Topic: Turkmenistan

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When dictators fall, so do their banknotes

The following now defunct or possibly soon-to-be defunct banknotes are imbued with the symbols and iconography of their leaders, past and present.
Briefing
Five things to know about Freedom House's latest global rankings

A look at the 2012 Freedom House ranking of 197 countries according to their relative freedom.
International Women's Day: How it's celebrated around the globe

International Women's Day has served for more than a century as a day to honor the achievements of women globally. Here are some ways people are celebrating:
How do key countries rank on corruption?
World's cheapest gas: Top 10 countries

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Global leadership: Voters launch a power surge of women

Brazil's President-elect Dilma Rousseff is the latest in a power surge of women in global leadership positions.
Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 10/26
The 8 worst countries on Transparency International's list

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, released annually by Transparency International, shows northern Europe continues to be perceived as the world's least corrupt region, with six countries taking the top 10 spots. The island-state of Singapore climbed into first place this year with New Zealand and Denmark. The United States fell behind Chile and into 22nd place, marking the first time it failed to rank in the top 20. Russia ranked worst among global powers, falling from 146th place to 154th place, tied with Cambodia. Nearly three quarters of the 178 countries in the index were below five on a scale of 0 (high corruption) to 10 (low corruption). That means not just the following countries have a corruption problem.
WikiLeaks ready to drop a bombshell on Russia. But will Russians get to read about it?

WikiLeaks is about to release documents on Russia, but the tightly-controlled Russian media is unlikely to report them the way Western media attacked the documents about Afghanistan and Iraq
Press Freedom Index: The top 10 worst countries

Syria, Rwanda, and Yemen have fallen to the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said today. The three countries join other single-party dominated governments at the bottom of the annual index, while six democratic Northern European nations tied this year as the best places for media freedom. Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland have ranked at the top since the index was created in 2002, Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Jean-François Julliard said in a statement. "The defense of media freedom continues to be a battle, a battle of vigilance in the democracies of old Europe and a battle against oppression and injustice in the totalitarian regimes still scattered across the globe," he said. Click through the following slides to read about the 10 lowest-ranking nations.
Gallup poll: Degree of one's charity depends on happiness more than wealth

A Gallup poll done for the Charitable Aid Foundation finds more correlation between happiness and giving than between wealth and giving. The survey's ranking of countries puts America as number five. Many poor nations are high in giving of one type or another.
Kagame's Rwanda election win is one of recent history's most lopsided

Preliminary results show that President Paul Kagame is likely to win more than 90 percent of the vote.
Gallery: World's most lopsided presidential victories
Afghanistan's woeful water management delights neighbors

Any effort by Afghanistan to improve water management could ruffle neighbors, who benefit from the country's losing two-thirds of its water due to lack of infrastructure.
Gallery: World's worst human rights violators
Burma tops 'worst of the worst' list of human rights violators

Libya, just elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council, also appears on Freedom House's 'Worst of the worst' list of human rights violators.
Gallery: Top 10 countries with most improved child mortality rates
For the first time, Western troops march on Red Square

Russia's Victory Day, the country's most important secular holiday, was marked by an unusual emphasis on international cooperation as American, French, and British troops commemorated the the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany by marching across Red Square for the first time ever.
In Pictures: Shanghai World Expo 2010 at night
US defense of global religious freedom wanes under Obama, panel says

A bipartisan national commission finds President Obama wanting when it comes to defending and promoting global religious freedom. It names 13 countries as serious violators.
World's most corrupt nations? Afghanistan at No. 2

In Transparency International's latest rankings, Afghanistan is the second most corrupt country, only beat by Somalia. Afghanistan's anticorruption czar says not carrying through with punishment for corrupt officials is the problem.
As US seeks closer ties with Turkmenistan, government cracks down on students

Turkmenistan has prevented dozens of students from travelling abroad to study at a US-sponsored university, and has harassed some that have come home.
Eight years after 9/11, Taliban roils 80 percent of Afghanistan

The hijacking of a NATO supply truck and Stephen Farrell’s kidnapping have focused attention on rising insecurity in Afghanistan’s north, strikingly illustrated on a new map.
Eight years after 9/11, Taliban roils 80 percent of Afghanistan

The hijacking of a NATO supply truck and Stephen Farrell’s kidnapping have focused attention on rising insecurity in Afghanistan’s north, strikingly illustrated on a new map.
Will Nabucco pipeline deal free Europe from Russian gas?

The EU and Turkey signed a $11 billion gas pipeline deal that should give Europe more supply options.
Why Iran's Twitter revolution is unique

The government's tight control of the Internet has spawned a generation adept at circumventing cyber roadblocks, making the country ripe for a technology–driven protest movement.
Lions, tigers, and bloggers! Oh, my!

The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report on the "10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger" last week, just days before World Press Freedom Day, today.
A texting entrepreneur embodies spirit of a new Rwanda

Jeff Gasana's goal is to make his award-winning company the leading cellphone-banking service in East Africa.
Doctors Without Borders exit Darfur

Three aid workers were kidnapped this week, while others express concern about the health of the 1.1 million Darfuris left without assistance.
Pakistani militants cut off key NATO supply line to Afghanistan

The attack highlights the need for alternative routes.