Kazakh Dictator quits after 30 years

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Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only man to lead the country since it emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, has resigned.

In a televised address, he said the decision was "not easy" but he wanted to help "a new generation of leaders".

Mr Nazarbayev, 78, has been largely unchallenged as leader of the oil-rich nation since 1989.

He will retain much of his influence as head of the governing party.

Mr Nazarbayev will remain at the helm of the influential security council and will hold the formal title Leader of the Nation.