What happened: Following major protests sparked by a hike in petrol prices, Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sacked his cabinet on Jan 5, and declared an emergency across the country’s capital city of Almaty, an oil-rich western province. Back-story: At the start of this year, the price per litre of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) at petrol stations in hydrocarbon-rich state of Mangystau, where up to 90% of vehicles rely on LPG, increased to 120 tenge i.e 28 US cents. The over 100% increase, which effectively doubled prices in the oil-rich region, sparked nationwide protests where people attacked vehicles and yelled “old man out” in reference to Tokayev’s still-powerful 81 year-old predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev who is the acting chairman of the Security Council. To prevent the protesters from assaulting the mayor’s office, police fired tear gas and stun grenades on the mob. Almaty’s police chief, Kanat Taymerdenov, said 120 vehicles were burned, which injured 500 civilians and dozens of businesses were destroyed as well. Officials also imposed a two-week curfew, including prohibition on mass gatherings. What’s next: Tokayev announced that he had ordered the temporary-acting cabinet to restore price limits and informed that the emergency decree has improved the situation in protest-hit cities. Meanwhile, the country’s interior ministry announced that more than 200 people were arrested for attacking government buildings across the country.