Turkmen leader names channel after himself

The leader of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, has launched a television channel named after himself.

It's called the Epoch of Turkmenbashi and will broadcast programmes five hours a day on Turkmen history, culture and traditions. Mr Niyazov has styled himself Turkmenbashi, or Father of the Turkmens. Apart from the two existing state owned channels, viewers can also see programmes from Russian television, but they're heavily edited.

Correspondents say that since he was elected unopposed as president in 1990, Mr Niyazov has built a personality cult unrivalled in the former Soviet Union.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service