A powerful earthquake in eastern Turkey on Monday buried villagers as they slept in mud-brick houses, killing at least 57 and injuring dozens more, officials said.

Nigeria's government on Monday sent troops to the flashpoint Jos region after attacks by machete-wielding gangs on Christian villages that officials say killed at least 500 people.

Kathryn Bigelow has built her career via movies notable for their macho characters, whether it is bank-robbing surfers in Point Break or adrenalin-addicted bomb squads in The Hurt Locker.

Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang announced his surprise resignation Monday following a disagreement with Premier Wu Den-yih on how the national health insurance premiums should be adjusted to bolster the cash-strapped program.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is assessing the feasibility of further easing curbs on Chinese investment in Taiwan, but no timetable has been set for a second round of liberalization, a senior official said Monday.

Water prices will not be raised for the foreseeable future, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang said Monday.

A strong earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6, hit eastern Turkey on Monday, killing at least 41 people and knocking down houses in at least three small villages, the government said.

The Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker" won best picture and five other prizes at the Academy Awards, including best director for Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman ever to earn Hollywood's top prize for filmmakers.

Sandra Bullock paid her dues in Hollywood for more than 20 years. She was rewarded Sunday, winning the best-actress Oscar for playing a tough white Southern woman who adopted a black child in "The Blind Side."

Premier Wu Den-yih reaffirmed yesterday the government's determination to reduce the unemployment rate to below 5 percent by the end of the year, saying 2010 is a job promotion year in Taiwan.

Meimei, Asia's first pygmy sperm whale (小抹香鯨) with a satellite transmitter implanted, was successfully released into the waters of Hsingda Harbor in Kaohsiung County yesterday morning, after 58 days rehabilitation in the Taijing Cetacean Rescue Center.

Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks a "big lie" used by the U.S. as an excuse for the war on terror, state media reported.

More than 1,000 Falun Gong followers have marched and distributed anti-China pamphlets in downtown Taipei to protest against Beijing's suppression of the spiritual movement.

Survivors of a counterterrorism police squad ambushed by militants last week pressed on with their village-by-village search Sunday for members of a suspected new terrorist cell in the western Indonesian province of Aceh.