Hundreds of students and academics at Sanaa University in the Yemeni capital organized a large rally on campus on Wednesday to show solidarity with Palestinians and Lebanese who have endured an Israeli military campaign since last October.
Held ahead of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine, which falls on Friday, the demonstration showed the support of students and academics for the struggle of the Palestinian people and the residents of Gaza.
Demonstrators also expressed solidarity with the Lebanese people, who they said have faced crimes and acts of genocide by the Israeli army.
"We came out today at Sana'a University to resume our demonstrations and to show the world that Palestine is not alone. We want our brothers in Gaza to feel they are not alone. Even though the fight in Lebanon has paused after great sacrifices -- the country losing many of its leaders and much of what it had -- the resistance in Lebanon has given so much," said Ibrahim Luqman, vice president of Sanaa University.
"We came out because this is our national and fraternal duty -- to support the Palestinian and Lebanese people who have been subjected to the most horrific crimes. These massacres are unprecedented, not even seen in ancient history or in the history of the world wars," added Abdulbaset Hamid Al-Din, an academic at the university.
The demonstrators said the international community, led by the United States, is responsible for what is happening in Palestine and Lebanon. They said it is their duty to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza as it has in Lebanon. There were also public calls to continue global pressure on Israel through widespread activities and events around the world.
"We demand an end to the aggression on Gaza, an end to the crimes, and an end to the genocide against the people of Gaza. This is a grave crime against Islamic and Arab nations and against humanity as a whole. Just as the aggression on Lebanon has stopped, we call for the aggression on Gaza to stop," said Taqia Abu Talib, a student of the university.
Although the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon has come into effect, the protesters said the United Nations and international organizations remain responsible for the genocide and systematic starvation in Gaza caused by the Israeli army. The demonstration also included messages of support for the Houthi Ansar Allah group’s operations in the Red Sea against American aircraft carriers, with calls to expand such actions.
Yemeni students march to support Palestinians facing Israeli attacks
The 2024 Kazakhstan Tourism Year in China officially closed on Wednesday in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, with fruitful results achieved in promoting travel between the two countries. An international tourism forum was held within the framework of the closing ceremony. About 300 people, including Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerkinbayev Yerzhan Malikovich, Chinese Consul General in Almaty Jiang Wei, and representatives from tourism and media of both countries, attended the event.
Yerkinbayev said that Kazakhstan plans to expand passenger capacity at land ports connecting the countries and increase investment in tourism infrastructure construction to attract more Chinese tourists.
"We are seeing more and more Chinese tourists coming to Kazakhstan, so we should improve tourism infrastructure and not let these visitors down. Today at the forum we announced that we will open new border crossings and improve the facilities at existing ones. Some improvement work has already started this year, making these crossings convenient not only for the clearance of goods but also for people," he said.
"The leaders of the two countries have announced that 2025 will be the Chinese Tourism Year in Kazakhstan. We are looking forward to the series of activities planned by our Chinese colleagues, and will fully support every event to be held in Kazakhstan next year," he added.
Jiang, the Chinese Consul General in Almaty, said that all-round and high-level China-Kazakhstan tourism cooperation has been launched, which will inject new impetus into promoting mutual understanding between the two peoples and building a more meaningful and dynamic China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future.
"Since the launch of the Kazakhstan Tourism Year event, departments at all levels of the two countries, especially the tourism departments, have held promotion meetings, forums, and tourism exhibitions in both countries, providing tourists with a variety of colorful activities. Such events have opened up windows for promoting mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of the two countries and enhancing mutual learning between civilizations," Jiang said.
At the closing ceremony, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan presented the "Most Influential International Media Cooperation Award" to CCTV-4 Channel of China Media Group (CMG), commending the three-part documentary "Bond with China—For the Common Dream" produced in cooperation with the Khabar Media Group of Kazakhstan.
The program was launched in July this year at a China-Kazakhstan cultural exchange event organized by CMG, and was aired simultaneously on China's CCTV-4, the TV channels under the Khabar Media Group, and Atameken TV.
Daniyel Serzhanuly, deputy chairman of the board for the Kazakh Tourism National Company, said that the documentary showcases the culture and beautiful scenery of Kazakhstan to Chinese audiences. He expressed hope for deepened cooperation in media between the two countries.
"Among the more than 30 cooperation projects implemented under the tourism year program, there are media cooperation projects. The most successful one is the three-part documentary about Kazakhstan produced in cooperation with CCTV-4. The program was launched before the SCO Summit, which showed the tourism potential of Kazakhstan to Chinese audiences and improved Chinese people's understanding of Kazakhstan," he said.
Two sub-forums and a B2B tourism business negotiation meeting were also held within the framework of the closing ceremony.
2024 Kazakhstan Tourism Year in China closes with fruitful results
