Nicaragua celebrates its patron saint, an Amazonian volcano lets off steam, the Olympic torch reaches the Great Wall, and more of the best news photos this week.
With a reported repertoire of 32 sounds, belugas are called canaries of the sea. But in Russia some conservationists warn that the white whales may be too enticing for their own good.
An exterminator, searching for gold in the Australian outback, became stranded for more than four days and says he survived by eating termites and other insects.
Designed to hoist passenger planes into space, the first WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane rolled out for a champagne splash by billionaire Richard Branson.
The commercially funded WhiteKnightTwo, now the world's largest carbon-composite aircraft, should soon ferry a six-passenger spaceship beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Built in 1904, the Grand Pier in Weston Super Mare, England, was reduced to a smoldering wreck, taking with it a go-kart track, rides, and an entertainment center.
Less than two weeks before the Olympics, heavy smog in Beijing has Chinese officials blaming natural factors, such as fog. But others say athletes "have reason to be concerned."
The end of the "running of the bulls" festival, a peek at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and the pope's visit to Australia are among this week's highlights.
The "singing" sands of Dunhuang are no longer music to the ears of city residents, who face disappearing rivers, buried farms, dust-choked homes, and other ills.
An ancient city carved from rock, Chinese mini-fortresses, and a cliff-top monastery are among the 27 new sites added to the UN's World Heritage list in 2008.
Fossil-filled cliffs in Canada, wetlands in Kazakhstan, and coral lagoons in the South Pacific are among the eight natural wonders named as new World Heritage sites in 2008.
