A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Sunday afternoon, killing at least 138 people and crumbling buildings into piles of rubble. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers sift through the rubble.

The quake struck at 1:41pm (6:41am EDT). The hardest hit area is Ercis, an eastern city of about 75,000. It is close to the Iranian border, and is one of the country's most earthquake-prone areas. The city of Van, located about 55 miles south of Ercis, was also heavily damaged.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that at least 93 were killed in Van, 45 were killed in Ercis, and about 350 were injured. Many were still believed to be trapped under rubble, as up to 80 buildings collapsed in Ercis alone. The sheer number of collapsed buildings has given rise to fears that the death toll could climb substantially.

Within 10 hours of the quake, over 100 aftershocks had been recorded, including one with a magnitude of 6.0. Residents are being advised to stay away from damaged buildings, which could collapse during an aftershock.

Rescue efforts are expected to continue through the night.

Decades after they were found in desert caves, and two thousand years after they were written, the Dead Sea Scrolls will now be able to be seen by anyone with internet access. Israel's national museum and Google teamed up to put the scrolls online. On Monday, five of the scrolls, including the biblical Book of Isaiah, were put online.

Using Google's technology, visitors to the website can search the scrolls for specific passages and even translate them into English.

The five scrolls made available online were originally found by Bedouin shepherds in the Judean Desert, and were purchased by Israeli researchers between 1947 and 1967. They are held by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Google and Israel are also collaborating to make the first comprehensive and searchable database of the broader collection of scrolls.

According to a report release by Andalu Agency on Wednesday, the tomb of one of the disciples of Jesus Christ was recently discovered in Turkey. Archaeologists claim that the tomb of St. Philip the Apostle, one of the twelve original disciples of Christ, was found in the southwestern Turkish province of Denizli.

Archaeologists have searched for years for St. Philip, and now claim to have finally found his burial chamber. Francesco D'Andria, an Italian professor and archaeologist, led the excavation team that discovered the tomb.

They stumbled on the monument while working on excavating a newly discovered church in the ancient city of Hierapolis (present day Pamukkale). Hierapolis, or “sacred city”, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its spas and hot springs since the second century.

Philip was said to have been martyred at the location after returning from preaching throughout Asia Minor. Philip preached in Greece, Syria and Phrygia before he died around 80 A.D. He was believed to have been been beheaded and crucified upside-down. An octogon shaped tomb was built for him and named "The Martryium".

D'Andria said:

"We have been looking for Saint Philip's tomb for years. We finally found it in the ruins of a church which we excavated a month ago."

According to British foreign secretary William Hauge, Iran has carried out secret tests of nuclear-capable missiles.

Iran is currently in the middle of conducting 10 days of war games, which has included the public testing of a new, medium range missile that is said to be capable of hitting U.S. bases in Afghanistan and other military assets in the Middle East. Hauge accuses Iran of using the public tests as a cover for testing out missiles capable of carrying a nuclear payload.

Hauge said:

"Iran has also been carrying out covert ballistic missile tests and rocket launches, including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload in contravention of UN resolution 1929."

He added that Tehran also "announced that it intends to triple its capacity to producer 20 percent enriched uranium. These are enrichment levels far greater than is needed for peaceful nuclear energy." Hauge said that England would "maintain and continue to increase pressure on Iran to negotiate an agreement on their nuclear program."

Meanwhile, the United States accuses Iran of "bragging" about its military threat after testing 14 missiles on Tuesday. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said:

According to British foreign secretary William Hauge, Iran has carried out secret tests of nuclear-capable missiles.

Iran is currently in the middle of conducting 10 days of war games, which has included the public testing of a new, medium range missile that is said to be capable of hitting U.S. bases in Afghanistan and other military assets in the Middle East. Hauge accuses Iran of using the public tests as a cover for testing out missiles capable of carrying a nuclear payload.

Hauge said:

"Iran has also been carrying out covert ballistic missile tests and rocket launches, including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload in contravention of UN resolution 1929."

He added that Tehran also "announced that it intends to triple its capacity to producer 20 percent enriched uranium. These are enrichment levels far greater than is needed for peaceful nuclear energy." Hauge said that England would "maintain and continue to increase pressure on Iran to negotiate an agreement on their nuclear program."

Meanwhile, the United States accuses Iran of "bragging" about its military threat after testing 14 missiles on Tuesday. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said:

In his final writings, Osama bin Laden lamented that al Qaeda was suffering from a marketing problem - they were killing too many Muslims, which wasn't good for business, and the West was winning the public relations fight. All of bin Laden's old buddies were dead, and he did not know their replacements very well. Facing these challenges, the terrorist mastermind decided that al Qaeda needed a new start under a new name.

In a letter recovered from bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, he wrote that the problem with the name al Qaeda was that it lacked a religious element, something that would convince Muslims around the world that they are in a holy war with the United States of America.

Bin Laden suggested that names like Taifat al-Tawhed Wal-Jihad (Monotheisum and Jihad Group) or Jama'at I'Adat al-Khilafat al-Rashia (Restoration of the Caliphate Group). He believed that the problem was that the organization's full name, al Qaeda al-Jihad (The Base of Holy War), had become shorted as simply al Qaeda and that by removing the word "jihad", the West could "claim deceptively that they are not at war with Islam."

The undated letter was discovered amongst bin Laden's recent writings. His compound was stormed by Navy SEALS, who killed bin Laden before any name change could be made.

The Iranian women's soccer team was disqualified after they showed up for an Olympics qualifier match against Jordon wearing Islamic head scarves.

FIFA, the world's soccer governing body, said that the team had been "informed thoroughly" that they could not wear the hijab scarves for safety reasons. FIFA issued a statement which read:

"Despite initial assurances that the Iranian delegation understood this, the players came out wearing the hijab, and the head and neck totally covered, which was an infringement of the laws of the game."

The referee thus awarded Jordan a 3-0 victory. This left Iranian officials fuming mad.

Ali Kaffashian, the Iranian Football Federation president, vowed:

"I will file a complaint to FIFA against the individual in charge of holding the match."

The Jordanian team had also objected to the hijab ban before the game last Saturday, but they were able to field a team that did not have religious objects to playing without the head scarves.

The hijab was banned by FIFA in 2007 because of a potential choking danger. There are specially designed FIFA caps, hwoever, many conservative Muslim women complain that they don't cover enough skin.

The Iranian intelligence ministry announced on Saturday that it made 30 arrests in dismantling a network that it has accused of spying for the United States on its basic infrastructure as well as its nuclear and defense research.

A military statement read over state television said:

"Due to the massive intelligence and counterintelligence work by Iranian intelligence agents, a complex espionage and sabotage network linked to America's spy organization was uncovered and dismantled.

Elite agents of the intelligence ministry, in their confrontation with the CIA elements, were able to arrest 30 America-linked spies through numerous intelligence and counterintelligence operations."

The statement also said that the "network" operated in "a number of nations" under the command of "prominent intelligence officers" of the CIA. It continued:

"Under the guise of issuing student and work visas or permanent residency ... they tried to trick citizens into spying for them."

A former Iranian intelligence official who defected has claimed that Iran helped to plot the September 11 attacks, according to court papers filed on Thursday in a victims' lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court against the Tehran government.

This official is one of three unidentified defectors from Iran's Ministry of Information and Security who testified under oath about "Iranian government complicity" before, during and after the terror strikes.

In addition to help devise the plan, the defector says that Iran supplied training in "airliner hijacking" and provided "material support for hundreds of al Qaeda fighters" after September 11. According to a description of the testimony in the court filing, he also said that the top leaders of al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Iran attended a series of meetings in Iran "during the months before" the attacks.

The ex-official's testimony was made during videotaped depositions and filed under seal. It comes as part of the $100 billion civil lawsuit filed by dozens of relatives of September 11 victims against Iran, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and others.

The plaintiffs' lawyers say that the defectors "worked in positions that gave them access to sensitive information regarding Iran's state sponsorship of terrorism."

Iran has defied safety warnings and now faces global condemnation after confirming that the country has launched its first nuclear power plant. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi confirmed yesterday that the Middle Eastern country's only nuclear plant had become operational.

The United States, United Kingdom and other Western countries have long feared the controversial plant could be used to develop nuclear weapons. In recent years, Iran has refused to reveal its plans.

Concerns are now raised internationally as Iran refused to join safety programs and instead decided to go ahead with the launch of the Bushehr nuclear plant.

Work on the Bushehr plant got started in 1975 by several German companies, however, it was halted when the U.S. imposed an embargo on hi-tech supplies to Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Later, Russia signed a contract with Iran to complete the construction in 1998. Work on the building was postponed several times amid pressures from the U.S. and technical and financial challenges.

According to Iran FM, Salehi said:

'As we have previously announced, Bushehr power plant has reached the criticality stage (and) it has been successfully launched.'