People across Asia paused Saturday to observe the fifth anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2004 that killed up to 230,000 people in about a dozen countries.

The devastating December 26 tsunami destroyed entire coastal communities, decimated families and crashed over tourist-filled beaches, sweeping away everyone and everything in its path.

Brief memorials were held in mosques throughout the region, beside mass graves, and at seaside resorts and communities on the rim of the Indian Ocean.

The tsunami was triggered by an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 that struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.  Over the next seven hours, a wall of

Brooke Mueller had a visit from Colorado police late Friday -- hours after her husband Charlie Sheen had been arrested for an alleged domestic violence incident.
Cops rolled over to the Aspen, Colorado house where Brooke is staying -- the same home from which Brooke called 911 early Christmas morning claiming Charlie had attacked her.

UPDATE: Sources tell TMZ the alleged victim is Sheen's wife, Brooke Mueller. Sheen's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, says, "Do not be mislead by appearance. Appearance and reality can be as different as night and day. It would benefit everyone not to jump to any conclusion."

Charlie Sheen was arrested yesterday in Aspen, Colorado for an alleged domestic violence incident and is being held in jail without bond.

Police responded after a 911 call was made at 8:34 AM on Friday. When cops arrived, they arrested the 44-year-old "Two and a Half Men" star for felony second degree assault, felony menacing and criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. Cops say all three charges are "coupled with a domestic violence component."

The name of the victim was

After more than two decades together, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have split, UsMagazine.com has confirmed.
"Actress Susan Sarandon and her partner of 23 years, actor Tim Robbins have announced that they separated over the summer," her rep Teal Cannaday tells Us. "No further comments will be made."
The two -- both known for sharing liberal political views -- met on the set of the 1988 baseball comedy Bull Durham.
They have two

Since it opened last week, James Cameron's much-anticipated film "Avatar" has won praise from movie critics and been a juggernaut at the box office. But some who have seen the film say that it contains hidden messages that are anti-war, pro-environment, and perhaps even racist.

For the benefit of those who haven't seen the film, a little nonspoiler background might be useful. The story is set in the year 2154 when Earth's inhabitants, having used up most of their natural resources through decades of living in excess, plan to use military force to conquer Pandora, a moon roughly the same size as Earth. Pandora, inhabited by a wise, peaceful, and nature-respecting people with

A five-year-old girl who died in a fire at a block of flats has been named by police.

 Farah Rashid's body was found by firefighters in her third-floor home in St John's Wood, north-west London.

Her brother, Mohamad, 13, died after jumping from a window as flames ripped through the property at about 3am on Thursday.
Mohamad was taken to St Mary's Hospital in nearby Paddington but he

Scientists witnessed the eruption of the deepest underwater volcano and caught the entire event on film for the first time -- complete with molten lava and sulfur smoke clouds.
The volcanic eruption was filmed by a U.S. robotic submarine more than 1.2 kilometers (4,000 feet) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean near Samoa during an expedition in May this year.
"It was an underwater Fourth of July -- a spectacular display of fireworks, Pacific Marine Environmental scientist Bob Embley said.

Virginia's governor declared a state of emergency Friday as a winter storm expected to pummel the East Coast this weekend began dumping snow in Virginia and North Carolina.

The storm is forecast to blast a narrow corridor from Richmond, Virginia, to Fredericksville, Pennsylvania, leaving interstates 95, 81, 64 and possibly 80 covered in significant snow, CNN meteorologist Chad Meyers said.