BEIJING

Moderate earthquake hits northwest China

A moderate earthquake hit a remote swath of northwestern China on Thursday, shaking the same province as two deadly tremors last month. Eight people were injured but no one was reported killed in the thinly populated area.

The epicenter of the 5.2-magnitude quake was in Gansu province, 780 miles west of Beijing, the national capital — and 85 miles south of Lanzhou, the provincial capital, according to the U.S. Geological Service’s National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado.

Georgia

Opposition stages sixth day of protests

Protesters demanding the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze staged a sixth day of demonstrations Thursday outside Georgia’s parliament building, angered by the alleged rigging of this month’s national elections.

“We are fighting for us to have a future,” said opposition National Movement party leader Mikhail Saakashvili, who called for a bigger rally today.

He praised the demonstrators, whose numbers swell from hundreds during the day to thousands at night, for keeping the protests peaceful.

Germany

U.S. breaks ground on diplomatic compound

The U.S. ambassador to Germany broke ground Thursday on a project to turn a former military hospital in Frankfurt into the largest American diplomatic compound outside the United States.

The compound will consolidate offices of the existing U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, currently housed in six separate buildings. It will also include offices for various governmental agencies.