BY A STAFF REPORTER: The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the sub-administrative town of Arale Richter, surrounded by aksu prefecture in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. "An earthquake of 5.9 struck 111 kilometers away from Aral, China," the EMSC said in a tweet.