Mushroom clouds from shell explosions in Central Russia (video)

Two villages were evacuated on Tuesday following a series of huge explosions near a military testing ground at Donguzsky, 40 kms from Orenburg in Central Russia.

According to witnesses, and as shown in the amateur video above, a massive plume of smoke rose into the air shortly after the explosions. Residents in the area said that the blasts were so powerful, windows shook, dozens of kilometers away.

According to initial reports, a fire at the military facility's loading dock set off shells that were stored for disposal on a train.... read more and watch video.

Venezuela: Amuay oil refinery blast kills 19 (video)

A large explosion at the Amuay oil refinery in Venezuela has killed 19 people and injured a further 53. The blast is thought to have been caused by a gas leak.

The Amuay refinery is the largest in Venezuela and is situated in the northwest Falcon province. Amuay is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, and together, the two refineries process around 900,000 barrels of crude a day and 200,000 barrels of gasoline... read more.

Explosion near UN monitors' HQ in Damascus wounds three

A bomb exploded on Wednesday, 10 meters away from the Damas Rose Hotel in Damascus, Syria, where UN monitors are currently headquartered. Three people were injured.

Al Arabiya is reporting that the Free Syrian Army has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

According to RT's reporter, it looks like the explosives were placed on a vehicle parked in the facility next door to the hotel... read more and watch video.

Video: Fireworks explosion during Spain festival injures 28

A rogue firework set off thousands of others in a church bell tower in Elche, Spain during a town festival on Monday, injuring 28 people.

The firework accidentally set off many others in the church bell tower of the eastern Spanish town of Elche, raining down streams of sparks and burning material on to people gathered to watch the spectacle... read more and watch video.

Video: NASA's Morpheus lander explodes on test flight

NASA says the Project Morpheus lander vehicle has "experienced a hardware component failure", and exploded during a test flight at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA's Project Morpheus lander was undergoing testing at Johnson Space Center in Houston for a year. It arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 27 to begin about three months of tests.

According to NASA, the "lander is moving one step closer to achieving autonomous flight and landing." .. read more and watch video 

12 killed in shooting at 'The Dark Knight Rises' premiere

12 were killed and 38 injured in Aurora, near Denver, Colorado when attending a midnight showing of the new Batman film.

The movie theater was packed for the midnight premiere of the new movie and many of those present were young fans.

According to witnesses, the violence erupted around 15 minutes into the movie. Some witnesses say they thought it was some new type of special effect in the theater... read more.

Terrorist group attacks TV Channel in Syria — 7 people dead

Three journalists and four workers at the Syrian al-Ikhbariyia Satellite Channel were killed on Wednesday morning in an attack by an armed group.

The group was targeting the headquarters of the pro-government television station, al-Ikhbariyia, located around 20 kilometers south of the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi has placed the responsibility for killing of seven TV staffers on the EU, Arab and International organizations. He called it “the worst massacre against journalism and the freedom of media.” ... read more.

Video: 3 houses destroyed in massive explosion in the UK

Suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, a child was killed and one man seriously burned in an explosion near Manchester, northwest England.

The explosion has left a smoking pile of rubble where the terraced house used to stand, in Oldham, near Manchester, 260 kms northwest of London... read more and view aerial video.

Illegally parked tourist's car blown up in London

Most countries in the world fine people for illegal parking, even England. However, it seems that if you park illegally in London, your car will be destroyed.

It is probably a good idea not to park illegally in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. However, one poor unsuspecting tourist had no choice. His Ford Mondeo broke down when his brakes failed, right on Parliament Square.... read more

Video: Two explosions hit chemical plant in Japan

2 blasts at a chemical plant in western Japan today have killed 1 worker and injured 22 persons, including workers and residents nearby.

RT reports that workers were trying to shut down the Mitsui Chemicals Iwakuni-Ohtake plant, due to a problem in another section of the plant. The plant produces adhesives for rubber tyres and wood.

The explosions occurred while attempting to shut down the plant, which is based in Waki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, some 700 kilometers (434 miles) southwest of Tokyo... read full article and view video.