Author: Chronicle Editor

US and Chinese companies signed nearly 20 deals worth a total $9 billion on Wednesday at the start of President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang oversaw a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People but they did not immediately give details about the 19 deals. Wang said the agreements were merely a “warmup” before Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping oversee their own ceremony on Thursday involving bigger deals, including in exports of natural gas and soybeans. READ: German Constitutional Court wants third gender recognised Trump…

Germany’s top court Wednesday required parliament to recognise a “third gender” from birth, potentially making it the first European country to offer intersex people the option of identifying as neither male nor female. Current regulations on civil status are discriminatory against intersex people, the Federal Constitutional Court said, noting that the sexual identity of an individual is protected as a basic right. Legislators must by the end of 2018 pass a new regulation to offer a third gender option in birth registers, the court added, ruling in favour of an appeal brought by an intersex person. READ: Dangote donates N500m…

Succor came the way of the over a thousand hitherto dejected traders affected by the Kano Market fire disasters few months ago as the renowned business mogul, Aliko Dangote made good his promise and donated a whooping sum of N500m to rehabilitate them. Aliko’s donation which came through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, was in response to the appeal by the Kano state government for contributions from public spirited individuals and corporate organizations to help the fire victims come back to business. No fewer than seven fire disasters have occurred in five major markets across the state within the past few…

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has partnered with House of Tara in organising the event “1000 Voices” to celebrate and promote female youth entrepreneurship. The event, scheduled to hold on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at the Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos is organised to explore and promote the rich opportunities in the cosmetic industry whilst encouraging participants to leverage this opportunity to achieve economic empowerment. House of Tara International was established in 1998 by Tara Fela-Durotoye and has since set up over 10,000 micro beauty entrepreneurs. The event “1000 Voices” is a platform specially designed to celebrate and reward the…

Democrats have scored two significant victories in the US – in the first statewide elections since President Donald Trump came to power in January. In Virginia, Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie in a governorship race marked by tussles on immigration and Confederate statues. Phil Murphy, who beat Kim Guadagno, will be New Jersey governor. The results could give an early indication of how next year’s midterm congressional elections will turn out. READ: Businesswoman, 72, remanded for selling fake Dangote Sugar New York City’s Democrat mayor was also comfortably re-elected. Meanwhile, Virginia voters also made history by electing their first…

Justice Ayotunde Faji of a Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday, ordered that a 72 year-old businesswoman, Esther Olufunmilayo Akinsanya, be remanded in prisons custody till Monday, November 13, when her bail application will be entertained. The businesswoman was arraigned before the court by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC), on Tuesday, alongside her company, Esther Olufunmilayo Akinsanya Nigeria Limited, for allegedly selling adulterated Dangote Sugar. Akinsanya and her company were arraigned on charges bordering on conspiracy, unlawful importation and rebagging of unregistered sugar, distribution and selling of sugar not fortified with Vitamin ‘A’. The offences…

Lagos State Government has decided to go all out in enforcing tax laws and payment by all defaulters, as only about 600,000 are up to date in terms of compliance. The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, in a statement yesterday, said the move against defaulters was commencing immediately. Ayorinde lamented that many residents were not fulfilling their civic obligation of paying their taxes. Lagos has a population of over 22 million. According to Ayorinde, the prevailing situation will adversely affect government’s infrastructure renewal drive across the state. “The government has directed all its revenue agencies to…

Nigeria has set out its budget for 2018, aimed at helping the economy recover from its first recession in 25 years. President Muhammadu Buhari announced a record budget of 8.6 trillion naira (£21.4bn) to modernise its infrastructure. Africa’s largest oil producer climbed out of recession in 2017 after a sharp fall in energy prices. President Buhari pledged to lift output and keep peace in the Niger Delta. In his speech, he said that Nigeria “cannot afford to go back to dark days of insecurity” in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. However, last week the militant group Niger Delta Avengers said…

Edo govt receives 83 Libyan deportees As Italian prosecutors begin investigation into the death of 26 teenage Nigerian girls who died in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Italy on Sunday, Nigerians while reacting to the incident on social media, expressed outrage at the seemingly loud silence of the Federal Government. The deceased girls, said to be between the ages of 14 and 18, were found dead in the sea while attempting the dangerous journey of crossing from Libya to Europe over the weekend. The bodies of the 26 female Nigerian migrants were found by Spanish warship Cantabria, who…

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has sacked two public officials after scolding one of them on live TV. He had asked the two municipal directors what their budget was for road construction in their districts. Neither could recall on the spot, and a few hours later both officials were sacked. No reason was given. President Magufuli’s critics say he is becoming increasingly authoritarian. But many have praised the president for his no-nonsense style. His nickname is “the Bulldozer”. The president was attending a ceremony in the northern town of Bukoba when the incident happened on Monday. Read Also Japan’s ‘Black Widow’…