Newscast for Friday, March 12, 2010

Investigation finds Lehman Brothers hid key information in lead up to collapse
An independent report on the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which is the largest bankruptcy ever filed, spreads blame through out the financial system. The 2000 page report was written by Anton Valukas of the law firm Jenner & Block and was released by the Bankruptcy court in New York. Joining us to talk about the report is FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell

UN human rights report details lack of adequate housing in the US
This week, the US State Department released its annual report on human rights in countries across the world. It covers 194 nations and reports on issues such as the LGBT community in Uganda, refugees in the Middle East and government crackdowns in Iran and China. Speaking yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted the role that the US can play in human rights.

"Assessing opportunities for progress and soliciting citizen engagement is one way that we demonstrate our commitment, in word and deed, to the basic principles that guide us toward a more perfect union and a more peaceful world. As we work to protect human rights both at home and abroad, we remember that human rights begin, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, in small places close to home."

Well, nothing is closer to home than the issue of housing - and while much of the attention is on human rights in foreign countries, a different report from the UN has found that housing and human rights are a very serious issue right here in the US.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Housing visited cities across the US last Fall. It was the first such mission to the US. At the time, we spoke with UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik, just after she had shared some preliminary findings with US lawmakers. Now, she has released final results in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She joins us from Sao Paulo to discuss her findings.

You can find the full report and more information on the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/documents.htm

Concern grows in Nigeria over recent sectarian attacks
Nigeria has one of the worst records of religious violence in Africa. In the last ten years, thousands have been killed in sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims. In the most recent attacks, hundreds were slaughtered in villages near the city Jos last Sunday; many were entire families, killed with machetes and burned. With authorities unable to curb the violence, many fear the instability could have grave local and international consequences. Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos.

Progressive candidates in Colombia seek a new path to congressional elections
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Congressional elections are taking place in Colombia this Sunday. And more than 2000 candidates are competing for 100 spots in the senate and 180 seats in the House of Representatives. Elections in the South American county are usually dominated by whoever can spend the most money.  But in a country where votes are usually secured by cash payments and the exchange of favor, a cluster of progressive candidates is trying to draw voters with their ideas. FSRN's Manuel Rueda followed a couple of these campaigns and files this report from Bogota.