The Chinese Navy's hospital ship "Silk Road Ark" arrived in Jamaica's capital Kingston on Monday for a 3-day friendly visit, during which the Chinese medics had provided free medical services to locals.
Staff members from the Chinese Embassy in Jamaica, representatives of Chinese institutions, and the Chinese community in the country welcomed the ship at the pier. Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister of Health and Wellness, and the Mayor of Kingston boarded the vessel for a tour.
The ship was in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 4 to deliver medical assistance to people affected by Hurricane Melissa, which caused casualties and significant property damage along the country's southwestern coast and put tremendous pressure on the local medical system.
Since arriving in Montego Bay, the Chinese medics have provided clinical service to around 2,000 patients and performed 267 surgeries.
At the request of the Jamaican side, the Chinese hospital ship is scheduled to visit three ports in Jamaica -- Montego Bay, Kingston and Falmouth -- over its 12-day mission in the country, providing medical services to local residents.
Chinese naval hospital ship arrives in Kingston, Jamaica for friendly visit, medical aid
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
