Kazakhstan

Karim Massimov, the former head of Kazakhstan's national security committee, was arrested for 'treason' amid a slew of gov't actions to slow the uprising.

Kazakhstan has been in a state of civil unrest since January 3, in response to price caps being removed from butane and propane on January 1.

'The upward jump in oil prices mostly reflects the market jitters as unrest escalates in Kazakhstan and the political situation in Libya continues to deteriorate and sideline oil output.'

The president said forces carried out a "counter-terrorist" operation, and ordered law enforcement agencies and the army "to shoot to kill without warning."

The Kazakh interior ministry said in a separate statement that 26 "armed criminals" had been "liquidated" and more than 3,000 of them detained, while 18 police and national guard servicemen died.

As Russian paratroopers arrived in Kazakhstan, an oil-rich state long viewed as a bastion of stability in volatile Central Asia, police in Almaty said they had killed dozens of rioters.

There is a sense that the US role in Central Asia could be in decline and authoritarian regimes will want to make sure that no instability spreads from Kazakhstan.

Armored personnel carriers and troops arrived in Almaty on Thursday. Internet in the country is mostly shut down. Eight police and national guard troops killed, 1,000 people injured during protests

There still remains tremendous potential for the two countries to reach full economic cooperation in the areas of technological and agricultural development, as well as in many other areas.

Her lengthy and numerous features about organizational Jewry, Jewish history and culture, and life in Israel, began with cinematographic anecdotes and pressed on with urgent, compelling prose.