Turkmenistan has denied entry to dozens of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports.

Without any set agenda, there was little information emerging from an informal summit of Caspian littoral leaders in Kazakhstan and it was unclear whether any formal conclusions were expected

There seems to be an unusual sense of urgency on the part of some of the leaders who will be in Aktau

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is coming to Russia looking for public support for the idea of forming a "gas OPEC," an idea that Russia, with the largest natural gas reserves in the world, has already been considering