Image copyright AFP Image caption The Marshlands were deliberately devastated by Saddam Hussein 
 
 The United Nations cultural agency Unesco has named Iraq's southern marshes - once decimated by Saddam Hussein - a World Heritage Site. 
 
 Home to the Marsh Arabs, three archaeological sites and an array of species of birds and fish, the marshes are "unique", Unesco says. 
 
 The area was ordered drained in the 1990s by Saddam to stop it being used for cover by rebels. 
 
 The marshlands have partially revived since his overthrow in 2003. 
 
 A major restoration programme has seen people and wildlife return to the area, regarded by some as the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden. 
 
 Unesco said the area was "unique, as one of the world's largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment". 
 
 It also contains the ancient sites of Uruk, Tell Eridu and Ur - the birthplace of Biblical patriarch Abraham. 
 
 In the 1970s, the marshes, formally known as the Ahwar of Southern Iraq, covered some 3,500 sq miles (9,000 sq km), but were reduced by Saddam to barely 290 sq miles. 
 
 The former ruler sought to punish the Marsh Arab tribes who had risen up against him after the first Gulf War and also deprive opposition forces of a base for operations. 
 
 Huge tracts were drained and dams were built, causing hundreds of thousands of Marsh Arabs to flee. 
 
 Over the past decade, local efforts to re-flood the area and help from environmental agencies have replenished about half the wetlands. 
 
 Wildlife and Marsh Arabs, native to the wetlands for about six millennia, have also since made a return. 
 
 The marshlands, however, remain at risk to drought, dams and irrigation schemes. ||||| Story highlights UNESCO has named new World Heritage Sites around the world 
 
 China, India and Spain all have new sites on the exclusive list 
 
 (CNN) A narrow, 10-mile strip of Canadian coastal cliffs dating back more than 500 million years contains the oldest known collection of large fossils in the world. 
 
 Located on the southeastern tip of the island of Newfoundland, the Mistaken Point cliffs were added to the exclusive UNESCO World Heritage List on Sunday. 
 
 A series of 99 artificial islets built off the the southeast coast of the Micronesian island of Pohnpei sometime between 1200 and 1500 AD were also added to the list. 
 
 The ruins on the islets were the ceremonial center of the Saudeleur dynasty, and the structures are evidence of the religious and social practices of the period. 
 
 The UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed 21 sites on the Wold Heritage List during its annual meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, from July 10 to 17. 
 
 Read More ||||| BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A wetland in southeast Iraq, thought to be the biblical Garden of Eden and almost completely drained during Saddam Hussein’s rule, has become a UNESCO world heritage site, Iraqi authorities said on Sunday. 
 
 Boat owners gather in marshes in Nassiriya, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq July 14, 2016. Picture taken July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani 
 
 Fed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the marshlands of Mesopotamia are spawning grounds for Gulf fisheries and home to bird species such as the sacred ibis. They also provide a resting spot for thousands of wildfowl migrating between Siberia and Africa. 
 
 Saddam Hussein, who accused the region’s Marsh Arab inhabitants of treachery during the 1980-1988 war with Iran, dammed and drained the marshes in the 1990s to flush out rebels hiding in the reeds. 
 
 After his overthrow by the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, locals wrecked many of the dams to let water rush back in, and foreign environmental agencies helped breathe life back into the marshes. 
 
 The marshes, which covered 9,000 square kilometers (3,500 square miles) in the 1970s, had shrunk to just 760 sq km by 2002 before regaining some 40 percent of the original area by 2005. Iraq has said it aims to recover a total of 6,000 sq km. 
 
 Vast, remote and bordering Iran, the marshes have been used in recent years for drugs and arms smuggling, receiving stolen goods and keeping hostages for ransom. 
 
 The Marsh Arabs have lived in the wetlands for millennia, but are on the fringes of Iraqi society. A study put their population at 400,000 in the 1950s but several hundred thousand fled Saddam’s repression or become economic migrants. 
 
 Estimates of the numbers returning vary wildly. Many Marsh Arabs are illiterate and have struggled to find work outside the marshes. 
 
 Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday praised UNESCO’s decision, which he said “coincides with the consecutive military victories in the war against” Islamic State. 
 
 The militant group, which has been pushed back from about half the territory it seized in 2014, controls some of the world’s richest archaeological sites in northern Iraq but has not come close to the country’s south. ||||| Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demonstrate at the Turkish consulate in Stuttgart, Germany, early Saturday July 16, 2016. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the nation... (Associated Press) 
 
 Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demonstrate at the Turkish consulate in Stuttgart, Germany, early Saturday July 16, 2016. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the nation... (Associated Press) 
 
 World leaders expressed support for Turkey and its democratic institutions on Saturday after the government quashed an attempted military coup. 
 
 ITALY 
 
 Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Turkish authorities must do their utmost to ensure "respect for the rule of law, of fundamental rights and of parliament's role" following the failed military coup. 
 
 In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry Saturday evening, Gentiloni expressed "relief" that Turkey thwarted what he calls a "military adventure that would have brought the country into chaos with the return of ghosts of the past." 
 
 Gentiloni also said that, "prompt re-establishment of constitutional order and stability is urgent and necessary" but that must occur without "indulging in the logic of violence." 
 
 ___ 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she condemns the coup attempt in Turkey, saying democratic institutions must be respected. 
 
 Merkel told reporters at the chancellery in Berlin on Saturday that it was "tragic that so many people paid for this coup attempt with their lives" and urged an end to the bloodshed. 
 
 She said "Germany stands on the side of all of those in Turkey who defend democracy and the rule of law." 
 
 ___ 
 
 EUROPEAN UNION 
 
 The European Union's foreign affairs chief said it is "indispensable" that Turkey regain stability, following a failed military coup. 
 
 The Italian news agency ANSA Saturday further quoted Federica Mogherini as telling it and another Italian agency AGI in a joint interview that it is imperative that "a dangerous spiral of violence" isn't fueled. 
 
 Mogherini was also quoted as calling on Turkey to respect the law, rule of law and democratic conventions, calling them "binding and inalienable principles" which are also the "best way to face the difficulties that Turkey is experiencing." 
 
 ___ 
 
 RUSSIA 
 
 Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed concern about tensions in Turkey in the wake of an attempted military coup. 
 
 "The aggravation of the political situation in the context of the terrorist threats existing in the country and armed conflict in the region carry a high risk to international and regional stability," the ministry said in a statement Saturday. "We call on the government and people of Turkey to solve the existing problems without violence, to respect the constitutional order." 
 
 Tensions between Russia and Turkey have been strong since last fall when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the border with Syria. However, relations appeared to be moving toward repair after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an apology for the incident last month. 
 
 ___ 
 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would entertain an extradition request for exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey's president blames for a failed coup. 
 
 But Kerry added that Turkey's government would have to present evidence of Gulen's wrongdoing that withstands scrutiny. 
 
 While visiting Luxembourg, Kerry said Turkey hasn't made a request to extradite the Pennsylvania-based Gulen. But he said he anticipates questions about Gulen, who has condemned the coup attempt. 
 
 Kerry said on Saturday the U.S. opposed any attempt to overthrow a democratically elected leader and change must come through a constitutional process. 
 
 ___ 
 
 ISRAEL 
 
 A statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry said it respects the democratic process in Turkey and looks forward to the continued reconciliation between the countries. 
 
 Israel and Turkey recently struck a broad reconciliation pact to restore diplomatic relations after six years of animosity between the once-close Mideast powers following a deadly Israeli naval raid to stop an activist flotilla aiming to breach the Gaza blockade. 
 
 Relations between Israel and Turkey began to decline soon after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has Islamist roots, came to power in 2003. 
 
 Since then, Erdogan has sought closer ties with Muslim nations while trying to distance his country from Israel. Erdogan's close ties with Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers have further strained ties. 
 
 ___ 
 
 PAKISTAN 
 
 An aide to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attempted coup in a statement and said Pakistan "hopes that peace and normalcy will be restored in Turkey." 
 
 Tariq Fatimi also said he had contacted Turkey's foreign minister to express solidarity with Turkey's government and democratic institutions. 
 
 Pakistan's main political parties have also praised the people of Turkey for foiling the coup. 
 
 Sharif was himself overthrown in a 1999 coup led by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan until 2008. 
 
 A Pakistani non-profit organization organized a pro-Erdogan demonstration in the capital Islamabad to pay tribute to the Turkish people and their leader for foiling the coup attempt. 
 
 Dozens of supporters of the Khubaib Foundation, which works mainly on education and support of orphans, gathered near the National Press Club Saturday and chanted slogans in favor of the Turkish government and President Erdogan. 
 
 Holding Turkish and Pakistani flags and displaying banners written in Turkish and Urdu, demonstrator chanted "Long live the Turkish people." One banner in Urdu read "The Pakistani nation salutes the people of Turkey and Erdogan for sustaining democracy." 
 
 The foundation's chairman Nadeem Ahmed Khan said the Turkish people's success in foiling the coup attempt is a triumph of democracy and human rights. 
 
 ___ 
 
 BRITAIN 
 
 British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had spoken to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to underline support for Turkey's "democratic elected government and institutions" in the wake of the overnight coup attempt. 
 
 The Foreign Office is advising Britons in Turkey to stay indoors, avoid public places, especially demonstrations, and remain vigilant. 
 
 British Airways said it is canceling all flights to and from Turkey Saturday, but budget airline easyJet said it plans to runs its scheduled flights, largely to Turkish resort towns. The airline said the schedule "will be kept under continuous review." 
 
 ___ 
 
 SPAIN 
 
 Spain's acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo condemned the attempted coup, telling Spanish national television that his government completely supports the Turkish government headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 
 
 He says "without a doubt we support respecting the constitution and democratically elected institutions, and we condemn all coups without reservation." 
 
 Garcia Margallo spoke by telephone from Mongolia, where he is attending the ASEM Asia-Europe Meeting. 
 
 ___ 
 
 SYRIAN OPPOSITION 
 
 The exiled Syrian opposition congratulated the Turkish people for halting the attempted military coup. 
 
 The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition said Turkey has protected its democratic institutions "in the face of dark and desperate attempts that sought to take control of the popular will." 
 
 It said the Turkish people value democracy and "will not let a group of putschists take it away in a desperate attempt to restore military rule." 
 
 Turkey has been one of the main backers of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad, and is hosting some 2.7 million Syrian refugees. 
 
 In the early hours of the attempted coup, celebratory gunfire broke out across Damascus. The government and its supporters view the rebels as terrorists and consider Turkey to be one of their chief sponsors. 
 
 ___ 
 
 HAMAS 
 
 The Islamic militant group Hamas congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for quashing a "vicious" plot to overthrow him. 
 
 The Turkish leader has been a staunch supporter of Hamas and a fierce critic of Israel. Hamas said it remembers Turkey's "wise leadership in supporting the Palestinian people and their cause" and working to lift the blockade on Gaza, the coastal territory ruled by the group. 
 
 Hamas supporters took to the streets in several places across the Gaza Strip to celebrate the failure of the coup, raising Turkish flags and posters bearing Erdogan's image. 
 
 Turkey recently restored ties with Israel after a six-year lull following a deadly Israeli naval raid to stop an activist flotilla aiming to breach the Gaza blockade. 
 
 ___ 
 
 QATAR 
 
 The Gulf nation of Qatar, which has close ties to Erdogan's government, was quick to condemn the military coup attempt. 
 
 It called the attempted coup a "violation of the constitutional legitimacy" in Turkey and said it supports all legal measures the government takes to maintain security and stability. 
 
 The official Qatar News Agency said the ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has spoken with Erdogan by phone to express Qatar's support. 
 
 Qatar and Turkey have grown increasingly close in recent years, and share similar stances on their support for Syrian rebel groups and the Muslim Brotherhood. The two countries agreed last year to establish a Turkish military base in Qatar. 
 
 ___ 
 
 IRAN 
 
 Iran said the attempted military coup in Turkey was "doomed to fail." 
 
 Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as praising the "brave defense by the people of Turkey of their democracy and elected government." 
 
 He said the events in neighboring Turkey prove "that coup d'etat has no place and is doomed to fail in our region." 
 
 ___ 
 
 SUDAN 
 
 Sudanese President Omar Bashir condemned the attempted coup in Turkey and expressed support for the government. 
 
 Bashir, who himself came to power in a 1989 military coup, said in a statement that the "Sudanese people and government stand alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his government and the people of Turkey." 
 
 Sudan's Foreign Ministry congratulated "Turkey, its president, government and people for the decisive victory of the national will." 
 
 ___ 
 
 AZERBAIJAN 
 
 The president of Turkey's neighbor Azerbaijan condemned the attempted coup. 
 
 President Ilham Aliev was concerned about developments in Turkey and "welcomed measures taken to prevent the attempt at a coup and to stabilize the situation," spokesman Ali Hasanov said. 
 
 Azerbaijan is a Turkic nation and its late president Geidar Aliev once described their relations as "one nation, two states" -- a phrase later echoed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 
 
 ___ 
 
 TURKMENISTAN 
 
 Turkmenistan said the coup attempt has caused "serious anxiety." 
 
 The Foreign Ministry said President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov "expressed support for the Turkish people and government and also firm confidence in stabilizing the situation in Turkey." 
 
 Turkmenistan is ethnically Turkic but does not share a border with Turkey. ||||| 17 July 2016  From a national park to a fossil site and a naval dockyard, the United Nations cultural agency today inscribed 12 new sites of special cultural or physical significance on its World Heritage List. 
 
 The new sites added to the list – designated by the World Heritage Committee of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – include the transnational serial site of the Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement, along with the Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites in Antigua and Barbuda, the Pampulha Modern Ensemble in Brazil, and the Khangchendzonga National Park in India. 
 
 Those four sites were added during the morning meeting of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee, which opened on 10 July in Istanbul, Turkey, and closed today. The session was suspended yesterday due to the attempt on Friday to overthrow the Government of Turkey. 
 
 This afternoon, the Committee also inscribed eight new sites on the list: one transnational site (in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan), and others in Canada, Chad, China, Iraq, Iran, Mexico and Sudan. 
 
 Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 
 
 The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement, is spread over Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Japan and Switzerland. 
 
 The 17 sites comprising the property were chosen from the work of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, who was better known as Le Corbusier, and are a “testimonial to the invention of a new architectural language that made a break with the past,” UNESCO said. 
 
 The sites were built over a period of a half-century, over the course of what Le Corbusier described as “patient research.” 
 
 The Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh in India, the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, Japan, the House of Dr. Curutchet in La Plata, Argentina, and the Unité d'habitation in Marseille, France, reflect the solutions that the Modern Movement sought to apply during the 20th century to the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques to respond to the needs of society, according to the agency. 
 
 “These masterpieces of creative genius also attest to the internationalization of architectural practice across the planet,” UNESCO said. 
 
 Antigua and Barbuda 
 
 The Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites – the first property in Antigua and Barbuda to be included on the World Heritage List – consist of a group of Georgian-style naval buildings and structures, set within a walled enclosure. 
 
 With its deep, narrow bays surrounded by highlands, the natural environment of this side of the island of Antigua offered shelter from hurricanes and was ideal for repairing ships. 
 
 UNESCO underscored that the construction of the Dockyard by the British navy would not have been possible without the labour of generations of enslaved Africans since the end of the 18th century. Its aim was to protect the interests of sugar cane planters at a time when European powers were competing for control of the Eastern Caribbean. 
 
 Brazil 
 
 The Pampulha Modern Ensemble was the centre of a visionary garden city project created in 1940 at Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais State in Brazil. 
 
 Designed around an artificial lake, the cultural and leisure centre included a casino, a ballroom, the Golf Yacht Club and the São Francisco de Assis church. The buildings were designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, in collaboration with innovative artists. 
 
 The Ensemble comprises bold forms that exploit the plastic potential of concrete, while fusing architecture, landscape design, sculpture and painting into a harmonious whole. It reflects the influence of local traditions, the Brazilian climate and natural surroundings on the principles of modern architecture, according to UNESCO. 
 
 Canada 
 
 Mistaken Point is a fossil site located at the south-eastern tip of the island of Newfoundland, in eastern Canada. 
 
 The site consists of a narrow, 17 kilometre-long strip of rugged coastal cliffs. Of deep marine origin, the cliffs date to the Edicarean Period (580-560 million years ago), representing the oldest-known assemblages of large fossils anywhere. These fossils illustrate a watershed in the history of life on earth: the appearance of large, biologically complex organisms, after almost three billion years of micro-dominated evolution. 
 
 Chad 
 
 Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape is a sandstone in the northeast of Chad that has been sculpted by water and wind erosion over time into a plateau featuring canyons and valleys. 
 
 In the largest canyons, the permanent presence of water plays an essential role in the Massif's ecosystem, sustaining flora and fauna as well as human life. Thousands of images have been painted and carved into the rock surface of caves, canyons and shelters, presenting one of the largest ensembles of rock art in the Sahara. 
 
 China 
 
 Located in Hubei Province, in central-eastern China, Hubei Shennongjia is one of three centres of biodiversity in the country, and consists of Shennongding/Badong to the west and Laojunshan to the east. 
 
 The centre protects the largest primary forests remaining in central China and provides habitat for many rare animal species, such as the Chinese Giant Salamander, the Golden or Snub-nosed Monkey, the Clouded Leopard, Common Leopard and Asian Black Bear. The site features prominently in the history of botanical research and was the object of international plant collecting expeditions in the 19th and 20th centuries, according to UNESCO. 
 
 India 
 
 Khangchendzonga National Park – located at the heart of the Himalayan range in the State of Sikkim in northern India – includes a diversity of plains, valleys, lakes, glaciers and snow-capped mountains covered with ancient forests, including the world's third-highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga. 
 
 Mythological stories are associated with the mountain and with a great number of natural elements, such as caves, rivers and lakes, which are the object of worship by the indigenous people of Sikkim. UNESCO highlighted that the sacred meanings of these stories and practices have been integrated with Buddhist beliefs and constitute the basis for Sikkimese identity. 
 
 Iran 
 
 The Lut Desert, or Dasht-e-Lut, is located in the south-east of Iran. Between June and October, this arid subtropical area is swept by strong winds, which transport sediment and cause aeolian erosion on a colossal scale. 
 
 Consequently, the site presents some of the most spectacular examples of aeolian yardang landforms (massive corrugated ridges). It also contains extensive stony deserts and dune fields. 
 
 Iraq 
 
 The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities is made up of seven sites: three archaeological sites and four wetland marsh areas. 
 
 The archaeological cities of Uruk and Ur and the Tell Eridu archaeological site form part of the remains of the Sumerian cities and settlements that developed in southern Mesopotamia between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BC in the marshy delta of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. 
 
 UNESCO highlighted that the Ahwar of Southern Iraq – also known as the Iraqi Marshlands – are unique, as one of the world's largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment. 
 
 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan 
 
 Western Tien-Shan is a transnational site located in the Tien-Shan mountain system, one of the largest mountain ranges in the world. The site is situated at an altitude of 700 to 4,503 metres and features diverse landscapes that are home to exceptionally rich biodiversity. 
 
 Mexico 
 
 Located in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Archipiélago de Revillagigedo is made up of four remote islands and their surrounding waters: San Benedicto, Socorro, Roca Partida and Clarión. The archipelago is part of a submerged mountain range, with the four islands representing the peaks of volcanoes emerging above sea level. 
 
 The islands provide critical habitat for a range of wildlife and are of particular importance for seabirds. The surrounding waters have a remarkable abundance of large pelagic species, such as manta rays, whales, dolphins and sharks, UNESCO said. 
 
 Sudan 
 
 Sanganeb Marine National Park and Dungonab Bay – Mukkawar Island Marine National Park consists of two separate areas: Sanganeb is an isolated, coral reef structure in the central Red Sea and the only atoll, 25 kilometres off the shoreline of Sudan. 
 
 The second element of the property is made up of Dungonab Bay and Mukkawar Island, situated 125 kilometres north of Port Sudan. It includes a highly diverse system of coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, beaches and islets. The site provides a habitat for populations of seabirds, marine mammals, fish, sharks, turtles and manta rays. Dungonab Bay also has a globally significant population of dugongs. 
 
 The World Heritage Committee has inscribed 21 properties to the World Heritage List thus far in 2016, with the list now numbering 1,052 sites in 165 countries. 
 
 Also today, the Committee said that its 40th session will resume in Paris in October to examine outstanding issues that could not be discussed over the past seven days. The Committee adjourned its work three days before schedule due to the UN security protocol put in place following the events that occurred in Turkey on Friday. 
 
 The Committee also announced that its 41st session will be held in Cracow, Poland, in July 2017.
– Fed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, vast and remote wetlands along the border with Iran in southern Iraq that are considered to be the biblical "Garden of Eden" have just been named a UNESCO world heritage site, the United Nations reports. Among the 12 new sites added to the list at this year's meeting in Istanbul—which CNN reports was cut short due to the UN security protocol that went into effect following the recent coup attempt in Turkey—are the Pampulha Modern Ensemble in Brazil, the Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Khangchendzonga National Park in India. The UN's preservation list now consists of 1,052 sites notable for their "outstanding universal value," a prestigious list UNESCO has been adding to since 1978. Formerly known as the Ahwar of Southern Iraq, the marshlands of Mesopotamia actually comprise seven sub-sites—four wetland marsh areas and three archaeological sites that date back to the 3rd and 4th millennium BC. In spite of the unforgivingly hot and arid climate, the marshlands boast one of the largest inland delta systems in the world, reports the BBC, and are home to bird species that include the ibis as well as spawning grounds for many Gulf fisheries. Reuters reports that after Saddam Hussein accused the region's Marsh Arabs of treachery during the war with Iran in the 1980s, he intentionally dammed and drained the region, shrinking it from 3,500 square miles to just less than 300 square miles by 2002. Great conservation efforts have helped re-establish the area, but it is still considered to be on the brink as well as plagued by drug and weapons smuggling. (Donald Trump recently seemed to praise Hussein.)