Hazards

The action group comprising of Serbian medical professionals, scientists and servicemen reportedly issued a request to the Serbian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Environmental Protection to conduct an investigation into consequences of 1999 NATO bombing, the meeting of the group members and ministers is scheduled for next week.

Greek authorities have urged local residents and tourists to avoid visiting some of the most popular beaches around the capital Athens because of an oil spill from a sunken tanker approaching the coast, Macedonian electronic edition "Standard" said, quoted by FOCUS News agency.

The oil spill created by a small tanker that sank in the Saronic Gulf on Sunday reached the shores of the capital's southern suburbs on Wednesday, prompting criticism that relevant authorities did not do enough to contain its spread.

Clean-up crews were scrambling Tuesday to contain the spread of an oil slick on the island of Salamina, near Athens, caused by a small tanker that sank over the weekend in the Saronic Gulf.

Workers try to clean up a beach on the island of Salamina, which has been hit by an oil slick after a small tanker went down near its coast on Sunday carrying 2,200 tons of fuel oil and 370 tons of marine gas oil. [Petros Giannakouris/AP]

At least two people were killed today and 55 were injured in a gas explosion at a dining venue in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the world's information agencies said, referring to the authorities.

A woman killed in a gas explosion at a sandwich shop in downtown Athens on Thursday morning has been identified as accountant and mother of two Vassiliki Parastatidou.

Fire investigators say that the explosion on busy Victoria Square was probably caused by welders working in the shop who accidentally cut the gas line.

A stampede occurred during the opening of a store selling discount household goods on Oct. 18 in the northwestern Turkish province of Tekirdağ, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Locals had flooded to the store hoping to take advantage of opening day sales but the sheer number of shoppers ended up causing a stampede in the Hayrabolu district of Tekirdağ.

Incident at the Arsenal arms manufacturing plant in the Bulgarian town of Kazanlak claimed the lives of two workers on Monday.

The incident occurred when a spark came out during repair works in one of the buildings on the territory of the plant.

Reports are surfacing of an explosion in central Paris, with witnesses posting images and videos of smoke rising above buildings in the French capital. More details as they become available. The cause of the blast is as yet unknown. However, several Twitter users suggest it was a gas explosion. The blast reportedly took place not far from Montparnasse area, on the left bank of the river Seine.