Author: Chronicle Editor

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has sent a Freedom of Information request to Babatunde Fashola, SAN, Minister of Power, Works and Housing asking him to use his good offices and leadership position “to urgently provide information on specific details of spending on the privatisation of the electricity sector”. SERAP also wants the exact amount of post-privatisation spending to date, and to explain if such spending came from budgetary allocations or other sources. The organization is also seeking “information on the status of implementation of the 25-year national energy development plan, and whether the Code of Ethics of the privatization…

* Firms want secure residency for rejected asylum seekers * Number of rejected asylum seekers expected to grow * German states dealing with migrants inconsistently * Government wants to address problem, but full amnesty unlikely Denied asylum and put on deportation notice, Iranian seamstress Masoumeh Bayat in February became one of Germany’s Geduldete — “tolerated persons”. The German government acknowledges Bayat, her husband and two daughters can’t return to Iran where they could face reprisal for converting from Islam to Christianity. But the three-year permit that allowed her to work at the Fahnen Koessinger textile factory has been revoked. “What…

Wales manager Ryan Giggs says he is praying that his former club manager Sir Alex Ferguson can recover from a brain haemorrhage. Ferguson, 76, remains in intensive care after emergency surgery on Saturday. The Scot gave a 17-year-old Giggs his Manchester United debut in 1991 and he starred in all 13 of Ferguson’s Premier League title wins. “Now is the time to pray and hope he can make a full recovery,” Giggs told BBC Wales. “He has been the biggest influence in my career, both on and off the pitch. “I know the operation has been a success – but…

The Federal Road Safety Command, FRSC, in Osun said 12 persons lost their lives in various road accidents in the state in April. The Sector Commander, FRSC in the state, Mr Anthony Oko said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Osogbo. He said that 17 road accidents occurred, involving 114 persons within the same period. “The accidents claimed the lives of seven males and five females, due to the reckless attitude of the drivers involved.” READ: Trump defends CIA nominee Gina Haspel after she offered to withdraw “Most of these accidents were…

President Donald Trump has defended his nominee to head the CIA after she offered to withdraw amid concern over her role in harsh interrogation techniques widely seen as torture. Mr Trump said Gina Haspel had “come under fire because she was too tough on terrorists”. Ms Haspel, who faces a tough Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, has now decided not to withdraw. The tight 51-49 party split in the Senate makes confirmation uncertain. The post became vacant after Mike Pompeo was appointed secretary of state last month. Ms Haspel would be the first woman to head the CIA if confirmed.…

Afolabi Williams, team leader, Olubusiyi Famobiwo, Menashi Mordi and Osagumwenro NaamanUgbo, members of Team Neon from Whitesands School, Lagos, have emerged as the 2018 Power Pitch Winner of the Smoke-Free World category of the Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation challenge summit held at the Kennedy Space Centre, Visitor Complex, Florida, USA. The four junior school students made it to the fourth round and final stage of the competition, the only representatives from Nigeria and Africa that participated in the finals. They pitched their idea on a Virtual Farm project, which falls under the category for Smoke-Free World. The Conrad Challenge…

Prof Umar Katsayal of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has developed two anti-malaria drugs that can compete with other relevant drugs in the treatment of malaria parasites. Katsayal is also a former member of the Federal House of Representatives who represented the Sandamu, Maiadua and Daura federal constituency. Katsayal disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sandmu, near Daura, on Monday. He said that the drugs were developed from the roots of Cissampelous mucronat plant and the stem-bark of Plumeria rubra plant, “adding they are common herbs…

Costa Ricans are offered as little as $175 to marry Chinese migrants so they could get residency in the Central American country. “Who wants to earn some money?” It was just a simple question, but it was enough to convince María (not her real name) to enter into what seemed like a simple deal. A young woman offered the 46-year-old Costa Rican woman 100,000 colones ($175; £130) to get married to a Chinese man so that he could get residency in the Central American country. At the time, María lived in one of the poorest areas of the Costa Rican…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Sunday commissioned the Yola outlet of Chicken Cottage – an international fast food brand. He said that the driving force behind his investments in Nigeria is to create more jobs for Nigerians. It was the second outlet to be opened after the first in Abuja. The first outlet of the Chicken Cottage Quick Service Restaurant, a United Kingdom based company now acquired by Malaysian investors, is Atiku’s newest addition to his string of companies operating in Nigeria. “The Chicken Cottage Quick Service Restaurant is one of the contributions of my family at reducing unemployment…

US oil prices rose above $70 a barrel on Monday for the first time since November 2014 and Brent crude climbed to fresh highs, buoyed as a deepening economic crisis in Venezuela threatened the country’s already tumbling oil supply. Brent crude oil futures were at $75.59 per barrel at 0546 GMT, up 72 cents, or 1 percent, from their last close after climbing to $75.89 a barrel earlier in the session, their highest since November 2014. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 62 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $70.34 per barrel, up 66 cents from their last settlement.…