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QUEBEC - Baha'i holy places in Israel, the Monarch butterfly biosphere reserve of Mexico, and the historic centre of Camaguey, a Spanish colonial town in Cuba first settled in 1528, are among the new sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee met in July in Quebec City to add the 19 cultural sites and eight natural sites to the list, which now numbers 878 sites in 145 countries. Detailed information about each site is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/453.

In Mexico, in addition to the butterfly reserve, the fortified town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesus Nazareno de Atotonilco, cited for their architecture, were added to the list.

In Europe, new sites are the ancient stone walls, shelters and landscape of Stari Grad on the Adriatic island of Hvar in Croatia; 17th-century fortifications along the borders of France; and innovatively designed Modernist housing in Berlin, dating from 1910-1933.

In Asia and the South Pacific, new sites added to the list are Cambodia's Temple of Preah Vihear; the "tulou" of China's Fujian province, which are circular communal earthen houses; and Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca in Malaysia, cited for their unique multicultural heritage as trading sites between Asia and Europe.

In the Middle East, the list now includes, in Iran, the Armenian monasteries of St. Thaddeus and St. Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor.

In Africa, Kenya's Mijikenda Kaya Forests were recognized for the remains of fortified villages dating back centuries that are now considered sacred sites, and Le Morne, a mountain on the coast of Mauritius, included for its history as a shelter for runaway slaves.

Natural properties added to the UNESCO list, in addition to the Mexico butterfly reserve, are Canada's Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a fossil-rich area of Nova Scotia.