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Following 10 days of deliberations in Paris, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has expanded its World Heritage List to include 1,248 sites across 170 countries. This year marks the first inclusion of sites from Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, as announced on the organization's website.

Out of 32 nominations submitted for consideration this year, 26 were selected for inscription. This comprises 21 cultural sites, four natural wonders, and one mixed site. The newly added sites include the enigmatic sunken "Pirate City" of Port Royal in Jamaica, Cambodian memorial complexes, and King Ludwig II's Bavarian palaces, which served as inspiration for Disney castles.

The "Killing Fields" in Cambodia, sites where millions of people, including women and children, were executed and buried in mass graves by the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979, are also now part of the World Heritage List.

The Gola-Tiwai Complex in Sierra Leone marks the country's first UNESCO World Heritage site. Its inclusion follows decades of restoration efforts. The complex encompasses the 700 sq. km Gola National Park and the adjacent Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary. This tropical rainforest, once threatened by logging and civil war, is home to numerous rare and endangered species.

Countries hosting inscribed sites are obligated to ensure their preservation and are eligible to receive funding from the UN for these purposes.

26 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

Cambodian Memorial Complexes: From Sites of Repression to Places of Peace and Reflection (Cambodia)

Bijagós Archipelago Coastal and Marine Ecosystems, Omat Mïnho (Guinea-Bissau)

Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal (Tajikistan)

Cultural Landscape of Diy-Gid-Biy in the Mandara Mountains (Cameroon)

Faya Palaeo-Landscape Archaeological Site (United Arab Emirates)

Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Selangor Forest Park (Malaysia)

Funerary Traditions in Prehistoric Sardinia. House of the Dead (Italy)

Gola-Tiwai Complex (Sierra Leone)

Complex of 12 Forts "Maratha Military Landscapes" (India)

Megaliths of Carnac and the Morbihan Coast (France)

Minoan Palatial Centres (Greece)

Mount Kumgangsan, "Diamond Mountain" by the Sea (North Korea)

Mount Mulanje Cultural Landscape (Malawi)

Møns Klint White Cliffs (Denmark)

Murujuga Cultural Landscape (Australia)

Peruaçu River Canyon (Brazil)

Petroglyphs Along Bangudae Stream (South Korea)

Archaeological Sites in Khorramabad Valley (Iran)

Rock Art of Shulgan-Tash Cave (Russia)

Sardis and Bin Tepe Lydian Tumuli (Turkey)

17th-Century Port Royal Archaeological Ensemble (Jamaica)

Colonial Trans-Pacific Route Through Panama (Panama)

King Ludwig II's Bavarian Palaces: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen, and Herrenchiemsee (Germany)

Wirikuta Route Through Sacred Sites to Wirikuta (Tatewari Wahuaye) (Mexico)

Western Xia Imperial Tombs (China)

Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son - Kiep Bac Complex of Monuments and Landscapes (Vietnam)

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