At least 3 killed and others injured in train derailment in southern Germany

BERLIN (AP) — A regional passenger train derailed in southern Germany on Sunday, killing at least three people and seriously injuring others, authorities said.

Federal and local police said the cause of the crash near Riedlingen, roughly 158 kilometers (98 miles) west of Munich, remains under investigation. Photos from the scene showed parts of the train on its side as rescuers climbed atop the carriages.

It was not immediately clear how many people were injured. Roughly 100 people were onboard the train when at least two carriages derailed in a forested area around 6:10 p.m. (1610 GMT).

Storms passed through the area before the crash and investigators were seeking to determine if the rain was a factor.

“There have been heavy rains here, so it cannot be ruled out that the heavy rain and a related landslide accident may have been the cause. However, this is currently the subject of ongoing investigations,” said Thomas Strobl, interior minister of the state of Baden Württenberg.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in a post on social platform X, said he mourned the victims and gave his condolences to their families.

Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s main national railway operator, said in a statement that it was cooperating with investigators. The company also offered its condolences.

A front section of the derailed regional passenger train lies in a wooded section of track near Riedlingen, Germany, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Nico Pointner/dpa via AP)

Parts of the derailed regional passenger train lie next to a section of track near Riedlingen, Germany, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Nico Pointner/dpa via AP)

Parts of the derailed regional passenger train lie next to a section of track as police and first responders work at the scene near Riedlingen, Germany, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Nico Pointner/dpa via AP)

Emergency services stand near the derailed regional passenger train on a section of track near Riedlingen, Germany, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Nico Pointner/dpa via AP)

A carriage of the derailed regional passenger train stands on a section of track near Riedlingen, Germany, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Nico Pointner/dpa via AP)

Rescue workers search for passengers in a derailed train, Zwiefaltendorf, Sunday July 27, 2025. (Thomas Warnack/dpa via AP)

Rescue workers search for passengers in a derailed train, Zwiefaltendorf, Sunday July 27, 2025. (Thomas Warnack/dpa via AP)

Rescue workers search for passengers in a derailed train, Zwiefaltendorf, Sunday July 27, 2025. (Thomas Warnack/dpa via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.

Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.

She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.

The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.

On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.

Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.

American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.

For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.

Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”

Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)