Author: Chronicle Editor

Michy Batshuayi scored his third goal in his second game for Borussia Dortmund, as Marco Reus returned from an eight-month injury lay-off. Chelsea loanee Batshuayi converted Christian Pulisic’s cross from close range as Dortmund beat Hamburg to remain third. Reus, who last played when he ruptured his ligaments in May’s German Cup final win over Eintracht Frankfurt, captained the side. Mario Gotze chipped in a late second. Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt remain in the Champions League places after beating bottom club Cologne 4-2. READ: Arsenal Kaned by Tottenham in North London derby Fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-0 at home to Hertha…

Saudi women need not wear the abaya – the loose-fitting, full-length robes symbolic of religious faith – a top muslim cleric said, another indication of the Kingdom’s efforts towards modernisation. On his television program, Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said Muslim women should dress modestly, but this did not necessitate wearing the abaya. “More than 90 percent of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas,” Sheikh Mutlaq said on Friday. “So we should not force people to wear abayas.” While not necessarily signalling a change in the law, the statement…

Harry Kane’s towering header deservedly settled the north London derby at Wembley in Tottenham’s favour as their surge towards an end-of-season place in the Premier League’s top four gathers momentum. Kane soared high above Laurent Koscielny in the 49th minute to direct a Ben Davies cross beyond Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech and move Spurs up to third in the table. And it was only the defiance of Cech that kept a rampant Spurs at bay in the second half, producing a collection of outstanding saves to somehow keep Arsenal in contention as Mauricio Pochettino’s side threatened to run riot.…

The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has sealed four filling stations in Anambra state for alleged diversion of petrol on Saturday. The operators of two other outlets were reprimanded for selling the product above the recommended pump price of N145. Also, the DPR officials further forced five other stations to sell at the normal price. The affected filling stations are located in Ogbunike, Onitsha, Nkpor, Obosi and Nnewi. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that fuel sells for between N185 and N200 per litre in Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha. Speaking to journalists on Saturday, Mr Linus Ikegbunam, the Head…

An Australian priest, Father Ezinwanne Igbo has been excommunicated by the Pope after a two-year investigation. He was excluded from the Catholic Church after a complaint was made that he breached rules of confession secrecy from 2016. Originally from Nigeria, Fr Igbo had a number of allegations made against him during his time at the Stella Maris parish in Maroochydore, Queensland, according to The Courier Mail. The Archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge released a statement saying Fr Igbo was alleged to have committed a canonical (church) offence however it was not a criminal offence under civil law. “In 2016, the…

Abraham Kiprotich of France has won the 2018 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon 42km race in an unconfirmed record time of 2:15:04. Herpha Guta of Ethiopia also won the women’s edition of the race. She did it in 2hrs 38mins. Both won $50,000 dollars each for their efforts. Kiprotich, who is Kenya born has now won two marathons in succession. He also won last November the 39th edition of Istanbul Marathon, which he covered 46 km. Participants defied an early morning rain to run in the race which started at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria…

Alexis Sanchez has labelled Manchester United as the ‘the biggest club in England’ and reveals he left Arsenal so he could ‘win everything’ with the Red Devils. Sanchez, who moved to United in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, admits he’s always believed that his new side are the biggest club in the country and feels Arsenal are in a similar bracket. However, the 29-year-old says he left Arsenal to ‘develop as a player’ and is desperate to win everything with the 13-time Premier League champions. “I think that Manchester United, since I was young – and I’m not just…

As call intensifies for the restructuring of Nigeria, the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) has advised the Federal Government to take a holistic approach in its programme in re-positioning the country. The President of the council, Mrs Gloria Shoda, said in a statement that Nigerian women support the proposed restructuring of the country by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. However, she said the restructuring should `wear a human face’ with gender sensitivity. She noted that the issue of restructuring was not new in the country, adding that it has been with us as a nation for a long time. It…

A young man (name withheld) in China was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night after noticing his rectum had fallen out of his body. He told doctors that he had been using his mobile phone while on the toilet for over half an hour trying to poo. When they went to check him out, they found a massive lump measuring 16cm long sticking out of his anus. The man underwent gastro-intestinal surgery at The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Zhongshan, southeast China, last Sunday, to successfully remove it. Dr Su Dan told local media…

An Israeli fighter jet has crashed amid Syrian anti-aircraft fire after an offensive against Iranian targets in Syria, the Israeli military says. The two pilots ejected and parachuted to safety in Israel. They were later taken to hospital. Israel said its aircraft, an F-16 jet, was carrying out strikes in response to the launch of a drone into Israeli territory. The drone was intercepted. Red alert sirens sounded in areas of northern Israel and the Golan Heights. READ: Mount Zion pastor convicted for spraying members with insecticide Residents reported hearing a number of explosions and heavy aerial activity in the…