PEPCON Disaster - The Greatest Chemical Explosion in American History

The PEPCON disaster was an industrial disaster that occurred in Henderson, Nevada on May 4, 1988 at the Pacific Engineering Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) plant. The chemical fire and subsequent explosions claimed two lives, injured 372 people, and caused an estimated US$100 million of damage. A large portion of the Las Vegas metropolitan area 10 miles (16 km) away was affected, and several agencies activated disaster plans.

Pepcon was one of the only two American producers of ammonium perchlorate, an oxidizer used in solid fuel rocket boosters, including the Space Shuttle and military weapons. The fire and explosions were caught on videotape by television engineer Dennis Todd, who was on Black Mountain performing maintenance on a television tower.

Actresses and their Royal Affairs

Actresses, whether from Bollywood or Hollywood, are like ordinary women when it comes to falling for royal men. Listed are some of the actresses from around the globe who have been romantically involved with men from royal families.

Jacqueline Fernandes - Sheikh Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa

Jacqueline Fernandez dated the Bahraini prince for two years before parting ways with him. After carrying forth their long distance relationship for a long time, the couple called it quits over the lady's reported ambitiousness. Irrespective of rumours linking her to the not-so-royal Sajid Khan, it is sad that Jacqueline couldn't be tagged a princess, at least in this lifetime.

Grace Kelly - Rainier III

The woman who has captured the imagination of millions worldwide, lived a fairytale story before it was cut short by a tragic accident. Celebrated American actress and fashion icon Grace Kelly became Princess Grace after her marriage to Ranier III, Prince of Monaco. Despite giving up her acting career post marriage, she played the role of a princess to perfection.

Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan

Kareena Kapoor dumped her chocolate boy lover for the suave heir apparent to royal houses of Bhopal and Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan. From what Kareena has to say, she and Saif will be tying the knot soon enough which will make her a part of the royal family.

Zsa Zsa Gabor - Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt

American actress, Zsa Zsa Gabor, who passed away recently, found love in the arms of Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, who was the adopted son of Princess Marie Augusete of Anhalt. Frederic was her ninth husband and they married in 1986 when Gabor was 58 and Frederic was 43. It was probably true love for both of them as the marriage lasted the longest.

Sharmila Tagore - Mansoor Ali Pataudi

Sharmila Tagore's marriage to Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was also like a fairytale. While she was a successful Bollywood actress, he was the dashing captain of the Indian cricket team. Their union was magical and many looked up to them in awe throughout years of their marriage.

Florence Brudenell - Prince Harry

The woman who seems to have scored over 'Her Royal Highness' Pippa Middleton with regard to, the exceedingly cute, Prince Harry. Florence is the girl that we saw in 'Love Aaj Kal' opposite Saif Ali Khan. She has been in the news, of late, for being Prince Harry's current love interest. Irrespective of whether this romance stands the test of time or fizzles out is insignificant in comparison to their liaison

World's 15 least visited countries

It might be hard to believe in this globalised world but some countries - whether for reasons of isolation, war or just a lack of obvious things to do - have slid completely off the tourism map.
So, if you like the idea of boasting that you've been to places your friends haven't even heard of, we've hunted down the world's 15 least visited countries for you. Take a trip to any of these places, and it's a fair bet you won't see too many umbrella-wielding tour guides

15: Mauritania

14: Guinea-Bissau

13: Bhutan

12: Chad

11: American Samoa

10: Comoros

9: Solomon Islands

8: Central African Republic

7: Sao Tome and Principe

6: Turkmenistan

5: Moldova

4: Marshall Islands

3: Tajikistan

2: Kiribati

1:Tuvalu

China’s New High-Speed Rail takes off at 300 km/hr

China launched it's new bullet train on Beijing- Shanghai track which travels at an average speed of 300 kilometers (186 miles) an hour, more than double the average speed of America's fastest train.

The shiny CRH380 model serves the new 1,318-kilometer (819-mile) Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway network - completed in just three years - and cuts journey time between China's political center and commercial hub in half to under five hours.

At $85, a roomy second-class seat from Beijing to Shanghai costs less than half of a full-fare economy-class air ticket, almost guaranteeing the new service's popularity in China's richest region.

Antarctica Warming

A team of National Geographic explorers will begin a five-week expedition across the continent's Larsen ice shelf to study how global warming is changing the topography of Antarctica.

Larsen B Ice Shelf Breakup

Over a 35-day period in early 2002, Antarctica's Larsen B ice shelf lost a total of about 1,255 square miles, one of the largest shelf retreats ever recorded. This image, captured by NASA's MODIS satellite sensor on February 23, shows the shelf mid-disintegration, spewing a cloud of icebergs adrift in the Weddell Sea.

Glacier Advance

A stark white lobe of a glacier advances across Antarctica's dry valleys region, so called because of its scarcity of snow. Earth's fifth-largest continent contains more than two-thirds of the world's freshwater in the form of ice, yet some areas receive less than two inches (five centimeters) of precipitation a year.

Penguins on Shore

A group of gentoo penguins nests on an icy shore of Cierva Cove, Antarctica.

Large Iceberg

Global warming is forcing ice shelves to calve, producing icebergs like this monolith jutting into the waters of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Penguin and Chick

An Antarctic gentoo chick stays near its parent for warmth. Gentoos are the fastest underwater swimming birds and can reach speeds of 22 miles an hour

Leopard Seal

A leopard seal plunges through Antarctic waters. Swift and stealthy, adult leopard seals tend to be solitary creatures, hunting alone at the fringes of pack ice.

Neumeyer Channel

Icebergs drift across Antarctica's Neumeyer Channel. The Larsen Ice Shelf Expedition team predicts melting Antarctic shelves and bergs will raise sea levels around the world, flooding hundreds of thousands of square miles and displacing tens of millions of people.