Kazakhstan

The 23-year-old is bringing her adopted country its first singles trophy at a major tournament.

A New Year's Day doubling of gas prices sent shock waves through the country, sparking deadly unrest that has engulfed the Central Asian nation. But the origins of discontent run much deeper.

Karim Masimov has been arrested on charges of attempting to overthrow the government following violent protests that the president has blamed on foreign-backed terrorists.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev opened the door for a dramatic escalation in a crackdown on anti-government protests that have turned violent.

Here are some of the images of the unrest this week in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, where the authoritarian government is fighting to quash large public protests.

Russia-led alliance troops arrived in Kazakhstan on Thursday after increasingly chaotic and violent protests rocked the nation for days and resulted in dozens of people killed and hundreds injured.

The country is welcoming a chance to boost its profile through the new movie featuring the fictional journalist Borat. And as one young Kazakhstani puts it, "This is a parody of American society."

The plane was a Dutch-built Fokker 100 aircraft operated by Bek Air, which bills itself as Kazakhstan's first low-cost carrier. Officials said the plane's tail hit the runway twice during takeoff.

Serikjan Bilash signed a plea deal after Kazakh officials charged him with "inciting ethnic tensions" for his work documenting repression against Kazakhs and in China's Xinjiang region.

Muslim minorities in the northwestern region are targets of a sweeping security operation. Officials say most residents have been returned to society, but relatives say many are sentenced to prison.

Nazarbayev is the only president Kazakhstan has ever known. He first rose to authority as a Communist Party official — and he's been accused of human rights abuses.

The announcement, from Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry, comes after reports of massive repression of ethnic Muslim minorities in far western China.