Dozens of Israeli fighter jets have attacked more than 100 targets in Gaza, the Israel Defence Forces said on Tuesday morning.

Among them had been tunnel shafts and military installations used by Palestinian extremist organisation Hamas, according to the IDF.

At least 52 people were killed in the attacks, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza.

A terrorist cell in Jabalia that had attempted to plant explosives near an Israeli tank was eliminated overnight, the IDF report said.

It added that ground troops had targeted the fighters before they were killed by a fighter jet. It was not possible to independently verify the claims.

Hamas fighters had also been killed the previous day in the southern city of Khan Younis, the army added.

Israel’s army has stepped up its operations against Hamas after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a troop visit to the sealed-off coastal strip that Israel would “intensify the fight in the coming days.”

The Israeli army’s offensive to eliminate Hamas from Gaza was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other groups on October 7.

Around 1,200 people were killed and about 240 were taken hostage, some of whom were later released during a brief truce.

Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in which more than 20,600 people have been killed so far, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

Capital city of Switzerland, Bern, is considering a test run of allowing drug users to buy cocaine for recreational use, Deutsche Welle reported in what marks the latest stride in evolving international discourse on drugs.

The city’s parliament supported the novel adjustment which means relaxation of strict drug laws.

It comes after politicians and experts expressed reservations about the current complete ban which they describe as ineffective.

Recent waste water analysis revealed a high residue of the drug which indicates that about five per cent of the population uses cocaine according to Thilo Beck, head psychiatrist at the Arud Center for Addiction Medicine.

“Control and legalisation can do better than mere repression,” a member of the Bern Council, Eva Chen said. Ms Chen who is a member of the Alternative Left party said that the country has to look out for new ideas.

“The war on drugs has failed, and we have to look at new ideas,” she said.The country’s cocaine use is one of the highest in Europe with Zurich, Basel, and Geneva featuring on the list of top 10 cities battling drug use.

Addiction Switzerland, a non-governmental organisation, also affirmed that the country’s cities are experiencing a surge in the use of the drug with the price being slashed by half in the last five years making it increasingly affordable.

The deputy director at Addiction Switzerland, Frank Zobel, said the drug is currently at the cheapest prices and highest quality.

“We have a lot of cocaine in Switzerland right now, at the cheapest prices and the highest quality we have ever seen,” he said.

“You can get a dose of cocaine for about 10 francs these days, not much more than the price for a beer.”Other members of the parliament further clarified that they are looking at a “scientifically supervised pilot scheme trial.”

“We are still far away from potential legalisation, but we should look at new approaches,” Ms Chen added.

Beyonce’s childhood home has reportedly been gutted by fire.

The fire incident broke out at the home in Houston, Texas, on Monday, according to Daily Mail.

Firefighters responded to the incident and put out flames at the house reported to be the childhood home of the American singer and songwriter, Beyoncé Knowles, where she lived from birth to age five, Daily Mail reported.

The Houston Fire Department got the call around 2 am and arrived at the home at Rosedale Street to find the two-story home under heavy fire.

The firefighters reportedly arrived about three minutes after the initial call and the first arriving firetrucks got the bulk of the fire knocked down in the first 10 minutes.

They also had to cut into the roof to clear the attic and eaves of the fire.

The report added that the couple living in the home and their two young children escaped the fire in their pyjamas, and no one was injured.

The leader of a notorious paramilitary group in Brazil wanted for a multitude of crimes, handed himself over to police on Sunday, the authorities said.

The head of Rio de Janeiro state’s biggest paramilitary group, Luis Antonio da Silva Braga, better known as Zinho, had been on the run since 2018 and is the subject of at least a dozen outstanding warrants, according to a police statement issued late Sunday.

“Zinho” has been designated the state’s “public enemy Number 1.

“He handed himself over to the Federal Police in southeast Rio on Sunday and was arrested, said the statement.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino hailed the arrest on X Monday as a victory “in the fight against criminal groups.

“Militia groups sprung up some four decades ago from the ranks of former police, soldiers, firefighters, and prison guards as community self-defense units against the threat posed by drug gangs in the city known for its picturesque beaches but also its violent crime.

Initially well-meaning, they later started extorting “protection” money from businesses and took control of service provision to inhabitants of Rio’s poor favelas.

They have in recent years expanded into drug trafficking and money laundering.

The militias control more than half of Rio’s territory, imposing a reign of terror in poor neighborhoods home to more than two million people, according to a 2020 study by a consortium of universities, online watchdog platforms and a government anti-crime hotline.

In October, the killing by police of a nephew and lieutenant of Zinho saw militia members torch 35 buses and a train drivers’ cabin in Rio.

The same month, the militias were blamed for the murders of three doctors visiting Rio for a conference after one was apparently mistaken for the leader of a rival group.

In a groundbreaking move, Lagos Free Zone, the first privately owned zone in Nigeria, is poised to attract increased foreign direct investments from the United States.

This surge is attributed to the zone’s exceptional infrastructure and a plethora of incentives, including its integration with the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

The United States Consul General, William Stevens, leading a delegation from the United States Consulate General, expressed this optimism following a comprehensive tour of companies and facilities within the Lagos Free Zone.

Stevens lauded the impressive and outstanding business relationship between Tolaram and US companies.

According to him, through the opportunities at the Lagos Free Zone, investors from the United States of America have deepened penetration in the Nigerian market by introducing world-class goods and services to Nigerians.

He noted that the influx of investments from US companies would not only fortify the economic ties between Nigeria and the USA but also underscored the unique incentives offered by the Lagos Free Zone for US companies looking to establish a robust presence in the Nigerian market.

“It is amazing to see the partnership between Tolaram and US companies and the opportunities therein. We are constantly looking at how we can attract more American companies to this market both in terms of investment and trade,” he said.

Dinesh Rathi, the Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Free Zone, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the Zone remains the preferred investment destination, showcasing world-class infrastructure and enticing incentives for potential investors.

During the delegation’s tour of companies within the Zone, Dinesh highlighted that LFZ provides the optimal environment for conducting business, having effectivelyaddressed regulatory permit challenges and infrastructural hurdles.

He underscored the Zone’s role in redefining the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, offering incentives and infrastructure that foster a conducive economic climate, thereby promoting trade and investment.

The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, NVMA, has condemned the killing of two elephant calves in Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.

The association also noted that it has received with deep pain, reports of killings of two booted eagles which migrated from Europe but met their sad ends in Kebbi and Sokoto states.

The association made these declarations via a statement signed by its President, Dr. Moses Arokoyo.

Arokoyo in the statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday described the killing of the two elephants on 17th December 2023 as unfortunate.

He also decried the killing of the two eagles.

He said, “The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association condemns totally and in all ramifications, the brutal killing of two (2) young defenceless elephant calves at Kala Balge LGA of Borno State on December 17, 2023.

“This inhumane act depicts the premeditated and willful termination of a harmless and defenceless creature’s life, it also infringes on the animal’s right to live, which is our duty to protect as Veterinarians.

“In the same vein, we have also received with deep pain, reports of killings of two booted eagles which migrated from Europe but met their sad ends in Kebbi and Sokoto States, Nigeria.

“We wish to inform our colleagues and the entire veterinary community that the Nigerian National Park Service is already being engaged on the issue and in line with further investigations, the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association will work in collaboration with the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to get a sustainable solution to the continued Animal brutality as this is becoming of increasing concern.

“It is also worthy to note that this act may not be unconnected to lack of awareness and sensitivity about the significance of wildlife conservation and options of non-lethal methods of self preservation to mitigate threats from these endangered wildlife species.”

A 26-year-old Nigerian Master’s student at Dundee University, Scotland, Somtochukwu Okwuoha, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for making terrorist threats against staff and students of the school.

According to a BBC report, Okwuoha, an international energy studies student, would also be deported after a Peth Sheriff Court found him guilty of the charge.

Witnesses revealed how the student had claimed to have a military background and was capable of making bombs and unleashing a deadly virus on the city.

Okwuoha, who arrived in the United Kingdom in 2021, also stated that he had enlisted the terror group, ISIS, to help bomb the university and told staff of his plan to target the city in a chemical attack.

Sheriff William Wood said, “Your presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good, and I make a recommendation for your deportation in due course.

“You were abusive towards her and tried to have her removed from her university course,” after he had threatened a fellow female student who refused his advances.

“The university decided to suspend you from your course and you turned your attention towards staff. You threatened mass murder, terrorism, said you would plant bombs and use biological weapons,” the charge read.

Okwuoha, a prisoner at Perth, was found guilty of threatening to murder staff at the university and committing terrorist crimes between December 2021 and June 2022.

He was found guilty of threatening to commit mass murder, using biological weapons, revealing staff details to international authorities and claiming to have planted bombs.

He was also found guilty of threatening to behead police officers and detonate bombs he had planted at Dundee University.

The Czech Republic is holding a day of national mourning for those killed in Thursday’s mass shooting at a Prague university.

Flags on official buildings are being flown at half-mast and a minute’s silence will be observed at midday.

Fourteen people were shot dead at the Faculty of Arts building of Charles University in the capital by a student who then killed himself.

Police are working to uncover the motive behind the attack.

It is one of the deadliest assaults by a lone gunman in Europe this century.

Those killed in Thursday’s attack included Lenka Hlavkova, head of the Institute of Musicology at the university.

Other victims were named as translator and Finnish literature expert Jan Dlask and student Lucie Spindlerova.

The shooting began at around 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT) at the Faculty of Arts building off Jan Palach Square in the centre of the Czech capital.

The gunman opened fire in the corridors and classrooms of the building, before shooting himself as security forces closed in on him, police say.

US tourist Hannah Mallicoat told the BBC that she and her family had been on Jan Palach Square during the attack.

“A crowd of people were crossing the street when the first shot hit. I thought it was something like a firecracker or a car backfire until I heard the second shot and people started running,” she said.

“I saw a bullet hit the ground on the other side of the square about 30ft [9m] away before ducking into a store. The whole area was blocked off and dozens of police cars and ambulances were going towards the university.

“In a statement, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the country had been shocked by this “horrendous act”.

“It is hard to find the words to express condemnation on the one hand and, on the other, the pain and sorrow that our entire society is feeling in these days before Christmas.

“The gunman is thought to have killed his father at a separate location. He is also suspected in the killing of a young man and his two-month-old daughter who were found dead in a forest on the outskirts of Prague on 15 December.

Founded in 1347, Charles University is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest such institutions in Europe.

More than 700 Airbus Atlantic staff are believed to have fallen ill following the company’s Christmas dinner, health authorities in France have said.

Workers from the aerospace group’s site in western France were left suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea, according to the ARS health agency.

It is unclear what was on the menu at the festive feast turned nightmare before Christmas.

Airbus did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Airbus Atlantic is a subsidiary of the world’s largest aircraft maker, Airbus, and employs 15,000 people in five countries.

ARS did not provide details about exactly what food might have made people ill at the dinner, which took place last week, but it did say earlier on Friday that diners showed “clinical signs of vomiting or diarrhoea”.

An investigation was being launched to find the source of the mass food poisoning, the organisation told the AFP news agency.

The wider Airbus group employs 134,000 people and provides products and services in the aircraft, helicopter, defence, space and security industries.

In a separate incident in France earlier this year, a number of people fell ill and a Greek national died, after contracting the rare food-borne illness botulism at a restaurant in Bordeaux.

US President Joe Biden has announced pardons for certain federal marijuana convictions and clemency for 11 people imprisoned for non-violent drug crimes.

The executive order covers those convicted under the federal law of simple possession, attempted simple possession or use of marijuana.

It also applies to certain offences on federal lands.

Mr Biden said in a statement: “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana.”

“It’s time that we right these wrongs.”Mr Biden’s more lenient approach marks a turnaround for the politician who as a senator wrote a 1994 crime bill that is widely blamed for mass incarceration, disproportionately of black people, for drug offences.

The White House said thousands of people would be eligible for the pardons. They must submit applications to the justice department.

The Democratic president’s action expands on an executive order from last year, when his administration pardoned thousands of people who were convicted under federal law of possessing small amounts of marijuana.

Twenty-four states and Washington DC have decriminalised or legalised marijuana use in some or all circumstances. But it remains illegal at the federal level.

Earlier this year, the Health and Human Services Administration recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration loosen federal restrictions on marijuana.

Mr Biden’s order does not cover individuals who have been convicted of state-level crimes, but he urged governors to take similar action.

Sarah Gersten, executive director and general counsel for the Last Prisoner Project, called the executive order “largely symbolic”.

“As the president has acknowledged, the vast majority of people convicted of cannabis are at the state level,” Ms Gersten said.

She added that while “the number of people who have federal offences are very low, a pardon at the federal level doesn’t effectuate the kind of record clearance we want to see”.

The order also did not cover other marijuana-related offences that carry prison time.It would not pardon, for example, Stephanie Shepard, the director of advocacy for the Last Prisoners Project.

She was imprisoned for conspiracy to distribute marijuana several years ago. The sentence continues to affect her life, and she noted that individuals with criminal records may struggle to find housing or jobs because a conviction will appear on a background check.

“I really wish he [Mr Biden] would just sit down and talk to someone who has an incarcerated parent, that has grown up without their parent because they’re incarcerated, but at the same time can now walk down the street and see multiple dispensaries selling the same plant that their parents did,” she said.

The executive order, in Ms Shepard’s view, was “just not enough”.

One of the pendants of singer, Mayorkun, which was stolen in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, on Tuesday, has been recovered.

The singer had gone to the state to perform at the 2023 Calabar Carnival, on the invitation of the state government.

Taking to social media after his performance, Mayorkun claimed that his jewelry worth millions of naira were stolen.

Condemning the act, he threatened never to visit the state again, as he described the incident as a ‘’nightmare”.

On Wednesday, one of the jewelry was found and he took to his social media page to pledge a N5 million reward for anyone who returns the second one.

Giving an update on the incident on Thursday evening, singer Iyanya announced that the second jewelry has been returned.

Sharing the clip of how it was recovered, Iyanya wrote, “Thank you Calabar people for doing what’s right. @iammayorkun second pendant has been found.

“This morning we got a call that it was returned to @HitFMCalabar and was received by Mr Duke Emmanuel who later transferred the pendant to Hon. Effiong Ekpenyong MNIPR, FCAI, Special Adviser Events Management, Governor’s Office, Calabar. We remain a peaceful and hospitable state.”

Adijat Gbadamosi’s title defence against Ugandan boxer, Salimat Tibesigwa, and other bouts initially set to feature on ‘The Lion Heart and the Champion Homecoming’ event on December 22 has been postponed.

The fight night hosted by Monarch Event and Promotions at the International Conference Center in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria will now hold on February 17, 2024.

Gbadamosi, speaking on the postponement said that she was not happy about the postponement as she had already cut her weight for the bout but she maintained her determination.

“When I started training for this fight, I noticed that I added more to my weight, I was 60kg and my weight is 54kg so I had to cut 6kg down. I struggled to cut down and when I heard that the fight had been postponed, I felt bad because it was not easy for me to return to 54kg.

“It’s nothing bad though, we have to continue training. I will rest now and come back to train in the first week of January. Nothing has changed, I still have the same determination,” the 21-year-old said.

Gbadamosi had shown enthusiasm for the scheduled bout last Friday, expressing her eagerness to defend her title and affirm her prowess in the ring saying, “Winning it once can be a fluke, but winning it twice proves you are the best. I am excited to go again. I know I am going to defend my title, it is very sure for me that I am going to lift it back after the fight.”

In June 2023, Gbadamosi delivered a knockout victory over Zimbabwean Patience Mastara to claim the ABU title and become the first Nigerian woman to hold the belt. The two-time Africa Youth Champion holds an undefeated record of eight victories and five knockouts.

As Gbadamosi looks ahead to the rescheduled bout in 2024, the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics silver medallist looks keen to secure another knockout and deliver a statement to make potential opponents in her division.

India’s top wrestler, Sakshi Malik, has quit the sport in protest over her federation’s new president.

Sanjay Singh was elected the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Thursday after a landslide victory.

Mr Singh is reportedly a close aide of WFI’s former chief, Brij Bhushan Singh, who has been accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.

Mr Singh denies the allegations.

Wrestlers had held massive protests against his alleged misconduct.

In January, they paused protests as Mr Singh lost administrative powers, pending a government investigation.

In April, they resumed protests because the government didn’t reveal the panel’s findings.

The agitation had made headlines globally, especially after the police detained the wrestlers when they tried to march to India’s new parliament building.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had condemned the way the wrestlers were treated and called for an impartial inquiry into their complaints.

In June, the police charged Mr Singh with stalking, harassment and intimidation as well as making “sexually coloured remarks” but he was granted bail by a court.

The wrestlers had also asked India’s sports minister to prevent people associated with Mr Singh from participating in WFI’s presidential election, which was delayed for several months.

After the results were announced on Thursday, Ms Malik, who won the 58kg freestyle bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, expressed her frustration in a press conference.

“We slept for 40 days on the road.. if Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling,” she told the media, breaking down in tears.

She also said that the wrestlers had demanded that a woman be made president as that would prevent female wrestlers from being harassed.

“But there was no participation of women [in the elections],” she said.

“Not a single woman was given a position.

“Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who also participated in the protests, condemned the election results and said that the “future of wrestling is dark”.

“To whom shall we convey our grief… we are still fighting while training,” she added.

Mr Singh has not commented on Ms Malik’s decision.

An Oklahoma judge has exonerated a man who was in prison for almost half a century for a 1974 murder, the longest wrongful sentence to be served in the US.

Glynn Simmons, 70, was freed in July when a judge ordered a new trial.

But a county district attorney said on Monday there was not enough evidence to warrant one.

In an order on Tuesday, Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo declared Mr Simmons innocent.

“This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned… was not committed by Mr Simmons,” she said in a ruling.

“It’s a lesson in resilience and tenacity,” Mr Simmons told reporters after the decision, according to the Associated Press.

“Don’t let nobody tell you that it can’t happen, because it really can.”Convicted man freed after witness found to be blind.

Mr Simmons had served 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison for the murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery in an Oklahoma City suburb. That makes him the longest-serving inmate to be cleared, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

Mr Simmons was 22 years old when he and a co-defendant, Don Roberts, were convicted and sentenced to death in 1975.

The punishments were later reduced to life in prison because of US Supreme Court rulings on the death penalty.

Mr Simmons had said he was in his home state of Louisiana at the time of the murder.

A district court vacated his sentence in July after finding that prosecutors had not turned over all evidence to defence lawyers, including that a witness had identified other suspects.

Mr Simmons and Mr Roberts were convicted in part because of testimony from a teenager who had been shot in the back of the head. The teenager pointed to several other men during police line-ups.

Mr Roberts was released on parole in 2008.Wrongfully convicted people who serve time in Oklahoma are eligible for up to $175,000 (£138,000) in compensation.

Mr Simmons is currently battling liver cancer, according to his GoFundMe, which has raised thousands of dollars to help support his living costs and chemotherapy.

The London High Court has frozen the assets worth $734 million of 50-year-old Isabel dos Santos, once Africa’s richest woman, following her loss in a lengthy legal dispute.

Ms Dos Santos was in a legal fight with Angolan telecoms company Unitel International Holdings (UIH), which sought damages of $733 million (£580 million) due to financial decisions made by her during her time as a director of the company in 2012 and 2013.

Reports suggest that Isabel dos Santos, who is the daughter of a former president, facilitated loans to finance UIH’s acquisition of shares in various telecom companies while working as a director at Unitel.

Ms Dos Santos denied these allegations and suggested that the court case is a political campaign against her by the Angolan government.

She claimed that the loans were approved in good faith by Unitel’s board and shareholders.

She said the freezing order must be viewed in the light of political feuding in Angola, arising from her efforts to root out corruption during her time running the country’s state oil company.

According to court documents, Unitel is ultimately in the effective control of the Angolan State following changes to its ownership and management in 2020.

However, the High Court granted a freezing order in favour of Unitel on 20 December, as per a report by the BBC.

During a court hearing, according to the BBC, it was also disclosed that Ms Dos Santos, once considered Africa’s wealthiest woman with an estimated fortune of $2 billion, holds assets that include property in the UK worth up to £33.5 million ($42 million) and property worth $95 million in Monaco and Dubai.

While the judge has yet to decide the terms of the order, he warned Ms Dos Santos that her case seems like a clear example of a worldwide freezing order that exceeds the immediate jurisdiction of the High Court.

At least 118 people have lost their lives while hundreds sustained injuries in an earthquake that rocked some remote villages in northwest China.

Rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed homes on Tuesday after China’s deadliest earthquake in years.

Officials in impoverished Gansu province said the shallow tremor just before midnight had caused the deaths of at least 105 and injured almost 400 as of Tuesday morning.

A further 13 died, 182 were injured and 20 were missing in Haidong in neighbouring Qinghai province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The quake damaged thousands of homes, many of them dilapidated brick structures and sent residents running into the freezing streets for safety.

“I was almost scared to death. Look at how my hands and legs are shaking,” said a woman of about 30 in a video posted to a social media account associated with the state-run People’s Daily newspaper.

“As soon as I ran out of the house, the earth on the mountain gave way, thudding on the roof,” she said as she sat swaddled in a blanket outside, cradling a baby.

Footage from CCTV showed family possessions strewn among masonry from a house that caved in during the shaking.

An AFP team in Haidong saw vehicles ferrying supplies and workers repairing road barriers.

The quake was China’s deadliest since 2014 when more than 600 people died in southwestern Yunnan province.

China’s western hinterland carries the scars of frequent seismic activity, and a huge quake in Sichuan province in 2008 left more than 87,000 people dead or missing, including 5,335 schoolchildren.

The US Geological Survey said Monday night’s magnitude-5.9 quake struck at a shallow depth at 11:59 pm local time (1559 GMT) with an epicentre around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Gansu’s provincial capital, Lanzhou.

China’s state news agency Xinhua reported the magnitude as 6.2 and said the shaking was felt as far away as the major city of Xi’an, about 570 kilometres away.

Dozens of smaller aftershocks followed, and officials warned that tremors with a magnitude of more than 5.0 were possible in the next few days.

On Tuesday morning, a quake measured at magnitude 5.2 by USGS was detected further northwest in the Xinjiang region.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “all-out efforts” as search and rescue work got underway early Tuesday.

Temperatures are below freezing in the high-altitude area, and rescuers should be on guard for secondary disasters, he said, according to CCTV.

Provincial officials said at a press conference on Tuesday morning that nearly 5,000 homes had been damaged by the quake in Gansu.

State media reported that power and water supplies were disrupted in villages around the epicentre, but some electricity was later restored.

Footage from one of the worst-hit places on CCTV showed residents warming themselves by a fire while emergency services set up tents.

CCTV said more than 1,400 firefighters and rescue personnel had been sent to the disaster zone, while another 1,600 remained “on standby”.

The broadcaster and Xinhua said supplies including 2,500 tents, 20,000 coats and 5,000 rollaway beds had been sent to Gansu while drinking water, blankets, stoves and instant noodles were also being dispatched to the disaster area.

CCTV added that the central government had preliminarily diverted 200 million yuan ($28 million) in relief funding to “guarantee the security of people’s lives and property, and minimise the impact of losses from the disaster”.

Footage showed emergency vehicles driving along snow-lined highways towards the scene with their lights flashing.

Rescue workers in overalls were pictured shoulder-to-shoulder in the trucks, while other images showed them lining up in ranks to receive instructions.

Other clips showed emergency personnel going through the debris by torchlight, unfolding orange stretchers for the casualties.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated in Gansu, officials said.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in China. In August, a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck the eastern part of the country, injuring 23 people and collapsing dozens of buildings.

In September 2022, a 6.6-magnitude quake hit Sichuan province leaving almost 100 dead.

And in 2010, a 6.9-magnitude quake in Qinghai left 3,000 people dead or missing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday offered his “deep” condolences over the quake to his Chinese counterpart Xi.

“In Russia, we share the pain of those who lost their loved ones in the disaster and hope for a speedy recovery for all those injured,” said Putin in a letter, according to a statement from the Kremlin.

At least eight people were killed and 84 injured after a blast at an oil terminal in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, early on Monday, a senior police officer said, adding that the blaze was being contained.

The explosion at the West African nation’s main oil terminal rocked the Kaloum administrative district in downtown Conakry, blowing out the windows of several nearby homes and forcing hundreds to flee, according to a Reuters witness.

A huge fire and billowing black smoke were seen from miles away as firefighters rushed to the area, while several tanker trucks left the depot, escorted by soldiers and police.

Guinea is not an oil producer and has no oil refining capacity. It imports refined products, which are mostly stored in the Kaloum terminal and distributed via trucks across the country.

The extent of the damage to the terminal is unclear for now.The country has a small oil depot at the port in Kamsar, north of Conakry, which mining firms mostly use.

Later on Monday, a thick column of smoke and some flames were still visible after firefighters brought the fire under control.

The origin of the fire was unknown, the government said in a statement, adding that an investigation will be launched to establish the cause and determine who might be responsible.

“The government expresses its deep concern about this event, the scale and consequences of which could have a direct impact on the population,” the statement said.

It urged people to stay at home and said the schools would be closed on Monday.

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on Monday for talks expected to focus on Israel’s eventual end to the high-intensity war in Gaza and its transition to a more limited, focused conflict, officials say.

For Mr Austin, the trip is a delicate balancing act. He has steadfastly supported Israel’s right to defend itself following Palestinian militant group Hamas’ surprise October 7 attacks.

However, he has also become increasingly vocal about the plight of civilians in Gaza as Israeli strikes drive up casualties.

In a speech earlier this month, Mr Austin went as far as calling civilians the “centre of gravity” in Israel’s war with Hamas, Gaza’s ruling Palestinian Islamist movement, and warned about the risks of their radicalisation.

A senior U.S. defence official told reporters travelling with Mr Austin that he was expected to discuss Israel’s plans to transition to the next phase of the war in his talks with senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

“What you see in terms of the high-intensity ground operations plus air strikes today is not going to go on forever. It’s one phase of a campaign,” said the U.S. defence secretary.

“We have an interest in supporting the Israelis in planning for what a transition looks like when they make the decision that major ground operations should end and they’re ready to transition.”

Michael Eisenstadt, director of the Military and Security Studies Programme at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said both the U.S. and Israel seemed to agree on an eventual transition to the next campaign phase.

But Washington wants that to happen sooner, perhaps in a few weeks, while Israel feels it needs more time, according to him.

“So they are in basic agreement about the way ahead and the need to eventually transition to a more targeted approach, but there are differences regarding the timeline,” he said.

When U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited Israel last week, Mr Netanyahu told him Israel would fight “until absolute victory.”

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the war would “last more than several months.”

With fierce ground fighting having expanded this month across the length of the Gaza Strip and aid organisations warning of a humanitarian catastrophe, Mr Biden said last week that Israel risked losing international support because of “indiscriminate” air strikes killing Palestinian civilians.

The defence official added that Mr Austin, a retired four-star general, oversaw U.S. forces in the Middle East and even led U.S. forces in Iraq while in uniform, giving him perspective on battlefield transitions in military campaigns that could aid discussions with Israeli officials.

Mr Austin, the official said, had familiarity with how to undertake military actions “on the other side of the high-intensity conflict to ensure that the military reconstitution of Hamas, in this case, is not viable or feasible.”

In a sign of the President Joe Biden administration’s intense focus on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Mr Austin will be accompanied in Israel by the chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Charles ‘C.Q.’ Brown.

Messrs Austin and Brown are also grappling with regional fallout from the war, with Iran-aligned groups carrying out waves of attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria and Yemen’s Houthi movement striking vessels in the Red Sea in support of Hamas.

The Iranian-backed Houthis said over the weekend they had attacked the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat with a swarm of drones.

The U.S. Central Command said the destroyer Carney on Saturday shot down 14 Houthi drones over the Red Sea.

Britain also said one of its warships had shot down a suspected attack drone targeting merchant shipping.