Geologists in Hungary have been exploring a newfound underground lake beneath the capital, Budapest. The lake system is believed to extend 25 miles (40 kilometers).

Complete with canons and jars of olive oil, an 18th-century Spanish ship has been found at a Buenos Aires, Argentina, construction site.

See the National Geographic Digital Media photo editors' favorite photos from National Geographic News's 2008 "Week in Photos" galleries.

In the country of Georgia each new year, handcrafted, decorated trees sprout around the capital, Tbilisi, as emblems of prosperity and happiness.

Kayakers survive an encounter with a great white shark. Amateur video shows the shark circling the kayakers in the waters near Sydney, Australia.

A one-of-a-kind train that runs through the African desert in Mauritania is uniquely adapted to extreme heat and blowing sand.

In a remote corner of Finland near the Arctic Circle, an international team of elves helps Santa respond to hundreds of thousands of letters from children around the world.

The aftermath of an earthquake, a friendly cow, and an ethereal Paris sunset are three of the six winners of the National Geographic International Photo Contest 2008.

Miniature statues of President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have gone on sale in Naples for use in Christmas nativity scenes.

Monkeys from a now-defunct research facility are roaming wild in southwestern Puerto Rico, threatening farmers' livelihoods, and causing public health concerns

Brought to the island by Vikings, the Icelandic horse does two gaits (besides walk, trot, and gallop) that no other horse does.

Speedboating Santas in Australia, a rare swimming hippo baby, and tiger-striped Chinese dancers star in this week's best news photos.

A farmer in Italy uncovered hundreds of ancient artifacts—some perhaps 2,500 years old—but ran into trouble with police when he tried to sell some of them.

On Sicily, ten thousand ancient Greek graves have come to light. Among their contents: war dead and infants encased, womblike, in jars.

See National Geographic News's most popular individual photos of 2008, including pictures of a giant stingray, a "smiling" sky, a lizard-snake standoff, and more.