Word: turkmenistan
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...crossroads between east and west in the desert nation of Turkmenistan, a quiet battle is under way for natural gas, oil and influence, and the U.S. and Europe are losing out to China and the Muslim world. There's a lot at stake: the Central Asian country has the world's fourth-largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil reserves, putting it in the same energy league as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq. Plus, its position just north of Afghanistan could be hugely beneficial to NATO as it seeks more reliable supply routes to its troops on the ground...
...place to 20th in this year's eighth annual world press freedom index. Atop the list, which is compiled based on questionnaires completed by hundreds of media experts and journalists worldwide, are a Scandinavian quartet - Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden - and Ireland. The bottom three spots are occupied by Turkmenistan (173rd), North Korea (174th) and, for the third year in the row, Eritrea (175th). The report calls these nations "the infernal trio ... where the media are so suppressed they are non-existent." In between those poles, a few other regions made notable moves this year. Though it's long been...
...while China needs Russia's vast energy reserves, it can afford to wait a little while. Beijing has already tapped into Central Asia's vast gas reserves. A new pipeline from Turkmenistan is scheduled to begin gas shipments to China in December via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, both gas-rich countries. China also has access to the world's largest natural gas field, the South Pars, which is shared by Iran and Qatar. In June, CNPC purchased a block of the Iran-owned South Pars field after the French energy giant Total walked away from the bid for fear of antagonizing...
...profile in the Muslim world still grows with its economic ambitions and interests. China's bottomless appetite for oil has led to its companies investing in every country along the Persian Gulf and other Muslim states. Chinese funds and labor are behind oil and gas fields from Sudan to Turkmenistan and are shaping lucrative megaprojects like the massive Aynak copper mine in Afghanistan...
...What They're Building in Turkmenistan: In a move that has raised environmentalists' eyebrows, this Central Asian nation has begun channeling water to a 770-sq.-mi. man-made lake in the middle of the vast Karakum Desert. Turkmen leaders say the lake will help plant life bloom and attract migratory birds, but experts argue that much of the water will simply evaporate and that the multibillion-dollar project could cause an ecological catastrophe...