leader of the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan—a man whose regime is described as "among the most repressive in the world" by Human...

Turkmenistan Prez 'Wins' Auto Race

He enters at last minute and, surprise, surprise, is the victor

(Newser) - US presidents like to throw out the first pitch at baseball games, but Turkmenistan President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov takes sport to a whole new level, coming in first in a Turkmenistan car race today. Driving a Turkish-made Volkicar. In a race he wasn't even scheduled to enter. Well, that's...

US to Expand Routes Into Afghanistan

Safer roads will depend on cooperation of Central Asian nations

(Newser) - More than four-fifths of the supplies for allied troops in Afghanistan travel via Pakistan along a treacherous route, prompting the US to plan new supply lines in the embattled region. The fragility of the current setup was laid bare after a Pakistani counter-militant offensive shut down the Khyber Pass yesterday,...

Turkmenistan Dumps Months Named After Heroes, Poets, Dictator's Mom

New leader rolls back

(Newser) - In a step away from the legacy of its late dictator, who renamed each month after heroes, poets, and himself, Turkmenistan’s president urged a return to traditional month names, the Guardian reports. April had been named after Saparmurat Niyazov’s mother, while September was a reference to Niyazov’s...

Heads Roll After Roach's TV Guest Spot

Turkmen president gives state-run station's newscast thumbs down

(Newser) - An ongoing overhaul of Turkmenistan state TV is apparently so interesting that even members of the animal kingdom want a front-row seat. Unfortunately for the staff of the nightly news, a cockroach recently strolled across the studio table while cameras were rolling, leading the country's president to fire dozens of...

Political Rift Weakens Ahmadinejad
Political Rift
Weakens
Ahmadinejad
Jan 22, 2008 5:57 AM CST

Political Rift Weakens Ahmadinejad

Ayatollah overrules Iranian president on gas for villagers

(Newser) - Iran's firebrand president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffered a serious political humiliation  yesterday when the nation's supreme leader sided with his opponents to force him to supply a billion dollars worth of natural gas to remote villages suffering power cuts. Iran's poorest communities are enduring one of the harshest winters in years,...

15 Stories
Most Read on Newser