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The Stockline Plastics operators in Glasgow, ICL Plastics and ICL Tech, have been fined £400,000, for the explosion which ripped through the firm's Glasgow plant. Nine were killed in the incident, which happened on 11 May 2004. It happened as gas from a corroded pipe installed in 1969 ignited in the cellar of the factory. The company lawyer read a statement by the factory firm, however, when asked a question, claimed she had 'no further comments'. The director of the H&SE in Scotland said lessons were to be learnt from this incident.

Citizens in the Australian city of Bathurst in Central-Western New South Wales have turned out in the hundreds on top of Mount Panorama to observe tonight's lunar eclipse. Those who turned out for the spectacle were treated to live music and purple flags with lighting to take on a mystic theme. Mount Panorama provided perfect conditions for the show, with minimal light and clear skies. Just before 7 p.m. AEST the eclipse began to be visible with the Earth beginning to shadow the Moon, by 8:37 p.m. AEST the top of Mount Panorama was bathed in a

Eight months after the January 1st crash of Adam Air Flight 574 into Indonesian waters, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) have been retrieved from the wreckage. The devices, collectively referred to as 'black boxes', had remained unrecovered over a dispute between the Indonesian government and the airline over who would bear the costs of salvage. Only recently has a contract been signed with United States salvage firm Phoenix International, who arrived last week in Indonesia to receive the recorders, working co-o

Greece's socialist opposition party leader, George Papandreou, has stepped up its attack on the government's response to the most devastating wildfires in the country's history, with 64 dead and thousands homeless. Papandreou pointed that the government had been "totally incompetent" in fighting the blazes that continued to rage across southern Greece after five days. The PASOK president said that "This government was proven to be totally incompetent, unable to handle the fire crisis, like all the other crises it encountered in its four-year a

The United States Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive to all owners and operators of certain Next Generation Boeing 737s to inspect their aircraft in light of recent developments in the investigation of the recent China Airlines explosion. The measures have been imposed due to the discovery that a structural bolt in the aircraft that exploded had come loose and punched a hole in the aircraft's right wing fuel tank. It is thought the bolt came loose after a worker failed to replace a washer after a r

The families of workers killed in the blast at the Stockline plastics factory in 2004, are criticizing the £400,000 fine imposed on the company. They are upset at the amount of the fine imposed on the company. The Scottish TUC gave the following statement: "No level of fine can adequately reflect the loss that these families have suffered. Our justice system appears to be totally inflexible in the sentences that judges can impose following breaches of health and safety legislation."

Pakistan successfully test fired a new cruise missile on Saturday that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The announcement was made by the nation's military in a statement, saying that the air-launched Ra'ad (meaning 'thunder' in Arabic) missile has been successfully tested. The missile is constructed using materials and designs specifically developed for stealth and has a range of 350 kilometres, they said. The missile was developed exclusively in Pakistan, and, according to the statement, has been built specifically with Pakistan's exi

Seville, Spain Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta died today at the age of 22. Puerta had been in critical condition at Virgen del Rocio hospital since collapsing during a game against Getafe. Puerta's body will be taken to the club's stadium where fans could pay their respects. He will be buried on Thursday. Puerta collapsed after jogging back towards his own goal in the 35th minute of the game. Spanish media reported that Puerta was due to become a father in under 2 months. The UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round 2nd leg against AEK

The controversial Russian music site, AllOfMP3.com, is expected to reopen after a Moscow court ruled that Denis Kvasov, owner of the site, did not break Russian copyright laws and that the site was fully legal. Mr Kvasov argued that although no royalties had been paid to the music industry, the site did pay the 15% of its profits required by the Russian Organization for Multimedia and Digital Systems (Roms). A spokesperson from Roms said "We pay royalties to those who sign up with us and ask for them. But none of the majors, among them I mean

Sweden has suspended all commercial flights in and out of Iraq amid allegations that an attempt was made to shoot down a Nordic Airways passenger jet. On August 8 a Nordic Airways McDonnell Douglas MD-83 took off on a flight between Sulaimaniyah, northern Iraq to Stockholm, Sweden, carrying 130 passengers. Shortly after take-off the pilots noticed a trail of light arcing over the aircraft in a fashion similar to that of an incoming missile. According to a spokesman from the Civil Aviation Authority, the preliminary view is that "some kind of

Rangers survived a testing match in Belgrade to progress through to the group-stages of the UEFA Champions League. Allan McGregor was Rangers' hero twice in the opening 45 minutes denying Red Star Belgrade striker, Igor Burzanović, twice in the first half. Jean-Claude Darcheville and Lee McCulloch shot close for Rangers in the second half, whilst McGregor denied Ognjen Koroman to preserve the 0-0 draw, and the 1-0 lead on aggregate.

The Carling Cup tie between Leicester City and Nottingham Forest was abandoned at half time after Leicester defender Clive Clarke collapsed in the changing room at half time. Shortly after the half time whistle, paramedics were called into the changing room before taking Clarke to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham. Tim Davies, Leicester City's chief executive said: "He was taken away in an ambulance to hospital. He did offer a few words in the ambulance. Our thoughts and prayers are with Clive and his family." The Nottingham Forest chief e