TURKMENISTAN'S ACTING PRESIDENT PROMISES TO LIFT INTERNET RESTRICTIONS
Turkmenistan's acting president, Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, has said he will lift restrictions on Internet use in Turkmenistan if elected president in elections next month. This will be a welcome change from the government's heretofore restrictive monopoly on Internet access, which has virtually cut off the country from the outside world. Saparmurat Niyazov (AKA "Turkmenbashi", the Head of All Turkmens), the former president, died unexpectedly in December. (AP, January 4)
