Turkmenistan is ready to sell some of its vast gas reserves to Europe, a state-run newspaper reported today, quoting the country’s president.

DAVID Healy made sure that Nigel Worthington got off to a winning start as Northern Ireland manager last night.

Turkmenistan’s acting president today announced the date for elections to replace the ex-Soviet republic’s late long-ruling dictator will be set next Tuesday.

Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov has died, Turkmen state television reported today.

A helicopter used by the International Committee of the Red Cross for its quake relief operations has gone missing with seven crew aboard, an official said today.

Ukraine has dug in its heels in a bitter dispute with Russia over gas deliveries, with its president Viktor Yushchenko rejecting Vladimir Putin’s offer of a multi-billion loan to help the country adjust to a huge increase in Moscow prices.

Turkmenistan says it will cut off all gas supplies to Ukraine from midnight today over the lack of a contract for 2005, in a move that could deal a sharp blow to the Ukrainian economy.

Britain is the 11th-least corrupt nation in the world, according to new survey which says oil wealth and corruption go hand in hand.

ISLAMIC leaders will gather in Qatar tomorrow Wednesday for an emergency summit in yet another 11th-hour bid by a regional organisation to convince the US to forgo plans to invade and occupy Iraq.

Saddam Hussein is relying on an army of spies to help him realise his dream of building a nuclear bomb, defence analysts said today.