Apartheid claim targets banks and computer firms

An assistant to a prominent American lawyer, Ed Fagan, says US computer companies and German banks will be included in lawsuits he is bringing to get compensation for victims of South Africa's apartheid regime.

Mr Fagan has already filed an anti-apartheid lawsuit against banks in Switzerland and the United States.

A Swiss newspaper reported that about $50bn in compensation was being sought.

The banks are accused of profiting from loans to the white South African Government while a United Nations embargo was in force.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service