BEIJING — London has Big Ben, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge and now Beijing has an iconic structure that's likely to identify the city forever.

It's an audacious monolith that looks like two drunken high-rise towers leaning over and holding each other up at the shoulders.

The eye-catching building, which is nearly finished, will be the headquarters of China Central Television, the staid propaganda arm of China's ruling Communist Party, and it's perhaps the boldest and most daring of several new buildings that have given Beijing a stunning new appearance for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. » read more

GENEVA, Switzerland — World powers Saturday gave Iran two weeks to agree to freeze its uranium enrichment program at its current size as a first step toward full-scale negotiations on its nuclear program, or face further U.N. sanctions and isolation.

Representatives of the six nations told Iran they would have no more talks on their offer to withhold new U.N. sanctions for six weeks if Iran refrains, for a similar period, from adding new enrichment machines — called centrifuges — to the more than 3,000 it is now operating.

"I hope very much in a couple of weeks we . . . hear either telephonically or physically hear a change of view," European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after the day-long talks with Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. "The Iranians know very well what will continue to happen (on sanctions) if nothing happens otherwise." » read more

UVITA DE OSA, Costa Rica — When judges from Costa Rica's Environmental Tribunal emerged from the rain forest recently, they were horrified.

In places along Costa Rica's still wild Pacific frontier, rogue developers had slit the roots of ancient trees to hasten their death, clearing the way for ''ocean views.''

Primeval rain forest sanctuaries, home to scarlet macaws, jaguars and blue morpho butterflies, had been flattened for luxury home sites. » read more

GENEVA, Switzerland _ World powers Saturday gave Iran two weeks to accept a freeze on expanding its uranium enrichment work as a step toward full-scale negotiations on its nuclear program's future, or face new economic sanctions and isolation. The powers told Iran that there would be no further talks on their offer to withhold new sanctions for six weeks in return for Iran not adding new enrichment machines called centrifuges to its plant at Natanz for a similar period. "The Iranians know very well what will continue to happen (with further sanctions)," European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after talks with Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili. Jalili failed to give a response to the "freeze for a freeze" offer the powers made a month ago to encourage Iran to heed U.N. demands to suspend its enrichment effort and open negotiations on the program it hid from international inspectors for 18 years. The U.S., Israel and others believe Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is legally enriching uranium for fuel for power plants. The inconclusive outcome dimmed hopes of movement in the six-year dispute over Iran's nuclear program raised by the presence at the talks of Undersecretary of State William Burns, the third highest U.S. diplomat. It was the first time a U.S. official has attended face-to-face discussions with Iran on its nuclear program, reversing a Bush administration policy not to attend such a session until Iran heeded U.N. demands to suspend its enrichment of uranium. The session in Geneva's ornate city hall was also attended by senior diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.

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GENEVA — The United States and Iran, poised to meet Saturday in Geneva in their first face-to-face talks on Iran's nuclear program, sent more signals Friday that they may be ready to step away from confrontation and begin a grueling process to resolve three decades of hostility.

Until now, the Bush administration had refused to hold direct talks with Iran, except under the precondition that Iran heed U.N. demands to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce nuclear-weapons fuel. Iran, which says it's legally enriching uranium to produce fuel for power-generating reactors, on Friday welcomed the sudden U.S. reversal of policy.

"The new negotiating process (and) the participation of a U.S. diplomat look positive from the outset," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said during a visit to Turkey. "We hope that is reflected in the talks." » read more