At least 17 people have died from a gas leak at a steel plant in China’s northern Hebei province, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported early Thursday.

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A strong earthquake jolted the southern Philippines on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

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Hundreds of Christians packed the Church of the Nativity Thursday for a midnight mass in what is thought to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

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Four men died Wednesday in a shootout in Guatemala City’s largest market, a spokesman for the national police said.

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A passenger jet preparing to take off from the airport skidded off the runway at Chicago, Illinois’ O’Hare and another plane was forced to return there after engine problems were reported, officials said.

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The former Utah state trooper suspected in a series of roadway shootings earlier this week died Wednesday, the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

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Japan is considering joining an international effort to protect ships from a growing threat of piracy in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia, a top official told reporters.

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Pope Benedict XVI called for peace in the Middle East and an end to the exploitation of children in the homily he delivered early Thursday during the annual Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

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President Bush on Wednesday ordered one of 19 presidential pardons granted earlier in the week to be re-examined.

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