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Deadly train crash in Iran prompts resignation, arrests

The backlash over one of the deadliest train crashes in the history of Iran brings down the head of the country’s railways and leads to the arrests of multiple officials.
Iranian minister of transportation Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi speaks during the CAPA 2016 Iran Aviation Summit in the capital Tehran, on January 24, 2016.
Iran says it will buy 114 Airbus planes to revitalise its ageing fleet, in the first major commercial deal announced since the lifting of sanctions under its nuclear agreement. News of the Airbus deal came as aviation representatives from 85 companies met in Tehran to assess ways to do business in the Islamic republic after sanctions were removed.  / AFP / STR

As the number of casualties from the train collision in northeast Iran on Nov. 25 climbed to 49 dead and 103 injured, 20 lawmakers have moved to sign a motion to impeach the minister of roads and urban development.

Four carriages derailed and two caught fire in the crash, which took place 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Tehran, in the province of Semnan. The accident happened when a passenger train hit another that had stopped near Haft-khan station.

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