All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake

Military personnel and firefighters are braving freezing temperatures to comb through rubble in their search and rescue efforts for survivors after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck a county in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning.

The earthquake hit Dingri County in the city of Xigaze at 09:05 on Tuesday, with the epicenter located in Tsogo Township of Dingri. A total of 95 people had been confirmed dead and 130 others injured as of 15:00 Tuesday.

The Western Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army sent a drone immediately to survey the epicenter after the earthquake.

Besides, 50 militiamen arrived at the severely affected Changsuo Township for rescue operations, where many buildings collapsed as a result of the quake and they pulled injured people out from the rubble.

As of 12:30 on Tuesday, 389 armed police officers carrying 210 sets of rescue equipment had been deployed to the severely affected townships in Dingri to carry out rescue operations and assist the disaster-affected people.

In a village of Changsuo Township, armed police officers rescued a person buried under the ruins at noon on Tuesday.

The Xizang military command has dispatched the first batch of 200 soldiers to conduct rescue operations and deployed two helicopters to survey the situation in Changsuo Township.

Meanwhile, the second batch of over 1,500 soldiers has been mobilized for rescue operations, with six helicopters on standby for subsequent rescue missions.

Furthermore, the Xizang Fire and Rescue Corps promptly dispatched 35 vehicles and 198 personnel to the epicenter for rescue operations.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently allocated 100 million yuan (around 13.6 million U.S. dollars) from the central natural disaster relief funds to aid Xizang in conducting earthquake disaster relief efforts, including search and rescue operations, relocation of affected residents, and reconstruction of damaged houses.

The State Council's earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management upgraded the national earthquake emergency response from Level III to Level II on Tuesday.

All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake

All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake

All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake

All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it would slash key interest rates by 25 basis points in a bid to wind down the restrictive monetary policy.

Effective from March 12, the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will be decreased to 2.50 percent, 2.65 percent and 2.90 percent respectively, said the central bank in a statement.

The disinflation process is well on track, with headline inflation averaging 2.3 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026 and 2.0 percent in 2027, the ECB said.

The decision to keep on cutting rates came at a time when the economy in the eurozone is facing increasing uncertainties.

In its latest edition of the staff projections on Thursday, the ECB lowered its forecast for economic growth in the eurozone to 0.9 percent for 2025, 1.2 percent for 2026 and 1.3 percent for 2027.

This marks a downward revision from the ECB's forecast in December last year, which had projected 1.1 percent growth in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, while the 2027 outlook remains unchanged.

The ECB attributed the weaker growth outlook for 2025 and 2026 to declining exports and sluggish investment, citing high trade policy uncertainty and broader economic instability as key factors.

ECB cuts interest rates by 25 basis points