China's cross-border rail freight transport sees sound growth Jan-Nov

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China's cross-border rail freight transport maintained stable and smooth operations in the first 11 months of the year, with both volume and efficiency lifted, according to data released by China Railway on Monday.

This year, the cities of Chongqing, Yiwu, Wuhan and Guangzhou have joined Xi'an and Chengdu cities to provide fully timetabled China-Europe freight train services that represent high-quality cross-border transportation.

A total of 17,918 China-Europe freight trains transported 1.919 million TEUs of goods from January to November, up 11 percent and 10 percent year on year, respectively, in terms of trains involved and TEUs sent.

The cities of Jinan and Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province handled a record 1,572 China-Europe freight train trips in the first 11 months.

In the period, a total of 4,046 freight trains passed through the Erenhot port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a year-on-year increase of 32.5 percent.

"Now, the number of China-Europe freight train routes at the Erenhot port has increased to 71, which connect the port with 64 Chinese cities and more than 140 cities and stations in 12 countries. The proportion of high value-added products such as cars, machinery, cellphones and computers has exceeded 40 percent," said Cao Junpei, deputy director of the Port Management Office of the Commerce Department, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

More than 17.5 million tons of goods, including 4.34 million tons of goods for cross-border trade, were transported along the China-Laos Railway in the first 11 months, up 10 percent and 17.7 percent year on year, respectively.

In the period, the total value of fruits exported via the rail route surged by more than 51 times year on year to 158 million yuan (about 21.65 million U.S. dollars), and the figure of imported fruits rose by 79.3 percent year on year to 3.81 billion yuan (about 522 million U.S. dollars), data showed.

China's cross-border rail freight transport sees sound growth Jan-Nov

Hundreds of Shia Muslims marched in northern Nigeria this week to protest the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes last Saturday.

Demonstrations erupted in several northern states, with the largest gathering in Minna, capital of Niger state. Protesters waved Iranian flags, held portraits of Khamenei, and chanted slogans denouncing the attacks.

Farina Ibrahim, one of the demonstrators, voiced the community's anguish and demanded an end to the strikes on Iran.

"The continued attack on Iran should be stopped. They should stop killing our brothers. This action has been going on for too long and we can't continue. Even small children are targeted and killed. We condemn the attack," she said.

Khamenei, who served as Iran's supreme leader for decades, was viewed by many Shia Muslims not only as a political authority but also as a source of religious guidance. His killing has sent shockwaves through Shia communities worldwide.

Demonstrators described the event as a turning point for the Islamic world.

"Whatever they're doing, they're not attacking Iran alone, they're attacking Islam; because Iran has not done anything wrong. All we're concerned about is that they're fighting Islam. And they will not succeed. This procession will continue till they stop. Both America and Israeli forces stop their crude ways of doing things, their attack on innocent people, their attack on innocent nations. What they've done is wrong!" said Usman Zubairu, another protester. In response to the protests, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja deployed heavy security and issued a security alert to American citizens in Nigeria, urging them to remain vigilant.

Nigerian Shia Muslims protest killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei