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Three killed and others seriously injured after train crash in southwestern Germany

Several people were killed when a passenger train derailed in southwestern Germany near the town of Biberach, close to the border with France, German media reported on Sunday, citing security sources.
Police in Stuttgart, who were cited by media in initial reports of the crash, were not immediately available for comment. A picture published in German media showed carriages had left the tracks and rolled over.
Federal police told dpa that the severity of the injuries was not immediately clear.
Roughly 100 people were aboard the train when at least two carriages derailed in a forested area around 6:10 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), dpa reported.
The crash happened near the town of Riedlingen, dpa reported, roughly 158 kilometers (98 miles) west of Munich. Reports say there had been a storm in the area shortly before.
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 ..

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Yuen Yuen Ang on how China can turn ‘polycrisis’ into ‘polytunity’

AdvertisementUS-China relationsEconomyChina EconomyExclusive | Yuen Yuen Ang on how China can turn ‘polycrisis’ into ‘polytunity’The Johns Hopkins professor of political economy says Beijing’s ‘directed improvisation’ remains essential at a time when innovation is king
Reading Time:14 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAlice LiPublished: 6:00am, 28 Jul 2025Updated: 6:32am, 28 Jul 2025Yuen Yuen Ang is the Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University. She is an influential scholar, writing extensively on China’s political and economic trajectory, its international relations and its adaptive development in a fragmented, unpredictable world. Originally from Singapore, her award-winning work includes the books How China Escaped the Poverty Trap and China’s Gilded Age.
AdvertisementThis interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here.As a professor based in the United States, do you think there is a general de..

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When travellers think sustainability, make them think Greater Bay Area

AdvertisementClimate changeOpinionHong Kong OpinionKen ChuOpinion | When travellers think sustainability, make them think Greater Bay AreaThe joint efforts of policymakers, businesses and young people can help visitors turn climate action into everyday action
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPKen ChuPublished: 5:30am, 28 Jul 2025Earlier this year, Hong Kong launched its first fully electric ferry. In June, jurisdictions within the Greater Bay Area development zone marked a national event for the environment. Against this backdrop, a quiet but important shift is under way.AdvertisementPolicymakers in the Greater Bay Area are no longer just thinking about sustainability; they are setting it in motion. With the development zone becoming a hub for experimentation in smart infrastructure and climate innovation, the time is ripe to consider a low-carbon tourism corridor linking cities through cleaner and smarter ways to travel.
Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macau are already re..

World

Malnutrition in Gaza at alarming levels, WHO warns as aid airdrops resume

Malnutrition in Gaza at alarming levels, WHO warns as aid airdrops resume3 hours agoShareSaveRuth ComerfordBBC NewsShareSaveWatch: Air drop aid seen arriving in northern GazaThe World Health Organization has warned malnutrition has reached “alarming levels” in Gaza with rates on a “dangerous trajectory”, after aid airdrops resumed in the Strip.
Jordan and the UAE dropped aid into Gaza on Sunday after Israel began what it called a “tactical pause” in fighting.
Israel had said it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow aid corridors for UN convoys, to “refute the false claim of intentional starvation”. Hamas accused it of “whitewashing its image before the world”.
Jordan's military said its planes, working with the UAE, delivered 25 tonnes of aid in three drops. A lorry convoy also entered from Egypt, with another due from Jordan.
However, medics reported nine killed and 54 injured by Israeli fire near an aid convoy route in central Gaza. An airs..

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What is US citizenship test? What changes Trump administration is bringing to make it tougher

USCIS new director said the present US citizenship is easy and can be memorized. The US citizenship test, officially known as the Naturalization test, is an examination that an applicant has to take to become a naturalized American citizen. This test is not for green card holders unless they are applying for citizenship. The new director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service said the existing test is too easy and the answers can be memorized. The Donald Trump administration is planning to bring back the 2020 version of the test. US Citizenship test
First, the applicants have to submit Form N-400 seeking for naturalization. They need to pass a background check and meet residency and other requirements. Then there have to attend an interview where they take two tests: English and a civic test. In the civic test, there are 100 questions; the officer asks the applicant 10 and the applicant must answer at least six correctly. During the first term of Donald Trump, there w..

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‘Declare meats, fruits, vegetables’: Travelers to US get weird reminder from CBP

CBP posted the photo of a sniffer dog inspecting the cooked head of a pig as CBP alerted travelers to US to declare all food items. The Customs and Border Police Saturday issued a reminder to people traveling to the US that they are required to declare meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, animal as well as plant and animal products they are carrying to the country. This is not a new rule but recently there have been several cases where non-declaration of these items got travelers penalized. The post drew attention as the social media reminder was accompanied by a photo of a CBP detection dog inspecting a cooked pig's head wrapped in aluminum foil. What does the rule say?
According to CBP rules, all travelers entering the United States are required to declare meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, animals, as well as plant and animal products (including soup or soup products) they may be carrying. The declaration must cover all items carried in checked baggage, ..

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Tennessee district bans doctor’s notes to exempt kids from school to teach them good work ethic

A school district in Tennessee will no longer accept doctor’s notes as an excuse for a child’s absence in an apparent attempt to prepare them for the workplace.
New rules set out by the Lawrence County School System Board of Education state that “absences are not excused” and only permits them in a number of specific circumstances. Regular illness is not included in the list.
Sanctions for multiple instances of alleged truancy include loss of school event privileges and even referral to juvenile court for truancy.
“If you have the sniffles, that is fine,” Director of Schools Michael Adkins said during a recent meeting. “You are going to have them when you go to work one day. We have all gone to work sick and hurt and beat up.”
The new attendance policy states that “absences shall be classified as absent” and “absences are not excused or unexcused.”
A school district in Tennessee will no longer accept doctor’s notes as an excuse for a child’s absence in an attempt to teach them good wor..

World

Israel to open Gaza humanitarian corridors as aid drops begin

Israel to open Gaza humanitarian corridors as aid drops begin3 hours agoShareSaveRuth ComerfordBBC NewsShareSaveReutersPalestinians waiting for food from a charity kitchenIsrael has said it is prepared to open humanitarian corridors to allow UN convoys into Gaza, following weeks of international pressure and a growing hunger crisis.
In a statement on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had allowed air drops of humanitarian aid to resume, the first of which consisted of seven pallets of flour, sugar and canned food provided by international organisations.
The announcement came amid calls for Israel to let more aid into Gaza and amid warnings of mass starvation following months of limited supply to the territory's two million people.
Israel denied what it called “the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip”.
The IDF said it had “begun a series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip”, and was “prepared to implement human..

World

Gaza aid site offered a ‘women only’ day. It didn’t stop the killing

Gaza aid site offered a 'women only' day. It didn't stop the killing5 hours agoShareSaveEmir NaderBBC News, JerusalemShareSaveBBCMary Sheikh al-Eid’s family arrived at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis after learning she had been killedThe food distribution was announced in advance, like many before it, in a post on social media carrying an illustration of smiling Palestinians receiving boxes of aid.
This time, however, the invitation shared by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was different, featuring illustrations of only women.
“Tomorrow at our morning distribution at our location in the Saudi district, only women are welcome to come and receive a food box,” the GHF post said. “Men should avoid the site during this distribution.”
Mary Sheikh al-Eid wanted to feed her seven children. Her husband had been killed earlier in the war and the family had been surviving on lentil soup for three weeks, said Mary's sister Khawla, but the last week had been a struggle.
“..