More than 5,000 people have been arrested in Kazakhstan over the riots that have shaken the country in the past week, Kazakh authorities have said.
Kazakhstan’s health ministry said 164 people were killed in protests that have rocked the country over the past week.
In total, 5,135 people have been detained for questioning as part of 125 investigations into the unrest, the interior ministry told local media on Sunday.
The sharp rise sparked unrest a week ago in western provincial areas that quickly reached major cities.
Riots erupted in Almaty, the former capital, and police opened fire using live rounds.
About 19 million people live in the energy-rich ex-Soviet state, Central Asia’s largest country.
The interior ministry, quoted on Sunday by local media, said initial estimates put property damage at about €175 million ($198m).
More than 100 businesses and banks were attacked and looted and more than 400 vehicles destroyed, the ministry said.
“Today the situation is stabilised in all regions of the country,” Interior Minister Erlan Turgumbayev said.
But he also said: “The counter-terror operation is continuing in a bid to re-establish order in the country.”
There is no evidence that the riots are related to terrorism.
A relative calm appeared to return to Almaty, with police sometimes firing shots into the air to stop people approaching its central square, an AFP correspondent said on Saturday.
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
