5.6 magnitude earthquake hits Southern Philippines

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake off the coast of the island of Mindanao had a depth of 30 kilometres (18.6 miles), the USGS added.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology placed the epicentre about 43 kilometres southwest of the town of Maitum, located in a mountainous and sparsely populated area.

Local authorities told AFP early indications were that the quake had caused no significant damage.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 has struck Afghanistan, as reported by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

The earthquake occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning at 04:43 AM Indian Standard Time (IST).

The NCS shared the details in a post on X, saying that the earthquake occurred at Latitude 35.83 N, Longitude 70.60 E.

As per the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 75 kilometres.