Providence, R.I. – Several defendants being sued by relatives of the 100 people killed in a 2003 nightclub fire have tentatively agreed to a $13.5 million settlement, a lawyer for one family said Wednesday.
The settlements, if approved by a judge, would be the first stemming from the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick. The fire injured 200.
“It’s just the beginning,” said Michael St. Pierre, who represents nearly 300 fire survivors and victims’ relatives who have sued in federal court.
The fire began when pyrotechnics for the rock band Great White ignited sound-absorbing foam around the stage.
Among the companies that have tentatively agreed to settle are a manufacturer of soundproofing material, a maker and vendor of pyrotechnics, the company that leased the building to club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian and an alarm company, according to court papers.
Additional nation/world news briefs:
KABUL, Afghanistan
Taliban attacks kill 2 Brits, 2 local cops
Taliban attacks killed two British soldiers and two Afghan police officers Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, while nearly 30 militants were killed elsewhere, authorities said.
Most insurgent strikes are in the form of roadside bombs or suicide blasts, a tactic that NATO said had killed 227 Afghan civilians this year — a toll it said was “significantly higher” than the number of Afghan or international soldiers killed by the blasts.
NATO, which has faced criticism over civilian casualties at the hands of its troops, announced those figures as part of efforts to draw attention to noncombatant deaths caused by the Taliban.
The two British soldiers were killed in an explosion as they patrolled in southern Helmand province, Britain’s defense ministry said. A third British soldier and an Afghan interpreter were wounded, the ministry said, giving no more details.
Earlier, insurgents detonated a remote-controlled bomb under a police vehicle in Helmand province, killing two officers and wounding three, said Abdul Manan, a local official.
Also in Helmand, Afghan and coalition forces called in airstrikes Wednesday after coming under attack during a combat patrol, the U.S.-led coalition said. It said “more than 24” insurgents were killed.
In central Ghazni province, a joint coalition and Afghan force Wednesday killed “several militants” in a clash, a coalition statement said. A number of civilians were wounded, it said.
LOS ANGELES
Special visas offered for crime victims
Nearly seven years after Congress passed a law authorizing visas for illegal immigrants who are crime victims, authorities announced Wednesday that the visas finally would be made available.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued guidelines for the new visas, which are designated for certain victims who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes.
The visas will enable the immigrants to work and live in the U.S. and to apply for permanent residency after three years. Ten thousand “U visas” will be available each year, along with visas for family members.
Immigrants are eligible for the visas if they were victims of such crimes as rape, kidnapping or false imprisonment. They will be able to seek the visas retroactively, authorities said.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa
Tutu barbecue gives recipe for unity
Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu became the official patron of South Africa’s national barbecue day Wednesday, declaring that the shared love of open-air cooking was a unifying force between blacks and whites.
“There are so many things that are pulling us apart,” Archbishop Tutu said as he distributed sizzling sausages to the small crowd on the terrace outside his modest office. “This has a wonderful potential to bring us all together.”
