NIAZOV SLOW TO RECOVER.

According to Turkmen president Saparmurad Niazov’s Ashgabat office, the president may return home within a week from the Munich cardiological clinic where he is now convalescing. Niazov will need a "lull" in his work for the next two or three months, the office said. (Itar-Tass, September 15) Ashgabat has unsuccessfully requested that the next CIS summit be postponed from October to December in order for Niazov to attend. Niazov, 57, underwent emergency heart surgery during a visit to Germany on September 1.

Rumors Continue Over Alleged Plot to Kill Chubais.