Turkmenistan sets election date
Turkmenistan’s People’s Assembly, setting out the Central Asian state’s future path after the death of authoritarian President Saparmurat Niyazov, on Tuesday scheduled a presidential election for February. President-for-life Niyazov, who died last week after ruling the country for 21 years, left no heir apparent. His passing prompted fears of a power vacuum in a country with vast gas reserves seen as critical in the West. Full Story