As announced by Tameer company, the main developer of project, Dubai's landmark Princess Tower has been completed, making it the world's tallest residential tower at a final height of 414 meters, reported The National. Construction of residential tower began in 2005. The Dubai Marina development stands at 107 storey and encompasses basement floors, a ground floor and 100 above-ground levels. In addition to penthouse apartments overlooking The Palm Jumeirah, The Princess Tower houses 763 luxury apartments, including one, two, three, four-bedroom apartments. According to experts, the tower will contribute to more than 3,100 new apartments are scheduled to hit the market in Dubai Marina in the early part of this year, putting further pressure on declining rents in the popular coastal district. As we earlier reported, UAE's property boom ended in 2008, with home prices drop in the Dubai by about 60 percent. The current tallest completed residential building in the world is The Torch, the 337-meter tower located a few blocks away from the Pentominium project in Dubai, which itself could surpass Princess Tower if it is ever completed to the 516 meters originally planned. That project has become bogged down in delays.

As reported the newspaper Le Figaro, in 2014 Louvre will receive a new building - the museum will get the building of hotel de la Marine in Paris, which is currently the main headquarter of the Fleet Marine Forces. According to director of Louvre Henri Loyrette, the museum has no plans to move one of its departments or part of its collection to the new building. There will be exposed collections from other museums or institutions. The building total area is about 22 thousand square meters, 3 thousand of which have been already restored. The whole restoration project is estimated US$ 65-105 million (50-80 million euros). It is assumed that de la Marine hotel will become an important cultural center, where will also be held lectures and seminars. In one part of the building will house the Court of Audit of France. Hotel De la Marine is one of two stone buildings, located on the Place de la Concorde. It was built in 1757-1774 by the order of Louis XV according to Ange-Jacques Gabriel's design. The construction works were led by architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot. The building was used as a storehouse for the royal furniture and other property.

According to Desertec Foundation company's press release, project developer Nur Energie and its Tunisian partners, including Desertes Foundation plan to construct concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plant in the Saharan deserts of Tunisia. The project, which called "TuNur" will construct in several phases. The first phase is expected to begin in 2014 and the first electricity exports are set to reach Europe by 2016 via a new low-loss transmission line to Italy. The project has been designed to reduce water requirements to a bare minimum by using a dry, air-based cooling system. It will ultimately produce 2 Gigawatts of electricity, roughly double the average nuclear power plant. The number of jobs created directly and indirectly over the project's construction and operational period will come to around 20 thousand. Around 825 thousand flat plate mirrors and steel structures known as heliostats will be needed for the project and can be manufactured locally. Using heat storage tanks, "TuNur" can produce electricity on demand day and night, delivering enough clean electricity to power 700 thousand European homes. Desertec Foundation was established in 2009. It is an international consortium, whose goal is to provide Europe with solar electricity. The consortium includes such major European companies, as ABB and Siemens, Deutsche Bank, insurance company Munich Re, energy company RWE and so on. Desertec Foundation reported, that investors are willing to invest about 400 billion euro in solar electricity. They plan to construct solar power plants in Africa and the Middle East and to occupy about 15 percent of European electricity market.

As reported by information agency APA, Azerbaijan plans to build the world's tallest tower within the framework of Caspian Island project. Initially, the height of Azerbaijan Tower planned to be 560 meters, but parameters were changed. The developer of Caspian Island Avesta concern decided that the high of 185 floors tower to be 1050 meters, and it will be commissioned in 2018-2019. According to another news agency The First News, the construction of Caspian Island in Azerbaijan, which will be erected on artificial made islands, has already started. This project will be built during 25 years. The 10 percent of the whole project is planned to complete in 2016. It should be noted, that the minimum cost for one square meter in this city will be about US$ 4.5 thousand. The new city will cover 30 thousand square meters area - 20 thousand for residential buildings, 10 thousand for retail stores, offices, stadiums, entertainment venues, race circuits for Formula 1 and Formula 2, etc. The developer plans to build the longest boulevard in the world with 150 kilometers length and the highest skyscraper with 1050 meters height in this city. There are no intersections planned in this city, so no need for traffic lights. The total budget of this project is estimated US$ 125 billion, and it will be funded by private investors. According to author, this project has no analogue in the world, as the city planned to be built on artificial island. However, the Baku experiment isn't unique and new. There are enough "island projects" in UAE and other countries. As BBC reported, according to Barclays Capital research, there is an "unhealthy correlation" between the building of skyscrapers and subsequent financial crashes. Often the world's tallest buildings are simply the edifice of a broader skyscraper building boom, reflecting a widespread misallocation of capital and an impending economic correction. Examples include the "Empire State building", built as the "Great Depression" was under way, and the current world's tallest, the "Burj Khalifa", built just before Dubai almost went bust. Today the world's tallest building is Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates (828 meters). UAE also planned to build 1400-meters tall "Nakheel tower", but its construction was delayed. The 1000-meters tall skyscraper is also planned to be built in Kuwait in City of Silk. Saudi Arabia also plans to build more than a kilometer high Kingdom tower in Jeddah. But now all this "oil country" projects are on the paper only, and a big question is - which one will take the Champion title from Dubai's Giant?

A French theme park is being planned in honour of Napoleon Bonaparte, almost 200 years after his death, reported The Telegraph. "Napoleonland", the brainchild of former French minister and history buff Yves Jego, is being touted as a rival to Disneyland. The plan is to build the unlikely amusement park, with US$ 280 million budget, on the site of the brilliant but doomed French leader's final victory against the Austrians in the Battle of Montereau in 1814 just south of Paris. Mr Jego hopes that construction work can start in 2014 and the park open its doors in 2017. He is due to provide more details on the attraction won February 18 - the 198th anniversary of the Battle of Montereau. The park is expected to house a museum, a hotel, shops, restaurants and a congress centre. The 1815 Battle of Waterloo, in which the Duke of Wellington ended Napoleon's rule in France, could be recreated on a daily basis with visitors perhaps even able be able to take part in the reenactments. They will also be able to take in a water show recreating the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, in which Lord Nelson scored a decisive victory over a French and Spanish coalition aboard HMS Victory but died in the process. But the park will also give pride of place to Napoleon's greatest victories, in particular the Battle of Austerlitz in which the Russo-Austrian army was decisively defeated. Napoleon looms large in the French national psyche but has no national museum to his name. The park would help keep him on the map while boosting the local economy, with a potential 1.5 million visitors in its first year.