UNESCO adds 19 sites to World Heritage List

Nineteen new sites have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list -- the top honor for monuments, buildings, sites or natural features "of outstanding universal value."

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Committee is meeting in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for its 37th annual session.

A reported 34 sites were up for consideration. Though Italy and China lead the pack with two new inscriptions apiece, it's been a particularly exciting year for Qatar and Fiji, which are now celebrating the addition of their first World Heritage sites.

Qatar's walled coastal town of Al Zubarah in the Gulf and Fiji's Levuka Historical Port Town were both announced as new additions on Saturday.

Other notable new inscriptions include Japan's Mount Fuji, Namibia's Namib Sand Sea, the Red Bay Basque Whaling Station in Canada and North Korea's Kaesong Fortress.

Here's the full list of 19 sites granted UNESCO World Heritage status by the committee:

1. Xinjiang Tianshan (China)

2. Mount Etna (Italy)

3. El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve (Mexico)

4. Namib Sand Sea (Namibia)

5. Tajik National Park (Tajikistan)

6. Red Bay Basque Whaling Station (Canada)

7. Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces (China)

8. Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong (North Korea)

9. Levuka Historical Port Town (Fiji)

10. Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe (Germany)

11. Hill Forts of Rajashtan (India)

12. Golestan Palace (Iran)

13. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany (Italy)

14. Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration (Japan)

15. Historic Centre of Agadez (Niger)

16. Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine (Poland / Ukraine)

17. University of Coimbra -- Alta and Sofia (Portugal)

18. Al Zubarah Archaeological Site (Qatar)

19. Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora (Ukraine)

The UNESCO World Heritage List features 981 sites from 160 countries that are party to the World Heritage Convention.

Of these, 759 are cultural, 193 natural and 29 mixed properties.

Source: CNN