Turkmenistan votes Sunday in an uncontested election that will extend the rule of President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who also holds the posts of prime minister, commander of the armed forces, and chairman of the nation's sole political party.
Social media sites are being used to help victims of the triple bomb blast in Mumbai. The Turkmen authorities have tried to hush up the explosion of an ammunitions depot. A street-vendor becomes China’s latest web sensation.
After the escalating tension between North and South Korea, much rests on how China reacts and whether Beijing is ready to support Pyongyang at any cost. HIV/AIDS sufferers in Burma are lent support by newly-released Aung San Suu Kyi. She wants to bring attention to their plight, but the regime doesn't share her view. And in India, focus on an architectural masterpiece which is being sold off piece by piece.
In this edition: as a chill descends on relations between Beijing and Washington, an imminent visit to the United States by the Dalai Lama is unlikely to help; five years after a tsunami which killed tens of thousands, we ask if foreign aid has helped rebuild lives in Sri Lanka; and we meet a counterfeit expert who builds fake Ferraris out of a shed in Bangkok.
China's President Hu Jintao on Monday opened a pipeline to transport Turkmen natural gas to China, signalling a major victory for Beijing in its drive to access a market traditionally dominated by Russia.
In their first election since absolute leader Saparmurat Niyazov's death, Turkmens go to the polls in what is being touted as a step toward democracy. But with nearly all candidates from the ruling party, critics have called it a sham.
A new constitution has been adopted in Turkmenistan, allowing more democracy in a country considered as one of the most closed in the world. The text allows multi-party politics and establishes a market economy for the first time.
Turkmenistan 
