Kazakhstan to help Quake-hit Uzbekistan

    President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed on Thursday condolences to his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, over the recent earthquake near the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border.
    At least 13 people were reported killed and dozens injured as the 8.0-quake hit Ferghana, an Uzbek city of some 200,000 residents, on Wednesday night.
    The city is just 42 km (25 miles) from the epicenter of the quake, located in Kyrgyzstan's Batken region.
    Hundreds of homes were also destroyed in Kyrgyzstan, although there were no reports of causalities.
    Nazarbayev also offered Kazakh assistance in the clean-up operation, a spokesman said, according to RIA Novosti.