Direct train service launched between Urumqi, Hami in China's Xinjiang

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region launched a new bullet train service on Thursday, offering a direct connection between its capital city Urumqi and Hami, another important city in the region.   The service allows passengers to travel between the two cities in just two hours and 29 minutes, a reduction of up to 58 minutes compared with other bullet trains running on the same route.   The direct service is a major step towards improving transportation in Xinjiang, making travel more convenient for local residents. With this new service, Urumqi is now directly connected by train services to seven other key cities within Xinjiang.   Urumqi resident Shao Liping expressed her appreciation for the time-saving benefit of the new service.   "Previously, the trip from Urumqi to Hami took over three hours. But now, I noticed the travel time has been shortened by more than half an hour, and it's only two and a half hours. For people like us who commute to work, this extra half hour is really convenient. In the summer, we'll have time to have a meal and do some sightseeing in Hami. In the winter, the temperature won't be too low and it won't get too dark when we arrive there," said Shao.   Hami resident Zhang Wei also welcomed the new service.   "I hope Xinjiang can introduce more such direct train services, as this would greatly shorten the distance between our living and working areas," said Zhang.   The launch of this new bullet train service is expected to further stimulate local socioeconomic development.

"The launch of this train service enables a direct point-to-point connection between the two cities without any stops along the way. With this, Xinjiang's railway authorities now operate direct train services connecting Urumqi to seven other key cities, including Yining, Bole, Karamay, Kashgar, Aksu, Korla, and Hami. This new service offers local passengers a new travel option and a new experience, while also contributing to the prosperity and development of the local economy," said Yang Li, a staff member of China Railway Urumqi Bureau.

Direct train service launched between Urumqi, Hami in China's Xinjiang

The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.

On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.

Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.

"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.

Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.

"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.

US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar