Author: Chronicle Editor

North Korea has threatened to punish all nations who supported new UN sanctions on it declaring that the sanctions were an act of war. North Korea’s foreign ministry disclosed on Sunday that the sanctions was equivalent to complete economic blockade against the country. It said that the sanctions also amounted to infringement of the sovereign rights and existence of the country and therefore promised that all the countries that supported the U.S.-sponsored resolution will have a tatse of the wrath of North Korea. The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Friday for its recent intercontinental…

President Muhammadu Buhari in his Christmas message wants Nigerians to “provide refuge to those who cannot enjoy Christmas at home with their families or have been driven from their homes by insurgency or violence, particularly Internally Displaced Persons.” He stressed the need for brotherliness among citizens, saying: “This is an important opportunity for us to show love to one another and encourage unity by spending quality time with our friends, families and the less-privileged.” He said: “The personal fortitude of these individuals will continue to inspire us to victory as we turn the tide against the enemy and annihilate those…

Although the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris said the embargo on roadblocks is in force, he has ordered the immediate commencement of ‘stop and search operations’ nationwide. Nigerians may surely find this order conflicting with the earlier one, but Idris said the operations are designed to prevent crimes and criminality throughout the yuletide and new year festivals. The operations, he ordered in a directive issued on Saturday, will be carried out by all State Police Commands across the country at flash points, black spots and vulnerable points on major roads and highways across the country. The Police boss had…

Harry Maguire scored a 94th-minute equaliser as 10-man Leicester snatched a draw in an entertaining encounter against Manchester United, who are now 13 points behind leaders Manchester City. Marc Albrighton whipped a cross over the United defence to the arriving Maguire, who side-footed the ball past David de Gea from close range. United had looked set to take all three points after Juan Mata’s double had seen them recover from Jamie Vardy’s opener, while substitute Daniel Amartey was sent off for the home side 16 minutes and nine seconds after coming after two bookings in four minutes. City, who earlier…

Marek Hamsik broke Diego Maradona’s all-time scoring record for Napoli as they beat Sampdoria to remain top of Serie A. Napoli’s captain scored his 116th goal for the club, on his 465th appearance, to put them 3-2 ahead from close range towards the end of the first half. He equalled Maradona’s record last weekend in a 3-1 win over Torino, having failed to score in 13 games. Napoli are four points above champions Juventus, who host Roma at 19:45 GMT. Gaston Ramirez gave Samp an early lead, with Allan equalising. Fabio Quagliarella then restored Samp’s advantage with a penalty but…

Burnley boss Sean Dyche said Harry Kane transforms Tottenham from a “good to a really good side” after the striker equalled Alan Shearer’s record for most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year with a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory at Turf Moor. England international Kane netted his 34th, 35th and 36th league goals of 2017 to equal Shearer’s 1995 mark as Spurs moved up to fifth in the table “He is one of the best forwards in Europe,” said Dyche. “He was by far the best player on the pitch and that was one of the best performances…

Everton maintained their unbeaten run under new boss Sam Allardyce with a dogged defensive display to hold champions Chelsea to a goalless draw at Goodison Park. The ninth-placed Toffees have now not lost in six Premier League games, five of those since Allardyce took charge. Captain Phil Jagielka cleared off the line from Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willian in quick succession to frustrate the visitors, who were without suspended top scorer Alvaro Morata. Chelsea dominated, but struggled to breach the Everton back line and found goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in good form when they did. FT. A hard-fought point earned in our…

The latest figures in Nigeria’s Mobile Number Portability, MNP, shows that subscribers in the west African country still have faith in 9mobile despite its recent financial problems and an impending takeover. In a boost for investors looking to takeover 9mobile, the telecom company boasted the highest number of subscribers porting to its network. In the incoming table, 9mobile led with an additional 4,579 customers joining its network in October. In contrast, Airtel, one of the five bidders of 9mobile suffered a dip. The mobile number network users that left Airtel’s network decreased again by 3,408, as against 4,840 customers that…

Barcelona produced a superb away performance to secure a victory over Real Madrid that all but eliminates their arch rivals from the Spanish title race. A second-half Luis Suarez strike and Lionel Messi’s penalty, after Dani Carvajal was sent off for handball, helped move Barca nine points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, and increased their advantage over defending champions Real to 14 points. Karim Benzema hit the post and Cristiano Ronaldo missed two good chances in the first half, but the home side were blown away after the restart in the first El Clasico meeting…

Real Madrid forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are both “100%” ready to play in El Clasico against Barcelona after fitness problems, says boss Zinedine Zidane. Fourth-placed Real are 11 points behind unbeaten league leaders Barcelona. Ronaldo worked alone earlier this week, with a calf knock, but trained properly on Friday – while Bale is recovering from a calf problem. “He’s OK. He’s 100%. He’s trained today,” Zidane said of Ronaldo. Bale has not played in La Liga since September, but featured twice off the bench in the recent Club World Cup, which Real won. “I’ll not choose a player…