Beijing

Gas explosion kills 48

A gas explosion Friday in a coal mine in southern China killed 48 workers and injured two others, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The blast occurred at 11:45 a.m. in the Jianxin Coal Mine in Jiangxi province, Xinhua said. All 48 bodies have been recovered, it said.

The cause of the explosion was under investigation, Xinhua said. It was not clear how many miners were working when the explosion occurred.

A woman who answered the telephone at the Fengcheng Coal Mine Bureau, which oversees the state-run Jianxin mine, said she did not have an exact figure of how many people were underground.

Saudi Arabia

U.S. diplomatic missions to reopen after attack

The United States today will reopen its three diplomatic missions, including its embassy in Riyadh, an embassy spokesperson said.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and America’s consulates in Jiddah and Dhahran were closed Nov. 8 after terror warnings, hours before suicide car bombers attacked a Riyadh residential compound housing mainly Arabs and Muslims. The attack killed at least 17 people and wounded scores more.

The spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, urged American citizens to remain vigilant.

Delaware

Buildings evacuated for crack in wall

At least 4,800 people were evacuated from three downtown Wilmington buildings Friday after an office worker noticed a crack in a wall.

A subsequent inspection found loose bolts attached to facade panels on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors of the 17-story Bank One building, and small cracks in drywall butting up to the exterior panels.

“From a structural standpoint, nothing failed,” said Jeff Starkey, the city commissioner of licensing and inspections. “As we went further up the building, all the bolts were tight.”

Starkey said the building is designed to allow some movement of the facade. High winds buffeted the city Thursday and Friday.

Texas

Niagara Falls survivor joins Texas circus

The only person to survive a plunge over Niagara Falls without a safety device has run off and joined the circus.

Kirk Jones, 40, planned to make his debut as the “world’s greatest stunt man” during a Friday night gig with the Toby Tyler Circus, now touring Texas’ Mexican border towns.

Last month, the former auto parts salesman from Canton, Mich., jumped over the Canadian side of the falls and somehow emerged from the rushing foam with only a few broken ribs.

Jones said circus promoters called him a few days ago and promised him something “spectacular.” He would not say what his act would involve.