Turkmenistan reduces 50-year fire dubbed 'Gateway to Hell'
The fire has been burning in the Karakum desert since 1971, when Soviet scientists accidentally drilled into an underground pocket of gas and then decided to ignite it.
The blaze has been spewing out massive quantities of methane, a gas that contributes to climate change, ever since.
Officials said the fire -- which has become the reclusive country's top tourist attraction -- had been reduced three-fold, without specifying the time frame.
"Whereas before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name 'Gateway to Hell', today only a faint source of combustion remains," said Irina Luryeva, a director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz.
Numerous wells have been drilled around the fire to capture methane, she said at an environmental conference in the capital Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan -- one of the world's most closed countries -- is estimated to have the world's fourth largest gas reserves.
It is the world's biggest emitter of methane through gas leaks, according to the International Energy Agency -- a claim denied by the authorities.
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France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Turkmenistan reduces 50-year fire dubbed 'Gateway to Hell'
The fire has been burning in the Karakum desert since 1971, when Soviet scientists accidentally drilled into an underground pocket of gas and then decided to ignite it. The blaze has been spewing out massive quantities of methane, a gas that contributes to climate change, ever since. Officials said the fire -- which has become the reclusive country's top tourist attraction -- had been reduced three-fold, without specifying the time frame. "Whereas before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name 'Gateway to Hell', today only a faint source of combustion remains," said Irina Luryeva, a director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz. Numerous wells have been drilled around the fire to capture methane, she said at an environmental conference in the capital Ashgabat. Turkmenistan -- one of the world's most closed countries -- is estimated to have the world's fourth largest gas reserves. It is the world's biggest emitter of methane through gas leaks, according to the International Energy Agency -- a claim denied by the authorities.
Euronews
27-05-2025
- Euronews
Don't miss these must-see sights on your next trip to Astana
Astana is a modern capital rising from the Kazakh steppe, known for its futuristic architecture, extreme climate, and role as a Central Asian political and cultural hub. The city defines itself in many ways – as a business centre, a cultural haven, a gastronomical pole, and more. Recently, it's made strides to become a hotspot for international events. Over 500 events took place in Astana last year, attracting 13% more tourists to the city than the year before, according to Olga Abeldinova, Director of Tourist Services and Infrastructure Department at the Tourism Development Centre 'Astana Tourism'. 'We invite Class A stars, which attracts tourists from neighbouring countries and increases the status of the city,' Abeldinova said. 'If Hollywood stars come here, it connotes a certain security and trust.' Abeldinova highlighted Jennifer Lopez's concert in April 2025 and Andy Serkis headlining Astana Comic Con 2025 as examples of top-billed stars visiting the city. Whether you're in Astana for an event or just visiting as tourist, the city has something to offer every type of traveller. Don't miss our favourite attractions and monuments on your next trip to the Kazakh capital. The first thing any resident of Astana will likely tell you to visit is Baiterek – a soaring beacon that watches over every part of the city, which has become its de facto symbol. The 105-metre tower at the centre of the left bank was inspired by a Kazakh legend, and represents the Tree of Life with a golden egg at its top. There's a small ethnographic museum on the ground floor of the tower, and a panoramic deck on the top floor, where you can enjoy sweeping views of the city – with the 'Akorda' Presidential Residence on one side and the Nurly Zhol Boulevard on the other. To enjoy the view, or perhaps touch the palm print of the first Kazakh President, you will need to pay a 2,000 KZT (€3.5) entrance fee. For more cityscapes, you can also catch a hop-on/hop-off bus service here that will take you to the main tourist sites across the capital. From Baiterek, an easily accessible next stop is Nurly Zhol Boulevard – the perfect place for a leisurely stroll. It starts at the Presidential Residence and stretches all the way to the Khan Shatyr mall, which is built to look like a large tent. As you make your way down the Boulevard, you will see the administrative centre of the city, with ministry buildings and national company offices, as well as cafes, fountains, and a sprinkling of unique sculptures. Like Paris or Budapest, the city of Astana is divided by the Ishim River (Yessil in Kazakh) into left and right banks. The right bank is an older part of the city, featuring mainly Soviet style architecture, while the left bank is the newer, more futuristic part of town, full of glittering high rises. When the weather is nice, especially in summer, locals flock to the riverside on the right bank to take pictures at the beautiful Atyrau bridge and cross the Seruen Bridge into the Amusement Park. If you want to enjoy the river while seeing as many of Astana's landmarks as you can, taking a ferry is the way to go. A 45-minute ride will cost you 4,000 KZT (€7) at the small booth hidden by the trees. Islam is the largest religion practiced in Kazakhstan, so it is no surprise that it has awe-inspiring mosques. Opened in 2022, Astana Grand Mosque is the newest attraction in the city. The 68,062 square metre house of worship is the largest mosque in Central Asia. It can accommodate almost 250,000 people at the same time, making it one of the top 10 in the world. Hazrat Sultan Mosque is a little smaller in comparison but is still a beautiful example of religious architecture. Both mosques are adorned with ornate carpets, majestic chandeliers, verses from the Quran, and Kazakh ornaments. Entrances to mosques are free but be sure to wear proper clothing – for women, that means covering head, shoulders, and knees and for men, avoiding shorts. To dive deeper into the history and culture of Kazakhstan and the nomadic people that inhabited its territory you should pay a visit to the National Museum. The biggest museum in Central Asia is home to many historic artefacts as well as contemporary art pieces. It also has a separate exhibition hall for temporary exhibition. 'Last year, the museum hosted the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit, in partnership with Italy, and it gathered a lot of international visitors,' said Olga Abeldinova. The exhibition centred on La Bella Principessa, a portrait of an Italian noblewoman, which was exhibited only five times before. Ticket prices vary depending on which halls you want to see, but the basic entrance fee is 700 KZT (€1.2). The most convenient thing about Independence Square is that it gathers many of the places worth seeing in Astana in one location. Both the National Museum and the Hazret Sultan Mosque are located here, as well as the Independence Palace and the Shabyt Arts University. The latter two both feature unusual architecture, but serve as more functional buildings than classic tourist attractions. The square's centrepiece is the Kazakh Eli Monument, which celebrates Kazakhstan's 1991 independence. The four sides of the monument represent the country's past and future, as well as its people. Across from Independence Square, you will see the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, known to locals as the Pyramid. Initially built for the session of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, it now serves as a city landmark. Inside you'll find a hall for events, an opera hall and an exhibition venue, which you can visit for 1,000 KZT (€1.7). The Pyramid is situated in the Presidential Park, which stretches to the river and meets the Presidential Palace on the other side. It can be accessed from Nurly Zhol Boulevard, but you would have to loop around to cross the river. These sights will give you a taste of what Astana is all about, but the city is in constant flux, with new attractions appearing all the time. Astana is also home to many parks, an oceanarium, opera and ballet houses, and much more – just follow your curiosity and this welcoming city will gladly reward you. If you have been to Rio de Janeiro' beaches, this probably sounds familiar: samba music drifting from a nearby kiosk, caipirinha cocktails sold by hawkers, chairs sprawled across the sand. Now that may become harder to find, unless the vendors have the right permits. Mayor Eduardo Paes issued a decree in mid-May establishing new rules for the city's waterfront saying he wants to preserve urban order, public safety and the environment, as well as promote peaceful relations between tourists and residents. The new measures are due to come into force on 1 June, and they outlaw food and drink sales, chair rentals, loudspeakers and even live music in kiosks without official permits. Beach huts will only be allowed to have a number rather than the often-creative names many are currently known by. Some have welcomed the move to tackle what they perceive as chaotic activity on the beach, but others say the decree threatens Rio's dynamic beach culture and the livelihoods of many musicians and local vendors who may find it difficult or impossible to get permits. The move to regulate music on Rio's beachfronts has struck a particular nerve. 'It's difficult to imagine Rio de Janeiro without bossa nova, without samba on the beach,' said Julio Trindade, who works as a DJ in the kiosks. 'While the world sings the Girl from Ipanema, we won't be able to play it on the beach.' The restrictions on music amounts to 'silencing the soul of the waterfront. It compromises the spirit of a democratic, musical, vibrant, and authentic Rio,' Orla Rio, a concessionaire who manages more than 300 kiosks, said in a statement. Some are seeking ways to stop the implementation of the decree or at least modify it to allow live music without a permit. But so far to little avail. The nonprofit Brazilian Institute of Citizenship, which defends social and consumer rights, filed a lawsuit last week requesting the suspension of the articles restricting live music, claiming that the measure compromises the free exercise of economic activity. A judge ruled that the group is not a legitimate party to present a complaint, and the nonprofit is appealing the decision. Last week, Rio's municipal assembly discussed a bill that aims to regulate the use of the coastline, including beaches and boardwalks. It backs some aspects of the decree such as restricting amplified music on the sand but not the requirement that kiosks have permits for live musicians. The proposal still needs to formally be voted on, and it's not clear if that will happen before 1 June. If approved, the bill will take precedence over the decree. Economic activity on Rio's beaches, excluding kiosks, bars and restaurants, generates an estimated 4 billion reais (around €621 million) annually, according to a 2022 report by Rio's City Hall. Millions of foreigners and locals hit Rio's beaches every year and many indulge in sweet corn, grilled cheese or even a bikini or electronic devices sold by vendors on the sprawling sands. Local councilwoman Dani Balbi lashed out against the bill on social media. 'What's the point of holding big events with international artists and neglecting the people who create culture every day in the city?' she said last week on Instagram, in reference to the huge concerts by Lady Gaga earlier this month and Madonna last year. 'Forcing stallholders to remove the name of their businesses and replace it with numbers compromises the brand identity and the loyalty of customers, who use that location as a reference,' Balbi added. News of the decree seeking to crack down on unregistered hawkers provoked ripples of anger and fear among peddlers. 'It's tragic,' said Juan Marcos, a 24-year-old who sells prawns on sticks on Copacabana beach and lives in a nearby favela, or low-income urban community. 'We rush around madly, all to bring a little income into the house. What are we going to do now?' City Hall doesn't give enough permits to hawkers on the beach, said Maria de Lourdes do Carmo, 50, who heads the United Street Vendors' Movement — known by its acronym MUCA. 'We need authorisations, but they're not given,' said Lourdes do Carmo, who is known as Maria of the Street Vendors. The city government did not respond to a request for the number of authorisations given last year. Following the outcry, the city government emphasised that some rules were already in place in a 21 May statement. The town hall added that it is talking to all affected parties to understand their demands and is considering adjustments. Maria Lucia Silva, a 65-year-old resident of Copacabana who was walking back from the seafront with a pink beach chair under her arm, said she had been expecting City Hall to act. 'Copacabana is a neighbourhood for elderly people (… ). Nobody pays a very high property tax or absurd rents to have such a huge mess,' Silva said, slamming the noise and pollution on the beach. For Rebecca Thompson, 53, who hails from Wales and was visiting Rio again after a five-week trip last year, the frenzy is part of the charm. 'There's vibrancy, there's energy. For me, there's always been a strong sense of community and acceptance. I think it would be very sad if that were to go,' she said.
France 24
29-04-2025
- France 24
Croatia hotel toasts dizzying century of stars, sovereigns and champagne
The most glamorous and storied hotel in the Balkans is 100 years old this month and is still packing in the stars from Shakira to David Beckham. Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev were both guests in its heyday with a galaxy of Hollywood legends from Elizabeth Taylor to Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock crossing the Iron Curtain to hang out in its Art Deco bar. Others came to gamble in its casino -- the only one allowed in then Communist Yugoslavia. Robert Mitchum, Pierce Brosnan and Richard Chamberlain all starred in films shot in the hotel, which was built close to the Croatian capital's main railway station to accommodate passengers on the Orient Express, the luxury train that ran between Paris and Istanbul. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II loved its Dalmatian seafood dishes so much she asked to see the chef before presenting him with a gold coin. But it has not been all glitz for the grand hotel since it opened its doors for the first time on April 22, 1925. Gestapo The Nazis turned it into a Gestapo headquarters during World War II and it served as a soup kitchen for the city's starving population after the Germans surrendered to Yugoslav partisans in May 1945. From the beginning, the Esplanade was the centre of Zagreb's social whirl, hosting the Danish silent screen superstar Asta Nielsen as well as Josephine Baker, the US-born queen of the Paris cabarets, who was greeted by a huge crowd on her arrival. Despite calls to ban her notorious banana skirt dance, Baker's Zagreb show went ahead. In 1964 the Esplanade became the first Eastern European hotel to join the US Intercontinental Hotels Corporation, which was owned by the Pan Am airline. "It was revolutionary," former manager Amelia Tomasevic told AFP. In those days "the West and capitalist way of doing business were not (seen as) compatible with socialism," she added. But somehow the "larger than life" hotel pulled it off, hosting fashion shows from top French designers and serving French cheeses and champagne by the glass. 'Window on world' "The Esplanade was a window on the world for Zagreb and the whole country... bringing a lot of good, interesting and international things during rather difficult times," Tomasevic said. The great Croatian writer Miroslav Krleza described the hotel's Oleander Terrace, a popular dining venue with a beautiful view, as the "border between Europe and the Balkans". And during the Balkan wars of the 1990s it was the de facto headquarters for many foreign journalists. But since the conflict ended in 1995 the hotel has gone back to hosting an ever-changing cast of celebrity guests. General manager Ivica Max Krizmanic said he has been under the Esplanade's spell for 33 years. He began working there while a student as a doorman "but I'm still here", he joked. "I fell in love with the hotel, it got under my skin." He stayed on to work as a porter, concierge and on reception before becoming manager 13 years ago. And guests also pick up on that too, with French businessman Benjamin Besquent saying its "nice to stay in a hotel with history". © 2025 AFP
