Welcome to Radio Magico

Nigerian police say 49 people are to be charged with murder after communal violence left scores of villagers dead.

Most of those facing charges are Muslims from the Fulani group, police spokesman Mohammed Lerama told the BBC.

The number of those arrested since the killings near the city of Jos has risen to 200, he said.

Police say 109 people - thought to be mostly Christians - died in Sunday's bloodshed. Earlier reports put the toll at more than 500.

The violence followed sectarian killings near Jos in January that left more than 300 dead, most of them believed to be Muslims.

Plateau State, in central Nigeria, sits between the mainly Christian south and the predominantly Muslim north.

International pressure

Officials say police and troops are patrolling the area to prevent further trouble.

Chief of police for Plateau State Ikechukwu Aduba said on Wednesday he had asked for extra help.

"Our urgent patrol efforts after the incident... have yielded good results," he said.

"We have requested reinforcements, and have been reassured... that reinforcement is on its way."

However, international pressure is growing on the Nigerian government to take further action.

On Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI denounced the bloodshed as "atrocious".

He urged civil and religious leaders "to work towards security and peaceful co-existence".

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called on the Nigerian government to "move swiftly" to prevent further attacks.

Earlier, the governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, said security lapses had worsened the carnage in the three villages targeted.

He said he had warned the army about reports of suspicious people with weapons hours before they attacked, but they failed to take action.

"Three hours or so later, I was woken by a call that they [armed gangs] have started burning the village and people were being hacked to death," Mr Jang said.

"I tried to locate the commanders. I couldn't get any of them on the telephone."

Mercenaries

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked the country's national security adviser, Sarki Mukhtar, in an apparent response to the killings.

But the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said the villages should have been properly protected after the January killings.

The head of the northern area of Nigeria's Christian Association has said he believed mercenaries were involved.

Saidu Dogo told the BBC that fighters from neighbouring Chad and Niger took part in the violence.

State information commissioner Gregory Yenlong said on Monday that more than 500 people were killed. That figure was also given by religious leaders and rights activists.

But state police commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba says 109 people are known to have died.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Two missile strikes by US drone aircraft have killed at least 12 suspected militants in north-west Pakistan, security officials say.

The attacks took place place in the tribal area of North Waziristan.

The identities of those killed in the attack, the latest of more than a dozen this year, are not yet known.

North and South Waziristan are known to provide sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, who are often targeted by drones.

Locals say the attacks have destroyed many training camps and compounds. They have also killed dozens of local and foreign militants, officials say.

Wednesday's first strike took place at Mizar Madakhel village, some 50km (30 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. This was followed by a second attack in the same area.

The first attack targeted a vehicle and a compound which were being used by suspected militants, killing eight of them, reports say.

The second strike targeted two vehicles, which killed another four.

Correspondents say the United States has stepped up drone attacks in the region since seven CIA officers died in a suicide bomb attack at a US base across the border in Afghanistan last December.

More than 700 people have died in nearly 80 drone strikes since August 2008.

Pakistan has publicly criticised drone attacks, saying they fuel support for militants, but observers say the authorities privately condone the strikes.

The American military does not routinely confirm drone operations, but analysts say the US is the only force capable of deploying such aircraft in the region.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Chilean tycoon Sebastian Pinera is due to be sworn in as president of the country, which was recently devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Mr Pinera not only faces the challenge of reconstruction, but takes over from a highly popular outgoing leader.

Michelle Bachelet leaves office with a record 84% popularity rating despite criticism of the government's slow reaction to last month's disaster.

Meanwhile, Chile's disaster management chief has resigned over the response.

Carmen Fernandez is the second Chilean official to leave her post in the aftermath of the February 27 quake and ensuing tsunami that killed close to 500 people.

On Friday, Mrs Bachelet dismissed the head of the navy's Oceanography Service for failing to provide a clear warning of the tsunami.

Incoming leader

Mrs Bachelet, Chile's first woman president, was constitutionally-barred from seeking re-election.

The task of rebuilding now falls to her successor, Mr Pinera, whose presidential win ended 20 years of centre-left rule in Chile.

"We won't be the government of the earthquake, we'll be the government of reconstruction," the 60-year-old billionaire said recently.

Last month, the conservative leader named his cabinet, leaving out any figures linked with the former military ruler, Augusto Pinochet.

In his election campaign, Mr Pinera said he would focus on boosting economic growth and producing jobs while continuing with the outgoing president's social policies.

Mr Pinera is one of the country's richest men. He made his fortune introducing credit cards to Chile, then went on to buy a television channel, a stake in Chile's most successful football club, and millions of dollars in other investments.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.