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BERLIN (AP) — Two freight trains collided on a railway bridge in Germany overnight, officials said Saturday, the crash sending two wagons plunging off the bridge and onto the street below. One person was killed.

The German news agency dpa did not identify the victim in the crash, which occurred in the city of Munich. The cause of the collision was not immediately known.

The wagons fell about 5 meters (16 feet) from the bridge, dpa said. Munich police said the street beneath the bridge has been closed and urged drivers to avoid the area while recovery and clearing operations were underway.

According to dpa, the derailed wagons were not carrying any cargo and there was no threat to public safety.

There were no report of anyone else had been hurt in the crash.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian bombs struck an apartment building on Saturday in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killing at least one person and wounding nine, including a 6-year-old child, authorities said.

A body was pulled from the rubble hours after the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. He said that the bombs slammed into the low-rise building in Kharkiv’s Kholodnohirskiy district in the early hours. The head of the regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that at least nine people were wounded, five of whom were hospitalized.

Elsewhere in Kharkiv, a Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle on Friday evening, killing a man and wounding the woman who was driving the car, Syniehubov said.

Later on Saturday, Russia again launched guided bombs at Ukraine, striking the outskirts of the northern city of Sumy, according to local administration head Oleh Hryhorov. The attacks killed a male civilian and damaged at least 20 private houses, Hryhorov reported on Telegram.

Russian strikes on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least four people and wounded six others, according to regional administration head Ivan Fedorov. Guided aerial bombs were used in the attacks.

Moscow didn’t immediately acknowledge or comment on the attacks.

Ukraine’s air force said that it shot down 92 of 99 Russian drones launched overnight and that seven struck targets in three locations.

Meanwhile, Russian air defences repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in Tyumen in Western Siberia, Gov. Alexander Moor said Saturday. He said that there was no damage to the refinery and staff members were evacuated.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages.

In one of the biggest drone attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, Ukraine on Thursday struck a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week, sending huge plumes of black smoke over the capital and disrupting hundreds of flights.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces shot down 177 Ukrainian drones during the night. It didn’t say how many reached their targets. Two drones were shot down on approach to Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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June 20 (Reuters) – Porsche CEO Michael Leiters expects a swift conclusion to negotiations on a second cost-cutting package at the German sports car maker, according to an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung published on Saturday.

“We want to reach an agreement with the employees before the factory holidays in July. Porsche employees need clarity,” Leiters said.

• Porsche has previously said that it will axe 1,900 jobs in the coming years after laying off 2,000 temporary workers last year

• According to Leiters, Porsche plans lower production capacities than the around 280,000 cars sold last year

• “Porsche has to make money with fewer cars,” Leiters told FAS

• Porsche also plans closer cooperation with sister company Audi, Leiters said

• Entry-level 718 series will continue

• Porsche saw its profit erode further in the first quarter of 2026 as deals with mounting challenges from tariffs, geopolitical turmoil and gaps in its model lineup

(Reporting by Matthias Williams, editing by Thomas Seythal)

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HAVANA (AP) — Observers on Friday called Cuba’s new free-market reforms the most sweeping economic overhaul of the island’s communist economy since the Cuban revolution, as the grandson of former President Raúl Castro said in an interview that Cuba must seek to move its economy forward.

The 176 measures aim to further decentralize Cuba’s state-run economy, which has been left gasping by a tightened embargo under President Donald Trump. Under the island’s current economic model, the government largely determines what is produced, who produces it, the prices at which goods are sold and how the country’s resources are allocated.

The plan includes more space for private businesses, imports and exports without state intermediation, free hiring of personnel, authorization for private banks and investment by Cubans abroad. It even permits fast-food chains to establish themselves on the island.

“Elements that for decades were listed as pillars of the revolutionary economy, such as the state monopoly on foreign trade and the centralization of productive forces, have been dismantled,” said Luis Carlos Battista, a Cuban-American political scientist and lawyer who is a doctoral candidate at the University of Salamanca.

Cuban leaders like former President Raúl Castro – who still wields significant power on the island – have sought to push forward more limited reforms of Cuba’s economy in the past, but efforts have run into bureaucratic hurdles. In passing the reform, Cuban authorities cautioned that implementation could be slow, and noted measures will not be viable if the U.S. does not lift the energy and financial embargo on the island.

Since January, Cuba has been under a harsh energy and financial embargo imposed by the U.S., effectively blocking Cuba off from fuel, it’s main energy source, and deepening the crisis had already been deteriorating for the past five years. Blackouts have lasted up to 20 hours a day and have restricted access to health services, transportation and education.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that they are maintaining a policy of maximum pressure to change the island’s political and economic system, which has endured for six decades despite U.S. pressure. They have not ruled out the use of military force.

In an i nterview published Friday, in the United Arab Emirates-based The National, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, grandson of the revolutionary leader, reiterated that Cuba “doesn’t even slightly represent a threat” to the U.S.

Rodriguez Castro said in the video interview that Cuba’s government was seeking a “very Cuban” economic model.

“Our country must seek a path to economic development where we must inevitably diversify our economy, diversify the way we do business and diversify the way we do investments,” he said.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the proposed measures were based on an analysis of the Vietnamese and Chinese models, communist countries with market economies.

What is likely to pose a significant barrier are U.S. sanctions on Cuba, said Lee Schlenker, a research associate at the Quincy Institute in Washington.

“With these new measures, along with others that are likely on the table, they will only have a true effect if complemented with the gradual lifting of U.S. prohibitions and sanctions more broadly,” he said.

Without sanctions being lifted, Schlenker and other analysts said many of the presented measures will be inapplicable, especially due to the limitations and prohibitions imposed on potential investors, who are penalized in the U.S. financial system if they do business with Cuba.

Beyond that, there are a number of other obstacles that could stymie significant reforms, ranging from mistrust from potential investors to what Battista, the Cuban-American analyst called “slow and inefficient” bureaucracy.

Despite these obstacles, the Cuban government faces a short window for obtaining results, said Paolo Spadoni, associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Augusta University in Georgia.

“If Cuban leaders hope to survive this unprecedented crisis and the pressure from the United States, they must move quickly with the implementation of reform and the achievement of tangible results,” Spadoni said.

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

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One of the few Black-owned banks in the United States is introducing a debit card aimed at helping single mothers who live in government-subsidized housing escape poverty.

The Bank King Card debit card will be offered beginning Friday in honor of Juneteenth by Redemption Bank, which will make a donation from every account opened to nonprofits that will steer the funding to needy families.

“Bank King Card represents a new regenerative banking model that starts with investing in mothers who are a few hopeful dollars away from breaking out of poverty, and opening up America’s vaults of opportunity that have been closed to too many for too long,” Redemption Holding Co. chair and Chief Executive Ashley Bell said.

A 2026 report by the Urban Institute and the Jeremiah Program says households led by single mothers experience widespread economic and caregiving hardship.

Redemption Bank, based in Holladay, Utah, says it intends to make fixed-amount donations based on new Bank King Card account openings. The amount will be determined annually by the bank’s board of directors and will not be based on the amount of card purchases, according to Redemption Bank.

Nonprofits that provide direct-cash services would apply for grants through a foundation developed to make sure the money gets to those who need it most.

“What we’ve seen is these guaranteed income programs have been a jolt out of poverty for women around the country, including many women of color,” Bell said.

Money given directly to needy mothers and children is overwhelmingly spent to cover necessary goods or services, according to Chastity Lord, president and chief executive of the Jeremiah Program, which works to improve economic mobility for single mothers.

But it also does so much more, she said.

“It provides dignity,” Lord continued. “It ensures summer learning, not leaving kids at home. It increases nutrition. It allows the mom to make powerful decisions that benefit their children and their families instead of making decisions to just get by.”

A pilot program through the Ohio Mother’s Trust funneled $500 each month for a year to 32 single mothers in the Columbus, Ohio, area.

For Juanita Amakor of Columbus, the cash she received through the Ohio Mother’s Trust allowed her to catch up on bills and pay rent.

“It’s the breathing room it gives you, knowing there is something extra coming in. It relieves a lot of anxiety,” said Amakor, 36, who has a 7-year-old daughter. “This help goes a long way, even if it was for something as little as being able to take my child to the grocery store, to the clothing store.”

In Michigan, Rx Kids gives women a one-time allocation of $1,500 during pregnancy, followed by $500 per month throughout the child’s first months. The $1,500 can be used on food, prenatal care, rent, cribs or other needs. The $500 monthly stipend can be spent on formula, diapers or childcare.

Kinea Wright and her family received funding through the Rx Kids program in Flint. It helped with some bills, diapers for her newborn daughter and other needs, especially after her husband was injured in a forklift accident.

“Initially, (the money) was put up for a rainy day,” said Wright, 46. “I didn’t know the rainy day would come sooner than we thought. It was a blessing in disguise.”

A year ago, Redemption Holding Co. completed its acquisition of Utah-based Holladay Bank & Trust, making it the first time a bank has been owned by a Black-led investment group in the Western U.S.

At the time, Redemption Bank had roughly $65 million in assets. It primarily focuses on commercial lending and small business loans. Bernice A. King, the youngest child of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., is a co-founder and senior vice president of the bank.

“Economic opportunity must be practical, accessible and rooted in the needs of families,” King said. “Bank King Card is an innovative way to support that work. It creates a practical opportunity for people to align their financial choices with their values while supporting mothers, children and families working toward long-term stability.”

A Bank King Card credit card is expected to be introduced later with interest rates capped at 12%.

The announcement of the Bank King Card coincides with Juneteenth, which also is the one-year anniversary of Redemption’s acquisition of Holladay Bank & Trust.

Juneteenth — which combines “June” and “nineteenth” — represents the date in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed. It came two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated it a federal holiday.

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Corey Williams is a member of AP’s Race & Ethnicity team.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As Iranian media boast of the “magnificent defeat” of the United States, Tehran is pressing its advantage, racing to sell oil under the interim peace agreement signed this week and trying to halt Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

But the Islamic Republic suffered its own major blows and faces challenges ahead. Its economy is in shambles after the war, the country was rocked by mass protests in January, and its supreme leader has yet to appear in public. It is entering nuclear talks with the U.S. after coming under attack during two previous rounds.

The deal offers desperately needed sanctions relief, much of which will come only if Iran rolls back its nuclear program, including at a minimum diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. That concession has angered Iranian hard-liners. The U.S. is meanwhile demanding it cease enrichment entirely, something Iran has staunchly refused for decades.

Iran’s leaders are projecting confidence, having clung to power despite weeks of heavy U.S. and Israeli strikes. They also believe U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to carry out threats to resume the war because of Iran’s demonstrated ability to close the Strait of Hormuz and damage the world economy.

“It’s too much to say that Iran has emerged a victor, but it could have been much worse,” said Farzan Sabet, an Iran expert at the Geneva Graduate Institute think tank. “I think that the real victory for Iran was … survival.”

Under the interim deal, the U.S. is to issue waivers to allow for the export of Iranian crude oil. At least three state-owned Iranian oil tankers have already set sail as the U.S. has lifted its blockade, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Iran has exported nearly 18 million barrels in the last five days, the firm TankerTrackers.com said Friday, putting the value at $1.44 billion.

Dozens more tankers loaded with oil could soon depart from Kharg Island, Iran’s main export terminal on the Persian Gulf, further pushing down world prices.

Benchmark Brent crude, which traded over $110 a barrel last month, has fallen to around $80 since the deal was reached. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. also has dropped to under $4, a closely watched metric ahead of midterm congressional elections.

The sanctions had long forced Iran to export crude through a “shadow fleet,” selling mainly to China at below-market rates. Now it can pursue more customers and get a better price.

Iran will need that cash more than ever as it grapples with the fallout from the war.

Since authorities lifted a monthslong internet shutdown, many Iranians have posted photographs of their empty refrigerators.

Meat and other staples have grown too expensive for some households. The Iranian rial, which traded at 32,000 to $1 at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, now stands at over 1.5 million to the dollar.

“The conflict is estimated to have cost at least one million Iranian jobs, with 20% of workforce losses tied to the state-imposed internet shutdown,” said Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“Ordinary Iranians, already struggling under systemic mismanagement and corruption as well as U.S. sanctions, have felt those burdens compounded by hyperinflation that has rendered the Iranian rial effectively worthless.”

The rial’s collapse sparked the nationwide protests that swept across Iran in January, challenging the rule of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s security forces launched their bloodiest-ever suppression, killing thousands of people.

The 86-year-old Khamenei and other top leaders were killed in Israel’s opening barrage of the war on Feb. 28. Funeral ceremonies are planned for July 4-9, coinciding with the six-month anniversary of the protest crackdown. The government has sponsored nonstop rallies since the war began, in a show of force.

Moderate voices in Iran are pushing for the country to seize the potential economic benefits from negotiations. Along with a complete lifting of all sanctions, the accord promises a $300 billion investment fund for Iran if it reaches a final deal with the U.S. — though it remains unclear where that money would come from.

The question is how far Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, along with establishment hard-liners, are willing to go. In a statement on state media, he endorsed the interim deal, saying talks “will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion” but also saying he had a “different viewpoint,” without elaborating.

The conflict in Lebanon has already put the deal at risk. Talks planned for Friday in Switzerland were postponed as fighting intensified between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Israel says it will continue to occupy large areas of southern Lebanon and fight Hezbollah until it no longer poses a threat. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks without an Israeli withdrawal, though the two sides agreed to halt hostilities Friday.

The interim deal between Iran and the U.S. — which neither Israel nor Hezbollah has signed — calls for both sides to cease military operations and for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty to be upheld.

“The end of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of (the) complete end of the war,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday. “And the end of the war also includes the end of the occupation.”

That leaves very little wiggle room for the Americans, who postponed Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Switzerland.

Then there’s the actual negotiations. Iran appears to have gotten two main issues long pushed by the U.S. and Israel off the table: its missile program and its support for Hezbollah and other militant groups.

On the central nuclear issue, it agreed to “downblend” its highly enriched uranium, which resolves one top U.S. concern.

But Raja News, a media outlet aligned with ultra hard-line factions, criticized that agreement, saying Iran had “given up its most important levers.” That shows the pressure not to back down on other issues, like the broader enrichment program.

“I’m not very optimistic about the kind of second round of discussions that are going to focus on the nuclear issue,” Sabet said. “It’s not actually clear to me yet that those will go anywhere, at least this year.”

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Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — Jon Gambrell, news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press, has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the Mideast and the wider world since joining AP in 2006.

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By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump will make a rare trip to Camp David this weekend, returning to the presidential retreat for only the second time since retaking office last year.

Trump will hold policy and political meetings during his visit, a White House official said. His family will travel with him for the weekend, which includes Father’s Day on Sunday.

The trip comes as Trump works to secure a final agreement to end the war with Iran and faces scrutiny over a provisional peace deal that critics say grants Tehran too many concessions.

U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland planned for Friday were canceled as fighting flared in Lebanon, creating new uncertainty about the timing of negotiations vital to ensure the ‌reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping and restoring peace in the Middle East.

On Friday, Trump continued to defend the deal with Iran, saying Tehran had come to the negotiating table from a position of weakness.

“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”

Trump last visited Camp David in June 2025, meeting with top military leaders and foreign policy advisers to discuss immigration protests in California, Iran and the war in Gaza.

The secluded retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains has not been a regular destination for the Republican president. He has generally preferred spending weekends at his own properties, including Mar-a-Lago in Florida and his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

A Cabinet meeting planned for Camp David in May was moved to the White House because of forecasts for bad weather.

Other presidents have used the government-owned retreat about 70 miles from Washington far more frequently, both as a weekend escape and as a setting for diplomacy and policy meetings.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell)

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June 19 (Reuters) – U.S. equity funds attracted a massive influx of capital in the week through June 17, as optimism over an interim U.S.-Iran deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz eased inflation concerns and fueled strong investment in the technology sector.

U.S. equity funds drew a net $38.37 billion in their strongest week since November 13, 2024, with technology sector funds gaining a record $21.46 billion, LSEG Lipper data showed.

The United States and Iran signed an agreement on Wednesday extending a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days, allowing the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce.

The agreement also provides for the full resumption of maritime traffic “with no charge” through the Strait of Hormuz, an important global oil supply route whose closure during the conflict had driven crude prices sharply higher.

U.S. small-cap, multi-cap and mid-cap funds attracted weekly net investments of $6.52 billion, $5.02 billion and $1.42 billion, respectively, while large-cap funds saw a net outflow of $6.55 billion.

Industrial, financial, and metals and mining sector funds drew inflows of $2.35 billion, $639 million and $586 million, respectively.

U.S. bond funds attracted a net $9.85 billion as demand extended into a ninth successive week.

General domestic taxable fixed income funds and short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds led bond fund flows, with weekly net investments of $3.4 billion and $3.09 billion, respectively.

U.S. money market funds drew $53.25 billion in net purchases, reversing $16.6 billion in net sales in the previous week.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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By Rachel More

BERLIN, June 19 (Reuters) – BMW and staff representatives are preparing for talks after the German premium carmaker issued a profit warning this week and said it would accelerate efficiency measures, a spokesperson for its general works council said on Friday.

It was BMW’s third profit warning in as many years attributed at least in part to weakness in China, which is the world’s biggest car market. The company also pointed to cost pressures resulting from the Iran war.

Analysts said after a call with BMW management to explain the gloomier outlook that it could axe jobs in Europe and speed up efforts to localise production in North America and China.

“We are initially working on viable solutions, through dialogue and with a sense of responsibility toward our employees,” the works council spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters, without giving further details.

Unlike Germany’s Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, BMW has not yet announced sweeping redundancy programmes, although its total workforce did fall slightly in 2025, a trend expected to continue this year.

BMW’s shares plunged to a near six-year low following the announcement, in which new CEO Milan Nedeljkovic vowed to intensify structural cost-cutting, flagging a one-off effect as a result in the second half of 2026.

It currently expects a reduction in its global workforce of up to 5% by the end of 2026. With just under 155,000 employees, this would amount to as many as 7,700 job losses.

A company spokesperson said these reductions would continue to occur through natural attrition rather than layoffs.

(Reporting by Rachel More, editing by Thomas Seythal and Alexander Smith)

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June 19 (Reuters) – Canadian space technology firm MDA Space said on Friday it would buy U.S.-based Blue Canyon Technologies from RTX’s Raytheon business for $620 million in cash, expanding its footprint in the U.S. defense space market.

The acquisition comes as governments increase spending on defense and space programs, providing opportunities for suppliers of satellites, spacecraft and related technologies.

It also follows the Nasdaq debut of SpaceX last week, with the firm raising $75 billion in its IPO.

MDA Space said the acquisition would bring Blue Canyon’s spacecraft manufacturing capabilities, two facilities in Denver, Colorado and more than 400 employees.

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Founded in 2008, Colorado-based Blue Canyon designs and builds small satellites, spacecraft buses and mission systems for commercial, civil, defense customers. It was acquired by RTX in 2020.

The business would add about $3.5 billion to MDA Space’s opportunity pipeline and is expected to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings per share in 2027, the Canadian firm said.

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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