World News: Fight goes on to restart stricken reactor's coolers

WORKERS are today continuing the race to restore electricity to Japan's leaking nuclear plant in hope of restarting its vital cooling systems.

Although power cables are reported to have been reattached to the various reactors, authorities say they still cannot get enough power to them to restart cooling and monitoring equipment.

Ideally, officials believe it should only take a day to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear under control once the cooling systems are up and running. But it could take days or weeks to get those systems working.

The nuclear plant's cooling systems were wrecked by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated north eastern Japan on March 11.

Since then, conditions at the plant have been volatile; plumes of smoke rose from two reactor units yesterday, prompting workers to evacuate.

The crews resumed the work early today.

Meanwhile, Japanese police estimated that more than 8900 people are dead after the disaster. Another 12,600 are missing.

Those tallies are likely to overlap, but police officials estimate that the final figure is likely to exceed 18,000 deaths.

Afghan forces 'to take charge'

Afghan President Hamid Karzai today said his security forces would soon take charge of security in seven areas around the nation - the first step toward his goal of having Afghan police and soldiers protecting the entire nation by the end of 2014.

Opposition to fight sex claim

Malaysia's opposition alliance has pledged to fight allegations that its leader, Anwar Ibrahim, was filmed having sex with a prostitute.

A sex video depicting a man believed to resemble Anwar was shown to several Malaysian journalists this week.It has not been publicly circulated, but opposition officials are scrambling to convince people that it is a plot hatched by the government ahead of a key Malaysian state election.

Pilots held over fake licences

An Indian official says two more airline pilots with fake documentation have been arrested in a growing investigation of corruption in awarding aviation licences.

Anti-corruption official Umesh Mishra today said the two pilots flew with a budget airline and were awarded their licences based on forged certificates.

Bride held in wedding brawl

US police said a bride was arrested at her own wedding reception after she kicked a police officer.

Police spokesman Hugh White said officers had to restrain 28-year-old Angela Davito after they broke up a brawl at a house in Gilbert, Arizona, where her reception was held.

Top military chief defects in Yemen

A TOP military commander and at least 18 other senior officers defected to the opposition movement demanding the ousting of Yemen's embattled president, depriving the US-allied ruler of most of his power base.

The looming collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime throws into doubt the American campaign against a major al-Qaida wing that plotted attacks in the United States.