Four people have been treated in hospital after an airborne chemical was detected at a primary school in Ashburton, New Zealand.  Emergency services were called to St Joseph's School following reports of “children feeling unwell”, said Fire and Emergency shift manager Blair Walklin.

Three fire crews from Ashburton and a specialist hazmat team responded, it is reported that they detected a low level reading of an unknown chemical at the school. No further information was provided as to the nature of the chemical, or the symptoms reported.

A 35-year-old chemist died after a fire broke out following a reactor explosion at a pharmaceutical manufacturing, the incident happened as chemical drums were being loaded during routine operations. According to reports a sudden chemical reaction occurred in one of the drums and triggered the explosion. The blast led the chemicals stored inside the drums to flow out of the lab, leaving a strong smell emanating from the company’s premises.

An investigation is underway to examine whether safety protocols were followed and if any negligence contributed to the accident. 

At least 42 people were injured, 10 of them critically, after an explosion and fire at a chemical factory in Faridabad. Among those injured were three policemen and two firefighters, who sustained more than 50% burns. Later reporting stated that the two firefighters died from their injuries.

The incident occurred after sparks of short circuit came into contact with chemical-filled drums, which led to the fire, Hindustan Times reported. According to an official, workers tried to douse the fire initially, but it rapidly spread, engulfing a large section of the unit within just few minutes. “The presence of oil and chemical drums inside the premises further intensified the blaze, making firefighting operations difficult.

A mother and son who were suspected to be making bombs on a rooftop in India turned into victims of their own handy work in late January, according to a report in the India Times.

Sehnawaz Malik, 26 and his mother, 51-year-old Lizatun Bibi, suffered critical injuries when their endeavour blew up. Their accomplices , Malik’s fiancée Truptimayee Mahal and Amiya Mallick - were also gravely injured when the bombs exploded; they remain under treatment at a private hospital. Forensic sources quoted by Times of India said the “prelim findings suggest the possible use of hexahydro trinitro triazine, a compound associated with explosives. Further analysis is underway.” Authorities continue to investigate the motive behind the bombmaking

Hundreds of workers, including staff from nearby businesses, were forced to evacuate after a large structural fire involving highly volatile and flammable chemicals broke out at the Rolfes Chemical Company in Germiston on February 19^th. The blaze triggered multiple heavy explosions, forcing the immediate evacuation of surrounding factories. Manufacturing activities at nearby companies were temporarily suspended as a precaution.

Ekurhuleni Emergency Medical Services spokesperson William Ntladi confirmed that one man sustained second-degree burns to his lower body and was taken to hospital for treatment.

Firefighters faced ongoing challenges as heated metal containers continued to detonate during the blaze. Preliminary investigations suggest that an undisclosed, highly volatile chemical may have ignited after a spark occurred while it was being offloaded from a truck into storage tanks.

One person was found dead after a hydrogen truck explosion in Colton overnight, prompting a large response from fire crews and law enforcement.

The incident happened just before 11 p.m. Tuesday near Miguel Bustamante Parkway and South Riverside Avenue. According to the Colton Fire Department, technicians were working on hydrogen trucks in a storage area when one of them exploded, resulting in a large fire.

When fire crews arrived at the scene, they found a passenger car and hydrogen truck trailer fully engulfed in flames. They extinguished the fire in about 20 minutes.

The situation was made even more dangerous by what was inside the trailer and the second truck nearby. Both carried compressed hydrogen fuel tanks.

One technician suffered serious burns and was taken to the hospital. Another individual, who was accounted for some time after the explosion, was later found dead at the scene. The victim was only identified as an adult man.

A hazmat team was called to clear the scene.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion.

The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has released its final investigation report into the fatal chemical release at a Texas-based refinery in 2024. 

Two contract workers died of exposure to toxic hydrogen sulphide gas in the Oct. 10, 2024, chemical release at the Pemex Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, TX.. Meanwhile, 13 other workers were transported to local medical facilities, and dozens more were treated at the scene. 

More than 27,000 pounds of toxic hydrogen sulphide gas were released during the incident, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for two neighbouring cities, according to the report. One Repcon worker was fatally injured when the gas was released. The hydrogen sulphide vapor travelled downwind into an adjacent unit, where a worker employed by another contractor (ISC) inhaled the toxic gas and was also fatally injured. The release continued for nearly one hour until refinery emergency responders reassembled the leaking flange and stopped the discharge. Because of the release, local officials in the neighboring cities of Deer Park and Pasadena, TX, issued shelter-in-place orders that remained in effect for several hours. 

The report concludes that the incident resulted from the failure to positively identify the correct equipment before mistakenly opening the piping that contained hydrogen sulfide instead of the piping that had been clear of the toxic gas. 

FBI officials continue to investigate "suspicious materials" that were found at a home in a gated community in Irvine on February 23^rd.  Police attended the home after the landlord called to report suspicious circumstances, an Irvine Police Department spokesperson told CBS LA. 

When officers arrived, they found suspicious materials in what was believed to be a homemade science lab that had caught fire. While investigating, they found that there were possible indications of chemical nerve agents, a source familiar with the investigation told CBS LA.

The Hazmat team that attended the scene determined that the chemicals found were concerning due to written evidence that was also found at the scene. The investigation was later handed off to FBI investigators.

The Irvine Police Department affirmed the FBI's statement on Thursday, saying the investigation continues. "The incident began after a juvenile at the residence mixed unknown chemicals," Irvine PD said in a statement. Police said there are no evacuations, and "no known danger to the public."

Neighbours told CBS LA that the National Guard also arrived outside of the home and some of the members were seen wearing shirts that said, "Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team."

As we continue to build and/or redevelop areas of the UK the more we will come across UXO. There have been quite a few reports of discovered UXO recently, from finds in fields by metal detectorists, garden renovations exposing shells, with the most recent being on a building site in West Berkshire. Roads were closed and the site restricted by police as they awaited the arrival of an EOD team.  They device was believed to be from WW1 and was taken by EOD to a filed on the outskirts of the town and detonated.

Residents were evacuated from their homes after reports of an unexploded bomb. A police cordon was established in Ditchling, UK, after unexploded chemical munitions were reportedly discovered during excavation work.

The munitions were reported at around 3.25pm on February 24^th, after which the road was closed and residents evacuated. Police and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended the scene and safely removed the item.

By around 3am on the 25th, the cordon had been lifted, and residents were allowed to return to their homes, with the road reopened. Police added that the incident was not terror-related.

A teenage right-wing extremist who had bomb-making kit at his home has been found guilty of terrorist offences. The 16-year-old was convicted of membership of a proscribed far-right Neo-Nazi organisation called The Base. Following a four-week trial at Leeds Crown Court, he was also found guilty of possessing and distributing terrorist publications. He was arrested aged 15 following a swoop by Counter Terrorism Policing North East at his home in Northumberland. Officers recovered body armour, masks, flags and components for explosives. There were also 22 weapons including knives, a crossbow and air soft rifles.
He was part of 25 extreme right wing online chat groups on platforms, and that he used them to escape reality.

A 23-year-old female police officer has been killed and 25 people injured in what Ukrainian officials have called a terror attack in the western city of Lviv.

Two homemade explosive devices detonated after police crews responded to a reported break-in shortly after midnight on Sunday, the National Police of Ukraine said. The devices were planted in waste bins, it added.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed "an individual suspected of carrying out the terrorist attack" had been detained. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said she was a Ukrainian woman.

The police later said the 33-year-old suspect had made and planted the explosives on the "instruction" of an agent of Russia's special services. Police said the first blast occurred after a police car arrived at the scene of the reported break-in at a shop in the city centre.

"Later, when a second crew arrived, another explosion went off," it added.

Eleven people were admitted to hospital, six of whom were law enforcement officers in serious conditions.

On Wednesday February 25^th, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the National Police of Ukraine announced they had formally charged an 18-year-old woman from Kharkiv who lured police officers to the site of the terrorist attack.  

Polish authorities have charged an 18-year-old man with preparing an attack on a school and being motivated by his support for Islamic State.  An investigation found the man had been "collecting information on weapons, explosives, incendiary and toxic substances, bomb designs, methods of operation and equipping, as well as methods of creating, placing and detonating explosive charges, and techniques for carrying out attacks." Notes made by the man showed he had been planning an attack on a school in the southeastern Podkarpackie region. He faces 18 years in prison if found guilty.

The true scale of fatalities involving synthetic opioids known as nitazenes is likely far greater than current official counts suggest, this is according to research from King’s College London published in Clinical Toxicology. While the National Crime Agency (NCA) recorded 333 fatalities involving nitazenes in 2024, researchers emphasize this figure almost certainly underrepresents reality. Toxicologists have raised concerns that nitazenes degrade rapidly in postmortem blood samples, reducing their detectability during routine forensic analyses. 

Using advanced modelling techniques and data from the UK National Programme on Substance Use Mortality (NPSUM), the research team estimated that in Birmingham alone during 2023 there was a 33 percent excess in drug-related deaths unaccounted for by current nitazene detection methods. This discrepancy strongly suggests that a significant proportion of fatal overdoses are not being linked to nitazenes due to analytical limitation

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that unexploded munitions remain at nuclear facilities struck by the United States in June 2025, creating safety risks for inspections, these weapons could potentially include GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs.

Araghchi stated that inspections can only proceed after agreement on safety, security, and access protocols, noting that no existing international rules address inspections at bombed nuclear sites. He also said that Iran remains in contact with the IAEA on the issue.

There is concern if unexploded GBU-57 bombs are recovered after removal or neutralization, they could provide Iran with direct access to a modern bunker-penetrating weapon for technical examination. 

A bomb explosion sadly killed two children and injured six young men in an industrial area of Syria. One child was identified as 9-year-old Ward Jad al-Barouki, he other child's identity remains unknown due to severe injuries.

Some of those injured are in critical condition and were admitted to ICU. According to reports the explosion was caused by tampering with a bomb, adding that investigations are ongoing to determine the exact circumstances and details of the incident.