New law in Turkmenistan cracks down sharply on alcohol sales

By: The Associated Press Posted:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan - A law sharply limiting the sale of alcohol has gone into effect in the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan, whose authoritarian president has made physical fitness a top initiative.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/01/2019 (2833 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan – A law sharply limiting the sale of alcohol has gone into effect in the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan, whose authoritarian president has made physical fitness a top initiative.

The law that took effect Tuesday forbids the sale of alcoholic drinks including beer on trains, airplanes and ferries and at sports facilities. It also bans the sale of alcohol on holidays when workers get the day off. The law calls for alcohol sales to be banned on Saturdays and Sundays beginning in 2021, except at bars and restaurants.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who has ruled the mostly Muslim Central Asian nation since late 2006 in an all-encompassing cult of personality, is frequently shown on state TV engaging in sports, including horse riding and weightlifting. He has vowed to make the country tobacco-free by 2025.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

Emelia Hellman / Geordie Theatre

Moving drama at MTYP gives voice to boy who changed law

Holly Harris 4 minute read Preview

Moving drama at MTYP gives voice to boy who changed law

Holly Harris 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:37 PM CDT

The heroic true tale of Norway House Cree Nation-born Jordan River Anderson came home Friday night, as Manitoba Theatre for Young People presented Yvette Nolan’s Jordan.

The touring production, a collaboration with Geordie Theatre, runs weekends through Oct. 11, with additional stops in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.

Having several of Anderson’s family members witness the local première underscored the evening with poignancy. Elder and Pine Creek First Nation member Barbara Nepinak added her own dignified presence and prayers following MTYP artistic director Pablo Felices-Luna’s welcoming remarks.

The season-opener also marks the Winnipeg-raised playwright’s homecoming; the Algonquin playwright, director, dramaturg, actor and educator was a fixture in our local theatre community for many years before going on to serve as artistic director for Native Earth Performing Arts from 2003 to ‘11, among other contributions.

Read
Yesterday at 2:37 PM CDT
MORGAN MODJESKI / FREE PRESS Sandra Shibata, vice-president with the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba, on Saturday stands next to a table displaying the names of people who were expelled to Manitoba after they were forcefully removed from the west coast in 1941. In the other room, the association was hosting a watch party for the unveiling of the Japanese Canadian Monument in Victoria B.C. one of 15 taking place across the country.

Winnipeggers witness unveiling of Japanese Canadian monument in B.C.

Morgan Modjeski 5 minute read Preview

Winnipeggers witness unveiling of Japanese Canadian monument in B.C.

Morgan Modjeski 5 minute read Yesterday at 8:39 PM CDT

As Miki Stewart gathered with her family at the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba on Saturday afternoon, she was thinking of her parents, Yoshimaru and Yoshi Abe.

Both Stewart, 80, and her sister Yumi Falk, 81, alongside an older brother, were born in the Tashme internment camp in British Columbia. They were among more than 2,600 Japanese Canadians who were forcefully removed and interred at the camp following the bombing of Pearl Harbour and Canada’s declaration of war on Japan in 1941.

“They didn’t talk much about how they suffered,” Stewart said of her parents. “But they did.”

She was amongst a group of more than 150 people who gathered at the association’s McPhillips headquarters on Saturday afternoon to watch the unveiling of the Japanese Canadian Monument in Victoria B.C.

Read
Yesterday at 8:39 PM CDT
INSTAGRAM Prediction contracts let you ‘invest’ in whether Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry will get married.

Broadening prediction-market gambling a bad idea

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Broadening prediction-market gambling a bad idea

Editorial 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

Let’s make a prediction: sooner or later, when Canadian governments find a way to take their own cut of the action, prediction-contract gambling on everything from sports to entertainment to political decisions is going to come to Canada.

And that’s a horrible, dangerous, pernicious idea.

Unless you have particular access to information — either inside information or strategic information based on skills or education — you’re not likely to make money at it. In fact, structurally, you’re likely to lose. In prediction markets, you basically pay an amount, plus fees from the company involved, to bet on whether something will or will not happen within a certain time frame. The amount you pay for your contract depends on how other people are also betting.

As Wealthsimple describes it, “You buy whichever side you think is right. Prices move with demand, so if the market leans towards one outcome, the more that side costs. If a lot of people are backing the TSX to finish above 38,000, yes gets more expensive and no gets cheaper.”

Read
Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT
Alessandra Tarantino / Invision Files Susan Sarandon

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: Caution! Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions until after 6:30 p.m. today. After that, the moon moves from Cancer into Leo.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Don’t expect much co-operation from partners, spouses and close friends. This is why you might feel cut off from others or a bit lonely. There’s the sense a gulf exists between you and everyone else. But this is temporary. Courage!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Read
2:00 AM CDT
Winnipeg Jet Tyrel Bauer (77) and Boston Bruin Mark Kastelic (47) fight during the first period in Winnipeg on Friday.

Living the dream

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Preview

Living the dream

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Yesterday at 4:48 PM CDT

DETROIT – As Tyrel Bauer took a left turn out of the tunnel from the Winnipeg Jets dressing room and into the stands, he was met with a hearty round of applause from the 25 friends and family members who had made the trek from various points around North America.

Bauer had just realized a childhood dream and the significance of the moment was not lost on some of his biggest supporters.

“It was a special walk, for sure. A special walk,” Bauer said on Saturday afternoon before the Jets departed for a two-game road trip that begins on Sunday in Detroit against the Red Wings. “Those people who came – and many more that weren’t there and were cheering on from afar – they’ve always been there.

“I wanted that for my family, maybe even more than I wanted it for me. They’ve been through thick and thin. I’ve stressed mom out quite a bit over the years doing my job. That meant a lot for them and I’m really happy they could be there for it.”

Read
Yesterday at 4:48 PM CDT

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |