Hundreds of people packed a small outdoor ceremony at Fresno State to mark the start of construction of the Armenian Genocide Monument, which will be completed in time to mark next year's 100th anniversary of the genocide. Leaders of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church, Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee, Fresno joined local politicians, Fresno State leaders and throngs of community members at the event. The university set out 40 chairs, but a couple hundred spectators crammed around the site where the monument will be built. The primary message of the event was the importance of spreading awareness of the Armenian Genocide, which Fresno State Armenian Studies Coordinator Barlow Der Mugrdechian said killed as many as 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923. Der Mugrdechian said that on April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turkish government began arresting and executing hundreds of Armenian religious, academic and political leaders. The stone-and-concrete monument will be dedicated on April 24, the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the genocide. It was designed by local architect Paul Halajian and will consist of nine pillars representing the six provinces of historic Armenia, Cilicia, the Diaspora and the Republic of Armenia. An incomplete halo will rest on top of the pillars, which is meant to symbolize both the damage left by the genocide and the unity of the Armenian people. It will be the first such monument marking the genocide on a U.S. college campus. It will be located on the Maple Mall walkway just south of the Satellite Student Union on Fresno State's campus. Fresno State Vice President for Administration Cynthia Teniente-Matson said this prime location will allow every single Fresno State student to see and learn from the monument.

President Pranab Mukherjee will lay the foundation of the 213-meter Sri Krishna temple in Vrindavan on November 16, which backers say will be the world's tallest. Construction work has already begun on the piling for the pillars of the Chandrodaya Mandir, using the latest technology. The chief project director Bharat Prabhu, who keeps shuttling between Vrindavan and Bangalore, said "The US $49 million project...will take five years. We are using the world's latest technology and engineering processes to ensure a minimum life of 500 years for the gigantic structure that will go a long way to promote and nourish Sri Krishna consciousness, especially among the youth. The project is conceptualized and is being executed by ISKCON from Bangalore, which is partnering with Akshaya Patra, the world's largest non-governmental organization (NGO), which runs midday meal programs in the country feeding over a million school children every day. Prabhu said "this is a culturally and socially driven project which aims to put Vrindavan and India on the world map of iconic heritage structures. The project also employs many technologically innovative solutions to ensure environmental sustainability." This grand temple will harmoniously combine elements of both Indian temple architecture and modern architecture. A look-alike of the verdant forests of Vrindavan, consisting of twelve forests, will be recreated around the temple. Water from the Yamuna will be lifted and pumped to the meandering rivulet that will allow for boating and support aquatic life particular to the Braj area.

Dubai developer Emaar Properties and investment firm Dubai Holding on October 27 unveiled plans for a multi-million project known as "Dubai Creek Harbour at The Lagoons", which will contain the world's tallest twin towers with height more than 600 meters (1,968ft) each. Located within the two partners' joint master development, Mohammed bin Rashid City (MBR City), the project will be officially launched on November 1 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London and Moscow and will be the first residences located in Dubai Creek Harbour, offering views over the harbour and Dubai skyline. "Dubai Creek Harbour at The Lagoons" will be developed on an open site and is expected to be larger than Downtown Dubai in terms of magnitude. Dubai Creek Residences will include six towers - two of which will be 40-storeys in height - with a variety of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments that will have unit area ranging between 75 - 200 square meters. The master plan will contain a dedicated retail precinct, pedestrian walkways and The Dubai Twin Towers, an iconic mixed-use development billed to be the tallest twin towers in the world. At present, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 452 meters and 88 floors hold the record for the tallest twin towers in the world. Dubai is already home to the world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa (828 meters), the world's highest residential tower Princess Tower (414 meters), the world's highest hotel building JW Marriott Marquis (355 meters) and the world's highest twisted tower "Infinity Tower" (307 meters).

China and Russia are considering building a high-speed rail line thousands of kilometers from Moscow to Beijing that would cut the journey time from six days on the celebrated Trans-Siberian to two. The 803-kilometre line would be the first stage of the route to Beijing. The project would cost more than US$ 230 billion and be over 7,000 kilometers long, more than three times the world's current longest high-speed line, from the Chinese capital to the southern city of Guangzhou. At present, trains between the two run along the Trans-Siberian railway that links Moscow and Vladivostok, before switching to a branch line heading south through the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. Direct passenger trains between Beijing and Moscow went into operation in 1954 and there are still two services per week.

Higher than a bird, almost as high as some planes. It's Super Tower. And it's coming to Bangkok. Real estate developer Grand Canal Land unveiled plans for a 125-storey office and hotel tower that would make Bangkok home to the tallest skyscraper in Southeast Asia. The 320 thousand square-meter "Super Tower" - the name is not final and a naming competition will be held later - is being designed by Architects 49. The mixed-use project will offer 90 thousand square meters of office space and house a "six-star" hotel with 260 rooms. Other amenities include an observation tower for tourists and garden on the rooftop of a lower floor. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which maintains a database of the tallest skyscrapers, the Bangkok "Super Tower" will be the world's ninth tallest if it is built on schedule. It would be the third tallest if built today. The developer intends the tower as the center of a new business, shopping and residential district in Bangkok costing US$ 3.1 billion. If completed, the tower would dwarf the tallest building currently in Thailand, the "Baiyoke II tower", which tops out at 304 meters (328.4 m to tip) on its 85th floors. The second-tallest structure, to be completed in 2016, is Mahanakhon condominium at 314 meters. If built today, the tower would be the third-tallest in the world and the highest in the Southeast Asia region, planners said. Southeast Asia's current tallest building is the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur at 452 meters.