Author: Chronicle Editor

Indian President Ram Kovind has signed into law legislation that grants citizenship to non-Muslims from neighbouring countries amid protests in north-east India over the contentious move. The Citizenship Amendment Bill, which proposes to grant sanctuary to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian minorities fleeing religious persecution in the Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, was cleared by parliament on Wednesday. The bill was approved by Kovind and the new law comes into effect with its publication in the government gazette late Thursday night, a Home Ministry official said. The bill triggered protests in India’s north-eastern states of Assam…

Nine months to the governorship elections in Edo, the PDP has warned the ruling APC in the state, to desist from taking actions or making utterances that would heat up the polity and stoke violence. The Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Edo, Mr Chris Nehikhare, made the appeal in an interview with NAN in Benin on Friday. His appeal comes amid worsening political tension in the state, arising from the governorship election in the state, slated for August next year. Nehikhare appealed to law enforcement agencies, especially the police to be at alert in view of the tension building…

A beach scavenger found a waxy lump weighing 37 lbs that he believes is valuable whale vomit worth more than half a million pounds. Surachet Chanchu was walking along the sand in Songkhla, southern Thailand, looking for recyclable waste when he noticed the grey chunk washed ashore on Wednesday morning. He was struck by its likeness to valuable ambergris, formed in the digestive tracts of whales and a sought-after ingredient in the perfume industry. Surachet carried the lump back to his home and friends came round to perform a simple test on the substance by holding a cigarette lighter to it.…

Keystone Bank Limited has unveiled series of exciting rewards for its customers to celebrate the yuletide season including a free debit card for dormant account activation. According to the lender, in the spirit of the season and as a gesture to loyal customers, the bank is giving out free debit cards to customers who reactivate their dormant or inactive accounts, make a deposit of N2500 into the account and carry out at least one transaction on any of the electronic channels. Keystone Bank electronic channels include the USSD *7111#, Keystone Mobile, Online Banking or OXYGEN. Commenting, Keystone Bank executive director,…

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has demanded for the case file of the detained activist, Omoyele Sowore from the Department of State Security Services (DSS) for review. He also said his office will likely take over the prosecution of Sowore, a former presidential candidate. He said the Federal Government is committed to respecting the sanctity of the rule of law, protecting the virtues of human rights and ensuring speedy dispensation of justice. The position of the AGF was contained in a statement through his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr.…

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday won a parliamentary majority, according to Sky News and BBC television, after a snap election was called over Brexit. Results show that the Tories have won 326 of the 650 seats in the lower House of Commons, meaning they could not be beaten. Exit polls from Thursday’s vote indicated they could win 368 seats. If confirmed, this would be the party’s biggest majority in three decades. NNPC’s Omar Ibrahim appointed APPO Secretary General By contrast, the exit poll spells disaster for the main opposition Labour party which was projected to win just 191…

The African Petroleum Producers Association (APPO) has appointed Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim as its new Secretary General. Before the appointment, Ibrahim was a Group General Manager, International Energy Relations for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The appointment was announced in a communiqué issued at the end of APPO Council of Ministers in Abuja. It also named Mr Waeil All Atharam as Director, Rilwanu Lukaman Research and Development Centre and Mme Maha Fouda Attia as Director Support Services. It said the Council of Ministers unanimously appointed Minister for Petroleum of Republic of Niger and Minister of Energy of Popular Democratic…

The Equity Group, a combination of 45 political parties on Thursday called on the South–East and politicians of Igbo extraction to work together to produce the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, come 2023. The national chairman of the group, Mr Okey Chikwendu, made the call at a news conference in Abuja. According to him, the total exclusion of Ndigbo from national leadership equation has become matter of grave concern to well-meaning Nigerians. Chikwendu said the Igbo deserve visionary treatment and should be given space to produce the next president. According to him, a president of Igbo extraction…

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for an attack on a military camp in Niger near the border with Mali on Tuesday, according to a statement issued by a branch of the militant group in the region. Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) said the attack killed at least 100 soldiers and injured many others, while a Niger army spokesman said on Wednesday that 71 soldiers were killed. Jihadists with links to Islamic State and al Qaeda have mounted increasingly lethal attacks across West Africa’s Sahel region this year despite thousands of regional and foreign troops being sent to counter…

For a pricey one million dollars, one can reverse the ageing clock and become young again, an American company has claimed on its website. This is the promise of an American biotech company, Libella Gene Therapeutics, based in Kansas, which proclaims on its website, The Future is here. It is set to launch clinical trials in Colombia to test a new therapy designed to reverse the ageing process, and in turn, treat age-related diseases. According to a report by OneZero, a Medium publication about tech and science, to steal a sip from this purported fountain of youth, participants in the trial…