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Qatar, Iran Hold Joint Coast Guard Meeting to Boost Field Cooperation

Dhows, traditional sailing vessels, with Qatar flags anchored in Doha [Getty Images]
Dhows, traditional sailing vessels, with Qatar flags anchored in Doha [Getty Images]
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Qatar, Iran Hold Joint Coast Guard Meeting to Boost Field Cooperation

Dhows, traditional sailing vessels, with Qatar flags anchored in Doha [Getty Images]
Dhows, traditional sailing vessels, with Qatar flags anchored in Doha [Getty Images]

The 15th joint coast guard meeting between Iran and Qatar was held Sunday in Tehran to develop field cooperation and boost bilateral good-neighborly relations, according to Iranian media.

The Iranian side was headed by Border Guard Commander Brigadier General Ghasem Rezaei and the Qatari delegation was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Abdulaziz Ali al-Mohannadi, assistant director-general of the country’s Coasts and Borders Security, according to IRNA.

Ties between Iran and Qatar have been bolstered since the GCC decided to boycott Doha in June 2017 after accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Last week, Tehran also received UAE Coast Guard Commander Brigadier General Mohammed Ali Musleh al-Ahbabi to discuss means of enhancing border security between the two countries.

The two sides signed on Thursday a maritime border cooperation deal and agreed to hold meetings to discuss border cooperation every six months.

Qatar-funded media has launched a propaganda campaign against UAE's effort to hold border cooperation talks with Iran.

It exploited UAE's move to disrupt the Gulf alliance despite the official announcement by Abu Dhabi that its talks with Iran were routine and didn’t reflect any shift in regional policy.

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At Least 25 Killed After Crane Falls on Train in Thailand, Police Say

Wreckage at the site where a train was derailed when a construction crane collapsed and fell onto its carriages, causing several casualties, in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, January 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Wreckage at the site where a train was derailed when a construction crane collapsed and fell onto its carriages, causing several casualties, in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, January 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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At Least 25 Killed After Crane Falls on Train in Thailand, Police Say

Wreckage at the site where a train was derailed when a construction crane collapsed and fell onto its carriages, causing several casualties, in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, January 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Wreckage at the site where a train was derailed when a construction crane collapsed and fell onto its carriages, causing several casualties, in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, January 14, 2026. (Reuters)

A train derailed in northeastern Thailand on Wednesday after a construction crane fell on three ​of its carriages, killing at least 25 people and injuring about 80, police said.

The accident took place on Wednesday morning in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230 km (143 miles) northeast of Bangkok, on a train from the capital bound for Ubon Ratchathani province.

"The death toll has now reached 25. The search for more bodies is ongoing," Police Colonel Thatchapon Chinnawong ‌told Reuters by phone.

Transport ‌Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said in a statement ‌that ⁠there ​were ‌195 people on board, adding that he had ordered a thorough investigation to be carried out.

Those killed were in two of the three carriages hit by the crane, he said.

The crane was working on a high-speed rail project when it collapsed and hit the passing train, causing it to derail and briefly catch fire.

Images shared by ⁠the ministry showed carriages overturned next to shrubland and firefighters extinguishing a blaze ‌as smoke billowed out.

Footage of the crash site ‍verified by Reuters shows rescue workers ‍trying to extract casualties from one of the buckled carriages, ‍with some badly injured passengers already being loaded into ambulances.

The elevated high-speed rail project, one of several under construction in Thailand, was being built above the existing rail line. Part of the collapsed crane is still ​propped up by the stanchions built to support the new rail link.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said ⁠at a press briefing that the Chinese government attached great importance to the safety of projects and personnel and was looking into the situation.

"At present, it seems that the relevant section was under construction by a Thai enterprise. The cause of the accident is still under investigation."

The high-speed rail project will connect to China through Laos.

The government said last year that more than a third of construction had been completed in the segment connecting Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, and the whole line to Nong Khai at the border with ‌Laos would be ready by 2030.

World

Larijani Calls Trump, Netanyahu ‘Main Killers of People of Iran’ as Russia Slams Threats

Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)
Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)
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Larijani Calls Trump, Netanyahu ‘Main Killers of People of Iran’ as Russia Slams Threats

Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)
Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)

A senior Iranian official responded Tuesday to US President Donald Trump’s latest threat to intervene in deadly protests, saying that the US and Israel will be the ones responsible for the death of Iranian civilians.

Shortly after Trump’s social media post urging Iranians to “take over” government institutions, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, posted on X: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2- Netanyahu.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called Trump's threats “categorically unacceptable.”

The ministry warned in a statement that any such strikes would have “disastrous consequences” for the situation in the Middle East and global security.

It also criticized what it called “brazen attempts to blackmail Iran’s foreign partners by raising trade tariffs.”

The statement noted that the protests in Iran had been triggered by social and economic problems resulting from Western sanctions.

It also denounced “hostile external forces” for trying to “exploit the resulting growing social tension to destabilize and destroy the Iranian state” and charged that “specially trained and armed provocateurs acting on instructions from abroad” sought to provoke violence.

The ministry voiced hope that the situation in Iran will gradually stabilize and advised Russian citizens in the country not to visit crowded places.

World

Satellite Internet Provider Starlink Now Offering Free Service Inside Iran

Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)
Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)
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Satellite Internet Provider Starlink Now Offering Free Service Inside Iran

Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)
Protesters participate in a demonstration supporting protesters in Iran, in front of the US Consulate, Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP)

The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in Iran, activists said Wednesday.

Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.

Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.

Starlink itself did not immediately acknowledge the decision.