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."

While politically related violence in Kenya has subsided, the tourism industry has not yet recovered.

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.

Exploding lava, a rare glacier collapse, a pole-vaulting bullfighter, and a newborn panda are among the stars of this week's extreme images.

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.

In the 1980s planned flooding submerged part of the Great Wall of China. Now divers are gaining a unique perspective on the ancient structure.

A beach full of red balloons, a new Argo setting sail, and a U.S. flag lit up by lightning are among this week's most colorful events.

Lebanon has launched a campaign to get its renowned Jeita Grotto caves named as one of the world's "New Seven Wonders of Nature."

A tractor army, a harvest of rifles, Midwest floods, and a fleet of naked bicyclists helped flesh out summer solstice week.

Undercover agents with a wildlife-trade investigation group report that they recently found illegal tiger bone wine for sale in two Chinese safari parks.

New photos of an "uncontacted" Amazon tribe are stirring debate. Should isolated peoples be contacted? And are they truly uncontacted in the first place? With video.

See a star flaming out in spectacular style, candy-colored fireworks exploding over New York, dairy kings risking injury for a speeding cheese wheel, and more.