compensation

Victims of Larry Nassar get record payout

It ends a five-year legal battle that began in the wake of the huge abuse scandal that rocked US sport.

Nassar was sentenced to over 300 years in jail in 2018 for molesting gymnasts.

Athletes including a number of Olympic medallists testified about how Nassar sexually abused them.

The settlement is among the largest ever for a sexual abuse case, and as part of the agreement USA Gymnastics and the Olympic Committee will give board seats to survivors.

Harvey Weinstein: Court agrees $17m payout for accusers

Weinstein, 68, was convicted last year and jailed for 23 years for rape and sexual assault.

The payout for his victims will come from the liquidation of the Weinstein Co, which filed for bankruptcy in 2018.

The judge overruled an objection from some accusers looking to pursue appeals outside of bankruptcy court.

Judge Mary Walrath said without the settlement, the plaintiffs would get "minimal, if any, recovery."

The Weinstein Co was set up as an independent film studio with the disgraced Hollywood mogul one of its co-founders.

Families 'cheated of Boeing crash compensation'

Lawyers told the BBC that many families were persuaded to sign forms preventing them from taking legal action.

BBC Panorama has discovered that other relatives signed similar agreements after two other crashes, stopping them from suing Boeing in the US courts.

Boeing has declined to comment on the agreements.

All 189 passengers and crew died when the Boeing 737 Max crashed into the sea just 13 minutes after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on 29 October 2018.

Within weeks, relatives were offered compensation by insurance lawyers.

Tahiti court throws out ten nuclear claims

The ruling is in line with last month's expert advice, which took into account a law change that reintroduced a minimum figure of radiation exposure.

Earlier this year, the expert advice was to compensate the claimants.

The law change was inserted into the Finance Act in December reportedly to comply with the Public Health Act.

The veterans groups have been dismayed at the law change, saying now no more applications are likely to succeed.

Compensation claim for Vanuatu Freedom Fighters

In a letter to Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, the chairman of Vanuatu's Maraki Vanua Ariki Council of Chiefs, John Lee Solomon, said the Freedom Fighters had previously requested compensation for putting their lives on the line in the country's struggle for freedom.

Freedom fighters were a crucial element in any struggle for independence, Mr Solomon said.

The government should set up a commission of inquiry to determine whether some people from Tongoa and Tanna were genuine Freedom Fighters, and to settle the long running claim for compensation, Mr Solomon said.

Compo call for Vanuatu helpers

A retired policeman from Ambae Wilson Garae says owners of private homes and churches community centres on Pentecost, Maewo and Santo paid for electricity to host the thousands of evacuees.

Mr Garae says it is only right that out of the evacuation fund of nearly $US 2 million, the government gives something in return as a gesture of gratitude.

He says he understands the Ministry of Climate Change still has a balance of half a million dollars of the emergency fund.