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Three victims of IRA bombings in England Friday dropped their civil claim for damages against former Irish republican leader Gerry Adams, whom they had sought to hold personally responsible for orchestrating the blasts.The trio — who were injured in IRA bomb blasts in the 1970s and 1990s — had also sought to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Adams was a senior member of the Irish Republican Army.But on the last day of the two-week trial, their lawyer Anne Studd told the High Court in London that the parties had reached an agreement.The three bomb victims had sued Adams for a symbolic one pound in damages."The parties have agreed... that the claim is discontinued," said a statement read by judge Jonathan Swift.He made no order as to costs.Adams, the former president of Sinn Fein, the IRA's former political wing, was not in court Friday, having attended earlier in the week.Three people died in the three bombings — in London in 1973, and in London and Manchester in 1996 — and scores more were injured.The three claimants alleged that Adams was a senior IRA figure for more than 25 years who "acted with others in furtherance of a common design to bomb the British mainland"."These allegations are untrue. I was never a member of the IRA or its Army Council," Adams said in his witness statement."I do not defend all the IRA actions," added Adams, who has always denied being a member of the IRA.He also "categorically" denied involvement in the attacks."To be clear, I had no involvement in or advance knowledge" of the bombings," he said.It was the first time the 77-year-old — who has been embroiled in several legal spats over his role in the Troubles — testified in an English court.More than 3,500 people were killed during the Troubles, the three-decades-long violent sectarian conflict over British rule in Northern Ireland that ignited in the late 1960s.The unrest came to an end following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.After the court announcement, Adams said in a message posted on social media that he "welcomed" the decision to drop the claim."I attended the civil case out of respect for them... This decision brings to an emphatic end a case that should never have been brought," he said.Adams became president of Sinn Fein in 1983 and was elected as an MP from 1983 to 1992 and again from 1997 to 2011, though in line with the party's policy of abstentionism he never took his seat in the British parliament.He then sat in the Irish parliament between 2011 and 2020.He stepped down as leader of Sinn Fein in 2018. Although interned twice in the 1970s, Adams has never been found guilty of IRA membership.In 2020, he had convictions for attempting to escape jail quashed by the UK Supreme Court.Last year, he won a libel case in Dublin against the BBC over a report containing allegations he was involved in killing a British spy. 

A head-on collision between two trains on the line that services Peru's Machu Picchu killed one person and injured at least 40 others, authorities said, updating an earlier toll.The deceased was the conductor of one of the two trains, according to the prosecutor's office in Cusco, the city closest to the famous Inca citadel.Officials said they were working to identify the injured train passengers, many of them foreign visitors and most of them seriously hurt.Videos sent by passengers to the RPP television channel showed injured victims lying next to the tracks with two damaged locomotives standing idle nearby.A dozen ambulances and medical personnel were rushed to the site in a remote Andean area without direct road access.Police wearing hardhats and neon-colored jackets carried injured passengers on stretchers from the trains to receive treatment.A Unesco World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient fortified complex of Machu Picchu receives some 4,500 visitors on average each day, many of them foreigners, according to the tourism ministry.Most tourists take a train and a bus to reach the historic site high in the Andes mountains.Rail agency Ferrocarril Transandino said a train operated by PeruRail collided with another belonging to Inca Rail around lunchtime on the single track that links the town of Ollantaytambo with Machu Picchu.The cause of the accident was not yet known.In September, about 1,400 tourists were evacuated from the Aguas Calientes train station that serves Machu Picchu and 900 others were left stranded after protesters blocked the railway tracks with logs and rocks.Locals were demanding a new bus company be chosen in a fair bidding process to ferry visitors to the foot of Machu Picchu, and have repeatedly protested to press their demands.The Inca empire's ancient capital Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of about 8,200 feet on orders from the Inca ruler Pachacutec.It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering. 

Philippine authorities announced Wednesday that the death toll from the earthquake that struck Cebu province in the central Philippines yesterday evening has risen to 60, with approximately 147 injured. The number of victims is expected to rise as search operations continue in the affected area. The search is accelerating in the Philippines for survivors following the violent earthquake, which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale. Over 300 aftershocks have rocked the region, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. The Philippines is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) announced that search and rescue efforts are continuing in Sidoarjo, East Java, to find 38 people believed to be still trapped under the rubble of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, which collapsed earlier today.The BNPB explained that rescue teams have been continuing their efforts since the morning hours, using heavy equipment and police dogs, despite difficult conditions that hinder access to the victims.Head of BNPB's Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, confirmed that 38 people were still missing, and 102 others have been evacuated from the area. Of these, 91 managed to escape on their own, while 11 were rescued by joint search and rescue personnel.Muhari confirmed that one of the 11 rescued victims was found dead, while 77 injured people were transferred to nearby hospitals.He stressed that multi-story buildings, especially those used for educational purposes and inhabited by many people, must be subject to strict construction supervision.Preliminary findings indicate that the building's foundation was unable to support the weight of ongoing construction work on the fourth floor, causing the entire building to collapse.

Nearly a week after an earthquake killed more than 2,200 people in Afghanistan and left tens of thousands homeless, the United States has not taken the first step to authorise emergency aid, and it was unclear if it plans to help at all, two former senior US officials and a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.The lack of response by Washington to one of Afghanistan's deadliest quakes in years underscores how President Donald Trump has forfeited decades of US leadership of global disaster relief with his deep foreign aid cuts and closure of the main US foreign assistance agency, said the source and the former officials.The US Agency for International Development was officially shuttered on Tuesday.The State Department on Monday extended its "heartfelt condolences" to Afghanistan in an X post.As of Friday, however, the State Department had not approved a declaration of humanitarian need, the first step in authorising US emergency relief, said the former officials, both of whom worked at USAID, and the third source, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.Such a declaration is usually issued within 24 hours of a major disaster.The sources said State Department officials had considered recommendations for US disaster aid for Afghanistan. One former senior official said the White House also has considered the issue, but decided against reversing a policy of ending aid to Afghanistan. When asked if the US would provide any emergency aid to Afghanistan following the magnitude 6 quake on Sunday, which was followed by powerful aftershocks on Thursday and Friday, a State Department spokesperson said: "We have nothing further to announce at this time."The United States was, until this year, the largest aid donor to Afghanistan, where it fought a 20-year war that ended with a chaotic US withdrawal and the Taliban's seizure of Kabul in 2021. But in April, the Trump administration ended virtually all aid totaling $562mn — to Afghanistan, citing a US watchdog report that humanitarian groups receiving US funds had paid $10.9mn in taxes, fees, and duties to the Taliban.Asked whether the US would provide emergency relief for earthquake survivors, a White House official said, "President Trump has been consistent in ensuring aid does not land in the hands of the Taliban regime, which continues to wrongfully detain US citizens.”United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said the Afghan earthquake was "the latest crisis to expose the cost of shrinking resources on vital humanitarian work.”"Massive funding cuts have already brought essential health and nutrition services for millions to a halt; grounded aircraft, which are often the only lifeline to remote communities; and forced aid agencies to reduce their footprint,” he said in a statement on Thursday.The Trump administration also has yet to respond to a request by the International Rescue Committee humanitarian organisation to send $105,000 worth of US-funded medical supplies following the first earthquake.The materials include stethoscopes, first aid supplies, stretchers, and other essentials, said Kelly Razzouk, vice president of policy and advocacy for the IRC."The stocks are stuck in storage," said Razzouk, who served on former US President Joe Biden’s National Security Council. "In recent memory, I can't remember a time when the US did not respond to a crisis like this."The IRC needs Washington’s permission to send the equipment to Afghanistan because it had been funded by an unrelated US grant that the Trump administration had since canceled."Beyond the loss of life, we have also seen basic infrastructure and livelihoods destroyed," Stephen Rodriguez, the representative in Afghanistan for the UN Development Programme, told reporters on Friday.He said donations of money, goods, and services have come from Britain, South Korea, Australia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkiye, and other countries."Far more is needed."

HE Minister of State for International Co-operation Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser al-Misnad held a phone call with Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in the Caretaker Government of Afghanistan and Chairman of the Co-ordination Committee for Assistance to Earthquake Victims Mohammad Younus Akhundzada.During the call, the Minister of State for International Co-operation voiced her sincere condolences to the victims of the earthquake that struck Afghanistan, praying for mercy for the deceased and a speedy recovery for the injured. She also stressed the wise leadership's commitment and generous directives to support the Afghan people in coping with the effects of the earthquake, emphasising Qatar's readiness to provide urgent assistance and relief needed to overcome the effects of this humanitarian disaster.