the worst building in the history of mankind....

is back under construction after a 16-year lull. Reuters is reporting that

North Korea's phantom hotel is stirring back to life. Once dubbed by Esquire magazine as "the worst building in the history of mankind," the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel is back under construction after a 16-year lull in the capital of one of the world's most reclusive and destitute countries.

It would cost up to $2 billion to finish the Ryugyong Hotel and make it safe, according to estimates in South Korean media. That is equivalent to about 10 percent of the North's annual economic output.

Google Maps view of "Hotel of Doom"

North Korea destroys water cooling tower at Yongbyon Nuclear facility

CNN is reporting that North Korea has destroyed a water cooling tower at Yongbyon Nuclear facility (Google Maps View shown below).

The massive implosion, which came at about 5pm local time Friday at the Yongbyon facility, was intended to be a powerful public symbol of a move to end nuclear activities by the Communist nation once branded a member of an "axis of evil" by U.S. President George W. Bush.

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