10 killed in clashes in Kazakhstan oil town

At least 10 people were killed Friday in violent clashes between police and demonstrators in an oil town in western Kazakhstan where workers have been protesting for higher wages, authorities said.

 Prosecutor General Askhat Daulbayev said in a statement that the mayor's office, a hotel and vehicles were set afire in Zhanaozen, a city of 90,000 in the far southwestern corner of the energy-rich Central Asian nation. The clashes appear to be some of the largest unrest to hit the former Soviet republic since it gained independence in 1991. (AP)