1Japan is battling to avert a nuclear catastrophe following a second explosion at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

2A Royal Commission of Inquiry has been set up to investigate why some buildings in Central Christchurch collapsed during the February 22 earthquake.

3Many business operators have been permitted entry to Christchurch's 'red zone' for the first time since last month's earthquake to retrieve crucial computers and files from inside the cordon.

4Over 100 schools in Canterbury re-opened this morning, but nine schools are still so badly damaged that students are having to attend new schools. Lectures have also got underway once again at Canterbury University.

5In the devastating wake of the Japanese tsunami, the small port town of Minamisanriku has been all but wiped off the map. Over half the town's residents are missing, feared dead. Amid the disaster, however, there have been some miraculous survivals.

6Opposition leaders in Libya are to meet with the US Secretary of State to request international aid.

7Other news.

8Solid Energy wants to buy the Pike River coalmine where 29 miners died in an explosion last year.

9Other news.

10A special report about mental health problems that are likely to arise among earthquake-affected Cantabrians within the next few weeks.

11Other news.