Turkmenistan

Bulgaria is ranked lower in the World Press Freedom Index 2017 than any other European Union member, Reporters Without Borders said in its annual report on the index, quoted by BGNES.

The 2017 World Press Freedom Index prepared annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) saw Turkey decline by four points compared to last year due to an "unprecedented purge" under the state of emergency declared after the July 2016 coup attempt. 

The Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch condemned the U.N.’s election of Saudi Arabia, “the world’s most misogynistic regime,” to a 2018-2022 term on its Commission on the Status of Women, the U.N. agency “exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.”

Members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council voted on March 28 in favor of raising the KRG flag over official buildings during a meeting that was boycotted by Turkmen and Arabs.

On April 1, the Iraqi parliament in a session voted against the decision of the Kirkuk Provincial Council.

Turkey will not accept any attempt to declare independence in northern Iraq and to incorporate Kirkuk into the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said, vowing they will continue to stand with Iraqi Turkmen groups. 

A city council in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk has approved raising the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) flag over official buildings, receiving protests from Turkmen and Arab members of the council. 

Both Turkey and the United Nations had expressed their concerns over such a move.  

Serdar Berdymukhamedov, the only son of Turkmenistan's longtime president has become a senior lawmaker.

The government daily Neutral Turkmenistan reported on March 21 that Serdar Berdymukhamedov has become the chairman of the parliament's legal affairs committee. 

He previously had served as head of the Foreign Ministry's information department.

Turkmenistan's strongman Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was sworn in Feb. 17 in a grand ceremony after securing over 97 percent of an almost uncontested vote at the weekend.

Berdymukhamedov, 59, kissed the state flag three times and stood on a white sheep wool carpet symbolizing a "bright path and kind deeds." The ceremony was attended by around 2,500 people.

Turkey's construction firms have clinched record-high deals abroad and obtained considerable know-how and experience in realizing top-tier projects. Thanks to such crucial projects, Turkish construction firms recently ranked second on the list of national companies undertaking construction projects abroad, just behind Chinese companies. 

Turkmenistan's reigning strongman Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov bagged a new seven-year term with nearly 98 percent of a weakly contested vote, electoral officials said on Feb. 13, following a preliminary count.