Deputy PM named Turkmenistan's interim president

Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has assumed the interim presidency after the death of Saparmurat Niyazov early Thursday, Turkmenistan's national security council announced.

Niyazov, 66, died of a sudden heart failure at 01:10 a.m. local time, Turkmenistan's state television reported.

Source: Xinhua