NEW DELHI: A medium intensity earthquake on Saturday hit Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan, ripples of which were felt across North India, including in Jammu & Kashmir and the national capital.

The earthquake, measuring 5.8 magnitude, was 170 km deep, according to the National Seismology division of Ministry of Earth Sciences.

There was no report of any loss of life or damage to property till the last reports came in. The tremor occurred at 2:07 p.m. and people in the national capital region rushed out of their homes. People in Kashmir also felt the tremor. The tremor was experienced at around 2.15 pm in the Valley, an official of the MeT department said. A police official said there were no reports of any damage due to the tremor. — PTI

Excise duty on petrol, diesel hiked NEW DELHI: The Union government on Saturday raised the excise duty on petrol by 37 paise a litre and on diesel Rs. 2, the second such increase in just over two weeks. However, the retail selling prices of the fuels remain unchanged as state-owned oil firms had not passed on the full benefit of a reduction in international oil prices to consumers on January 1. The increase in excise duty will fetch the government over Rs. 4,300 crore on diesel and about Rs. 80 crore on petrol. — PTI