Chinese premier arrives in Zambia for official visit

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Zambia's capital of Lusaka on Wednesday for an official visit to the African country.

Li said that Zambia is the first country in Southern Africa to establish diplomatic ties with China, and the two countries share a profound tradition of friendship.

Over the years, despite changes in the international landscape, China and Zambia have consistently respected, trusted and supported each other, jointly forging the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, including the Tanzania-Zambia Railway spirit, he said.

Li noted that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, the two countries have steadily deepened their political mutual trust and achieved fruitful results in various sectors, setting a model of solidarity and collaboration among developing nations.

During the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September last year, the two heads of state held a meeting, which pointed the direction for further deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Zambia, said Li.

Li said that China stands ready to work with Zambia to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, promote mutual understanding and affinity between the two peoples, and advance together on the path of modernization.

Faced with a world of intertwined changes and chaos, China is willing to enhance multilateral communication and coordination with Zambia, stand united with the broad ranks of Global South countries, safeguard the international order as well as fairness and justice, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Li's visit followed his attendance at the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow, Russia.

Chinese premier arrives in Zambia for official visit

Chinese premier arrives in Zambia for official visit

The U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran since February 28 have inflicted irreparable damage on the country's priceless cultural heritage sites, according to Hassan Fartousi, secretary-general of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Fartousi said that 132 cultural heritage items have been attacked in recent strikes, emphasizing that the losses extend far beyond monetary valuation.

"Last night, I was told that 132 pieces [items] of our cultural heritage have been attacked, and it is really impossible to say how much the costs are, and it can be said that these (damaged cultural heritage items) are priceless and irreparable. How can these be defined?" Fartousi said.

Among the most severely affected sites is the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2013.

Fartousi said that about 40 percent of the palace's historic mirror works, dating back nearly 220 years to the Qajar period, have been damaged.

"Unfortunately, in Golestan Palace, there are almost 40 percent of the mirror works [that] have been damaged which belong to almost 220 years ago, the Qajar period. The same situation [occurred] in the Saad Abad complex [in] which the Green Palace [was] attacked in a way which the specialists were telling me very sadly that it may not be possible to repair some of the damages," he said.

The Golestan Palace complex, selected as the royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar ruling family in the 19th century, has been described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences."

The Saad Abad complex, a sprawling former royal compound in northern Tehran, encompasses an extensive park with multiple buildings now serving as museums dedicated to Iran's cultural history. The official residence of Iran's president is located adjacent to the site.

U.S.-Israeli airstrikes cause irreparable damage to Iran's cultural heritage sites: UNESCO official