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Dead Sea makes candidate list for 'seven natural wonders' By Irit Rosenblum Tags: Israel News, Ein Gedi  The Dead Sea has made it onto a list of 261 natural wonders in a global contest to select the seven natural wonders of the world. The organization, New 7 Wonders, based in Zurich, Switzerland, announced last Wednesday that the Dead Sea, along with Ein Gedi and the Red Sea, made the cut from 441 original candidates. Tia Viering, the organization's head of communications, said the group welcomed the Israeli sites and wished them luck. She also said she was sure just being nominated would do the sites good even if they had not made the cut, like Rosh Hanikra for example. Advertisement Voting on this phase will continue until July 7, 2009, at which point 77 sites will be selected. The 261 sites represent 222 countries and include tourism and heritage sites such as the Grand Canyon in the United States, Loch Ness in Scotland, Mount Fuji in Japan, the Amazon River, the Danube, the Great Barrier Reef, the Black Forest, the Iguazu Falls in Brazil, the Kalari Desert, Mont Blanc and Niagara Falls. In the previous campaign, in which the seven man-made wonders of the world were selected by more than 100 million people, this time too, a panel of experts will pick 21 semi-finalists, to be announced on July 21. The third and final phase of voting, which will begin when the semi-finalists are announced, will continue for two years. More than 1 billion people are expected to vote on the final list, which will be unveiled in 2011. "The Dead Sea is a natural wonder and it is our privilege to be responsible for it," said Mordechai Dahan, head of the Megilot Regional Council, which borders the Dead Sea, and nominated the world's lowest, saltiest body of water. "We hope we will now receive official support from people all over the world. We hope that this selection will underline the importance of solving the sea's crisis caused by human actions, and that we can save it for the future," he added. Voting is being held via the New 7 Wonders of Nature Web site, www.N7W.com. Bookmark to del.icio.us   From the bunker Hamas says Gaza won't break, victory over Israel is near. Banned Israel bans Arab parties from running in upcoming elections.

Read & React Legal expert: Rising Gaza death toll doesn't mean IDF acts are disproportionate Responses: 102 Sources: Hamas leaders hiding in basement of Israel-built hospital in Gaza Responses: 72 IDF: Hamas rocket fire down 50% since start of Gaza op Responses: 28 Gideon Levy: Israel's leaders will pay for the bloodshed in Gaza Responses: 55 Aluf Benn: Israel has a double standard when it comes to UN resolutions Responses: 42 More Headlines 23:21 IDF soldier seriously hurt in Gaza, possibly by friendly fire 01:03 Haniyeh: Hamas is willing to negotiate on Gaza cease-fire 00:54 Israel bans Arab parties from running in upcoming elections 19:35 Bush: Hamas must stop rocket fire if it wants Gaza truce 17:40 UN Human Rights Council condemns Israel over Gaza op 23:01 IDF reservist refuses to fight in Gaza over civilian deaths 16:55 Gaza War Diary IV - Can people die of ambivalence? 11:28 Amira Hass / Gazans doing their best to avoid becoming death statistics 18:20 Peres: The IDF has never been better trained, as sophisticated 18:20 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 22:59 Gaza rocket strikes Ashkelon home, residents flee to shelter 21:42 Israel voices concern over anti-Semitic attacks in Europe 18:43 Olmert: Gaza war won't end until rockets and smuggling stop 14:05 Immigration officials: Gaza op hasn`t deterred infiltration of migrants from Egypt 13:12 France vows to punish assailants who hurled firebombs at Paris synagogue 13:50 ANALYSIS / Israel's victories in Gaza make up for its failures in Lebanon Previous Editions Select Day 12 jan 11 jan 09 jan 08 jan 07 jan 06 jan 05 jan 04 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec

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