China's national railways transported about 1.64 billion tons of goods in the first five months of 2025, up 3.1 percent year on year, according to data released Sunday by the China State Railway Group (CSRG) -- the national railway operator.
Daily loading volume averaged 181,000 carriages, rising 4.2 percent, said the CSRG.
National railways moved 845 million tons of coal from January to May, including 575 million tons for power generation.
Power plant coal reserves remained high, while shipments of mining and construction materials, metallurgical materials, and grain rose 22 percent, 9.1 percent, and 5.5 percent, respectively, said the railway operator.
Railway authorities have continued to improve the quality of logistics services.
In the first five months this year, a total of 655 logistics general contracting contracts were signed, pushing the shift of bulk cargo transportation from road to rail.
A total of 43 products with a "single bill of lading" for multimodal transportation have been developed, sending 6.833 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo for rail-water intermodal transport, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.4 percent.
Financial services for railway logistics have been expanded, with 19.783 billion yuan (about 2.755 billion U.S. dollars) in credit financing granted to 819 customers.
Cross-border freight remained stable and smooth in the first five months.
From January to May, China-Europe Railway Express operations remained stable. China-Central Asia freight trains made 6,046 trips, up 23 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the China-Laos Railway transported 2.502 million tons of cross-border goods, an 8 percent increase.
China's railway freight volume up 3.1 pct in Jan-May
The airstrike conducted by Saudi-led coalition targeting the port of Mukalla in Yemen's oil-rich Hadramout province early Tuesday morning has caused severe damage to nearby residential buildings and left locals terrified.
According to the coalition, the strike targeted weapons and combat vehicles allegedly unloaded at the port from two unauthorized ships that arrived from the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the weekend.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al Maliki said the vessels had disabled their tracking systems and delivered a large cache of arms intended to bolster the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen's Hadramout and Al-Mahra provinces, a move he described as a "clear violation" of the UN Security Council Resolution 2216 of 2015.
He said the operation was conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules, ensuring that no collateral damage occurred.
However, local residents offered a different account, describing scenes of chaos and destruction in the pre-dawn hours following the strike.
"As you can see, this is the severe damage that occurred to our home as a result of the airstrike that targeted the Mukalla port, specifically military vehicles that were next to the house, about 20 to 40 meters away. At exactly 04:30, the location was targeted with a surprise airstrike, and we were shocked by the sudden violent explosions," said Salem Ali Al-Haj Zaid, a local resident.
Another resident, Um Ali, described the psychological toll on children.
"The children kept crying from the time of the strike until morning. Poor things, they were shocked, scared and unable to sleep again," said Ali.
The strike hit especially hard for Um Mohammed, a widow living on the top floor of a residential building near the port.
"We were terrified. My mother is old. The most damage was to the floor of the building where I live, and I am a widow. Who will compensate us for this?" said Mohammed.
The reported attacks come amid heightened military escalation in Hadramout, where Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have warned of possible military action following the STC's refusal to withdraw its forces from the governorate.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition called on all civilians to immediately evacuate the port of Mukalla to ensure their safety, according to the Saudi state news agency SPA.
Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout governorate, is a key port city on Yemen's southeastern coast, with strategic and economic value.
Saudi-led airstrike on Yemen's Mukalla port damages homes, sparking fear among locals
