Yemen's president is refusing to give in to demands for him to resign despite even more high-level defections. Three of his top generals have now resigned to join the rebellion. The protests have now spread to the north of the country.

 

More than 50 people are feared dead in a mine explosion in Pakistan. Rescuers have been using shovels and their bare hands to try to dig the miners out. Methane gas caused the explosion in the coal mine on Sunday.

 

Power cables have now been connected to all six reactors at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant. Workers had to be evacuated from the plant again when smoke was seen coming from two of those reactors. Engineers are now checking the damaged cooling systems and hope to have them running again over the next few days.

 

And a new row has erupted over asylum seekers. The Government is taking new arrivals straight to the mainland bypassing Christmas Island because of recent riots there. Two boatloads of asylum seekers are on their way to Darwin and Broome to be processed. Now the Opposition says that could give them greater legal rights, but the Government is insisting they'll be treated just the same as those on Christmas Island.