Ashgabat - Isolated Central Asian Turkmenistan on Wednesday passed constitutional changes that could pave the way for authoritarian leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to rule the ex-Soviet nation for life.

Ashgabat - Energy-rich Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked two ministers and the top tax official, government media reported Saturday as low prices for hydrocarbon exports continue to bite.

Ashgabat - Turkmenistan has passed a law making HIV tests mandatory prior to marriage, state media reported on Wednesday, in a sign the reclusive Central Asian state fears the spread of a disease it has always downplayed.

Ashgabat - Pensioner Anna Kovalyova, 63, would struggle to make ends meet on her pension worth $250 if it was not for the subsidies from the authorities in Turkmenistan that make water, gas and electricity almost free.

Ashgabat - Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has sacked his administration chief, complaining of corruption and mismanagement, state television said Saturday, as economic troubles begin to mount in the isolated Central Asian state.

Ashgabat - Turkmenistan's authorities have forced shops to stop selling cigarettes, traders in Ashgabat said Thursday, after its president urged citizens to kick the habit.

Ashgabat - A choir of 4,166 people in isolated ex-Soviet Turkmenistan has broken a world record by singing a hymn penned by the nation's strongman president, in the latest choreographed show of support.

Ashgabat - The great cities of the Silk Road were once thriving, cosmopolitan centers for the trade in goods, ideas and culture between the civilizations of Europe and Asia.

Ashgabat - Citizens of gas-rich Turkmenistan marked strongman President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's 58th birthday in the national capital Ashgabat Monday by attending the opening of an ostentatious park named in his honour.

Ashgabat - United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon on Saturday warned of a worsening rights situation across Central Asia, as he ended a visit to energy-rich Central Asia in ex-Soviet Turkmenistan.

Ashgabat - The isolated Central Asian state of Turkmenistan on Monday unveiled a massive gold statue of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov riding a horse in a move that echoes his predecessor's cult of personality.

Ashgabat - The gas-rich former Soviet state of Turkmenistan has pardoned more than 1,200 prisoners in an amnesty, state media reported Saturday, quoting strongman President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

- Locals call it the Door to Hell, a giant burning pit that has spit out angry flames for more than 40 years, casting a yellow-orange glow into the evening sky.

The Philippine Azkals earned a semi-final slot in the on-going AFC Challenge Cup tournament in Maldives after beating the highly-rated Turkmenistan National Football Team in Male, Maldives Saturday night.

The Philippine Azkals need only to draw against Turkmenistan to advance in the semi- finals of the ongoing AFC Challenge Cup in Maldives.

Fed by one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, the Darvaza gas crater in the Karakum Desert of central Turkmenistan is fittingly called "The Door to Hell" by locals. Aptly named, flames and the pungent odor of sulfur permeate the area.

Beijing - China says it’s already in talks to build a high-speed railway that would connect the Chinese capital Beijing with continental United States.

Ashgabat - Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has scrapped a state award named after the mother of the late president in the latest reform to his predecessor's bizarre rule, Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported Tuesday.The isolated energy-rich Centra...

Popular American entertainer Jennifer Lopez has apologized for entertaining Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and for singing happy birthday to the 56-year-old leader in a party held at flashy Avaza resort Saturday.

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov narrowly escaped injuries after falling from a horse during a national horse racing event Sunday.