U.S. court allows apartheid claims against U.S. corporations

A U.S. judge has ruled that a class action lawsuit can move ahead against several large companies accused of helping South Africa’s apartheid-era government in violation of international human rights law. The case has been going on since 2002 and was initially filed against 50 corporations and involved ten lawsuits claiming more than $400 billion in damages. While the cases have been consolidated to only two lawsuits against five companies, the corporations are a who’s who of American companies: the computer giant IBM, Ford and General Motors are among the U.S. companies facing demands for damages from thousands of apartheid’s victims. The BBC’s Lucy Bailey has more.