Travel peaks appear on first day of May Day holiday

Peaks of passenger trips are appearing across China on Thursday, the first day of the five-day May Day holiday.

As one of the three longest holidays in China, the May Day holiday is seeing a tourism boom.

China's railway network is expected to transport 22.5 million passengers on Thursday.

To meet the high demand, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd (China Railway) has boosted its transport capacity by adding 1,341 passenger trains.

The country's rail system transported nearly 18.32 million passengers on Wednesday, up 11.5 percent year on year.

China's railway network is expected to handle approximately 144 million passenger trips during the eight-day May Day holiday travel rush, which kicked off on Tuesday, the national railway operator said. The figure represents a year-on-year increase of 4.9 percent, according to China Railway.

China's expressway network is expected to handle 66.5 million vehicles on Thursday, around 2.1 times that of normal days.

China's civil aviation sector is expected to record 2.34 million passenger trips on Thursday, up 9.1 percent year on year.

Travel peaks appear on first day of May Day holiday

Travel peaks appear on first day of May Day holiday

Travel peaks appear on first day of May Day holiday

Travel peaks appear on first day of May Day holiday

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned on Sunday that Tehran would view the United States and Israel's military bases and facilities in the Middle East as "legitimate targets" should Washington take military action against Iran.

At a parliamentary session convened to review an emergency proposal on assembly regulations, Qalibaf emphasized that, at this highly sensitive juncture, Iran must accurately and thoroughly identify the schemes of its adversaries.

Qalibaf said that Iran is currently confronting Israel and the United States simultaneously on four fronts: economic, cognitive, military, and counterterrorism. Of them, the economic warfare and the cognitive and psychological warfare began many years ago and have persisted to this day, growing increasingly complex and intense in recent years.

The remarks came as U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly "seriously considering authorizing a strike" against Iran, taking advantage of its nationwide unrest.

Protests have erupted in several Iranian cities since late December over the sharp fall of the rial and long-standing economic hardship. Iranian authorities have acknowledged the demonstrations and voiced willingness to address economic grievances, while warning against violence and vandalism.

Amid the ongoing protests, deadly clashes have been reported lately between police and what the government described as "rioters." However, no official death toll has been released.

Also on Sunday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will address the country's economic situation and political environment in a televised interview later that day.

Iran swears to counterattack if attacked