WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- While the Western press has largely fixated on the intense international struggle over the Caspian's hydrocarbon riches, farther east in Mongolia another rivalry is brewing between Russia and competitors for another valuable energy source -- uranium. Moscow has established a commanding lead to develop the country's energy reserves, and its dominance seems likely only to grow with time.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Global warming has opened up previously inaccessible areas along the Norwegian, Canadian, U.S. and Russian coasts and triggered a rush to define regional waters and exclusive economic zones in order to stake claims to the region’s largely untapped energy reserves. Now Russia is taking its intentions a step further by intending to build a series of floating nuclear power stations in order to provide electricity to a number of hydrocarbon development projects in what the Kremlin calls "energy-unavailability areas."

WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The Russian Federation currently operates 10 nuclear power plants housing 31 reactor units, which supply approximately 16 percent of Russia's energy needs. The government of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has ambitious expansion plans; during an April 15 meeting on the development of the country’s nuclear-energy program with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corp. head Sergei Kiriyenko, Putin said starkly, "We need to build 26 units." He added, "We have formed extremely ambitious, but fully realistic, plans. By 2030, the share of nuclear generation in (Russia's) overall energy production should total 25-30 percent."

WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- Mention Mongolia to most people, and their minds conjure up hordes of bloodthirsty horsemen under Genghis Khan sweeping across Eurasia's vast grasslands, cutting a swathe of terror and destruction. In a world increasingly concerned with reliable sources of energy, however, Mongolia is rapidly becoming a major player, and an international race is on to secure access to one of its most valuable mineralogical deposits, uranium.

VOLGODONSK, Russia, March 21 (UPI) -- Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin said Saturday his country could soon sign an agreement with Japan over civilian nuclear power.

WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- On March 1, 2009, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, said Iran has stockpiled enough fissile material to build a nuclear bomb. This is the first such definitive commentary from a senor Pentagon official.

BUSHEHR, Iran, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Russia and Iran are holding discussions regarding a possible joint venture to operate the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran.

BUSHEHR, Iran, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The trial start-up of the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran is in the realm of peaceful use of nuclear energy, a U.S. State Department spokesman said Wednesday

MOSCOW, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Russia's Rosatom Nuclear Energy State Corp. said it is ready to move forward with a bilateral agreement with Japan to work on nuclear power.