The New7Wonders project have shortlisted the 27 finalists of the New seven wonders of nature. You can view all the finalist at the official website; below are (copied & pasted) info of the 11 finalists from Asia…
BU TINAH ISLAND, United Arab Emirates
Off the western shores of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, lies a unique natural treasure, wild n undisturbed by human activity: Bu Tinah Island.
Bu Tinah’s thriving ecosystem forms a unique living laboratory with key significance for climate change research. An undisturbed paradise, Bu Tinah has much to teach mankind about environmental protection and survival.
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The observation deck at Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, has been shut down on Sunday after just a month from its grand opening.
Officially… the deck has been temporarily closed due to unexpected high traffic, and that it’s needing maintenance with some power supply issues [via Reuters].
Unofficially… 15 passengers were left stranded for 45 minutes after a lift broke (probably because of the power supply problem), which sounded like a small explosion as described by a visitor [via Timesonline].
Candid… the power issue was caused by the finger [image by Shaunjones].
56 random facts and figures of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest structure…
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Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower), the world’s tallest building, was officially opened on January 4 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates…
Formerly known as Burj Dubai, the skyscraper was renamed as Burj Khalifa after the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates.
Burj Khalifa is 828m in height with 160-floors; it surpasses Taipei 101 (509m) as the world’s tallest building and is also the tallest man made structure ever.
An outdoor observation deck (namely At The Top), located on its 123-124 floor, will be opened to the public later this month.
Check next post for Burj Khalifa’s facts and figures.
[video via Trackingdubai@Youtube]
The largest truffle found in Italy this year was sold for USD200,000 at a charity auction that was held simultaneously in Abu Dhabi, Macau, London and Rome on November 29.
Stanley Ho and his winning piece
(Image via
Xinhuanet)
Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho was the highest bidder for the 1.08-kg white truffle. The tycoon was also the highest bidder for last year’s largest truffle, a 1.5-kg piece that fetched a record $330,000.
Truffle is a precious ingredient in Italian and French gourmet for its pungent aroma and taste. White truffle is considered the best truffle; a kilogram of normal size white truffle could cost over $5000.
A total of $284k were raised from this auction event, with a few smaller truffle being sold as well. The money will be donated to selected charities in the cities that held the synchronised auction.
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Singapore tops the Asian ranking in The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 conducted by the World Economic Forum (and partners) using both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey.
The annual report assesses the ability of countries to provide high levels of prosperity to their citizens, which in turn depends on how productively a country uses available resources. Thus, the index measures the set of institutions, policies, and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity.
The top 10 overall ranking are USA, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Germany, Japan and Canada.
The top 10 Asian economic entities are Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China and UAE.
The Burj Dubai has become the tallest man-made structure in the world.
Burj Dubai as of early March 2008 (Image from
Wiki)
According to developer Emaar Properties PJSC, the Burj Dubai has surpassed the height of KVLY-TV mast, a 628.8 metres television transmitting mast in North Dakota, USA.
The Burj Dubai is expected to be over 700m in height upon completion. The developer is still keeping the final height as classified to avoid competition from other tallest-buildings-wannabe currently in construction.
