UNESCO adds new World Heritage sites across Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced the addition of more than ten cultural and natural properties to the World Heritage List during its annual committee meeting in Busan, South Korea on 25 July. New cultural sites include Thailand’s 1,500‑year‑old Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan temple, the Xiongnu funerary complexes in Mongolia, the sacred underground‑mosque ensemble of Mangystau in Kazakhstan, the historic Jingdezhen porcelain industry in China, and the ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath in India. African additions comprise the historic medinas of the Comoros sultanates and the coastal town of Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia. Natural heritage recognitions were given to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in the United States, the Wadi Wurayah reserve in the United Arab Emirates, and the Limfjord bone‑fish fossil site in Denmark.