Author: Chronicle Editor

South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) is preparing to choose a new party leader to succeed President Jacob Zuma. The main candidates are the current deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and former cabinet minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, President Zuma’s ex-wife. Whoever wins is likely to succeed Mr Jacob Zuma as South African president. But their bitter leadership battle has raised fears that the ANC could split before national elections in 2019. President Zuma can remain head of state until those elections. He has been in office since 2009 and South Africa limits the presidency to two five-year terms. Read Also Many…

A Nigerian military court on Friday sentenced a soldier to death for killing five civilians rescued from Boko Haram. The soldier, Lance Corporal John Godwin, was convicted by the General Court Martial in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State for killing the civilians in Yamteke town. “The civilians were earlier rescued by troops of the soldier’s battalion and were taken for investigation at the time the soldier shot and killed five of them,” army spokesman Kinsley Mfon Samuel said in a statement. He said other soldiers were also handed jail sentences for offences ranging from manslaughter to illegal possession of firearms…

Police in India are hunting for the country’s only happiness minister after he went missing when a court ordered his arrest over an alleged murder. Lal Singh Arya’s job is to try to increase “the happiness and tolerance” of the 70 million people in Madhya Pradesh. The state was the first in India to create such a role when it gave Arya the job in January. However, he has now disappeared after a court in Bhind district issued an arrest warrant earlier this month over the killing of an opposition politician in 2009. Read Also Many killed as police, miners…

Many have been reported killed or injured as illegal miners allegedly resisted an attempt by the police to disrupt their operations in Taraba State. Police spokesperson in the state, David Misal, confirmed the incident which occurred on Thursday in Mayo Sine area of Mambilla in Sardauna Local Government Area of the state. Thousands of miners have been operating at the site for more than 10 years. Local sources said a team of armed police officers had stormed the field to dislodge the miners on Thursday but met a stiff resistance. “The police on arrival destroyed temporary structures used by the…

Dutch police have shot a man wielding a knife at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. The threat forced a brief evacuation of parts of the airport, one of Europe’s busiest. But police said it was not being treated as a terror incident. “The circumstances are telling us that it has nothing to do with terrorism,” police spokesman Stan Verberkt said. Police said the man walked into the police service’s office at the airport and threatened staff with a knife. Officers shot him in the leg and arrested him before transporting him to a hospital. Read Also Man dies after bursting into flames…

Four children are dead and more are injured after a school bus was cut in half when it was hit by a train travelling 50mph. Rescuers arrived to a horrific scene in the small town of Millas, France, as victims were found on the ground and inside the destroyed bus. The horror crash occurred at a level crossing between Perpignan and Prades, in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of southern France. The bus – carrying children from Collège Christian Bourquin – was reportedly on the single track while the safety barriers were down. Four children were killed and another 20 people were…

A pensioner has died of his injuries after bursting into flames in unexplained circumstances in a London street. Police are appealing for information on the blaze that killed 70-year-old John Nolan, a retired construction worker originally from Ireland. Emergency services were called to reports of a “man ablaze” near his home in Haringey on 17 September. Horrified members of the public tried to put the fire out and alerted police but the flames were not extinguished until firefighters arrived on the scene. Mr Nolan was taken to a specialist hospital by air ambulance but died of severe burns, with an…

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly could be out for up to three months and needs surgery on an ankle injury, says manager Jose Mourinho. The 23-year-old centre-back has not played for his club since the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on 5 November. The Ivory Coast international is not expected to miss the rest of the season, but Mourinho said he will miss “the next two or three months”. “He goes to surgery, the decision is made,” he told the club channel MUTV. Read Also How SARS has reduced crime rate in Rivers Mourinho started Chris Smalling and Phil Jones for…

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding will be held on Saturday 19 May 2018, Kensington Palace has announced. The pair confirmed their engagement in November and said the service would be at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The date breaks with tradition as royal weddings usually take place on a weekday – the Queen wed on a Thursday and the Duke of Cambridge on a Friday. The wedding will be on the same day as the FA Cup Final, which Prince William normally attends as FA president. Read Also Soldier sentenced to death for killing 5 civillians The time of…

Nigerian Army Court Marshal on Friday sentenced a soldier, Lance Corporal John Godwin, to death over the murder of five civilians at Yamteke community of Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno. The President of the court, Brig.-Gen. Gbemiga Adesina, said at its sitting in Maiduguri that Godwin was charged with murder punishable under Section 106 (a) of the Armed Forces Act (Cap A-20), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004. Adesina said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that the soldier committed the offence and guilty as charged. He added that the court in its judgment…