Author: Chronicle Editor

A stunning Gareth Bale volley and two Cristiano Ronaldo goals earned Real Madrid victory in a pulsating Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund. Bale broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when he struck a precise volley past a helpless Roman Burki, who could not react to the pace of the shot. Ronaldo doubled the lead just after the break when he turned a Bale cross home from close range, as Real Madrid looked like they would ease to victory. Dortmund quickly sprung into life as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reduced the deficit five minutes later, when his clever movement saw him…

The naira on Tuesday exchanged at N364 to the dollar at the parallel market as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the CBN holds benchmark interest rate at 14 per cent. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the MPC left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 14 per cent, alongside other monetary policy parameters. READ: CAC REDUCES COST OF BUSINESS REGISTRATION The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said reducing interest rates may reverse the gains achieved in exchange rate stability and inflation rate reduction. The Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N492 and N436. At the…

The Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Mr. Bello Mahmud, said on Tuesday in Abuja that the cost of business registration in Nigeria was now cheaper and its process simplified to enable small entrepreneurs to register their businesses. Muhmud announced this in a statement by Head, Public Affairs, CAC, Mr Godfrey Ike. Muhmud disclosed this while addressing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Clinic. He said that with the Company Registration Portal (CRP), any member of the public could now register businesses on-line at the comfort of their homes and offices. “This has drastically reduced the registration cost hitherto charged…

Kevin de Bruyne scored a superb goal as Manchester City beat Shakhtar Donetsk to make it two Champions League Group F wins out of two. Belgium midfielder De Bruyne exchanged passes with the excellent David Silva before curling in his first goal of the season from the edge of the area. Raheem Sterling added a late second from fellow substitute Bernardo Silva’s cutback. Striker Sergio Aguero, looking to equal Eric Brook’s all-time goalscoring record for City, suffered a rare off night and had a second-half penalty saved by Shakhtar’s Andriy Pyatov. The Argentine also had two further efforts pushed away…

Liverpool were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw despite dominating at Spartak Moscow in their Champions League Group E clash on Tuesday. Fernando’s fine free-kick gave Spartak Moscow the lead in an action-packed opening (23), but Philippe Coutinho levelled with his first-ever Champions League goal following a lovely move (31). Liverpool dominated the second half but were kept out on several occasions, the biggest chances falling to substitute Daniel Sturridge, who blazed over on the volley from close range, and Mohamed Salah, who saw a close-range header saved by sub goalkeeper Aleksandr Selikhov. After Sevilla’s win against Maribor, the result…

Harry Kane’s first Champions League hat-trick made it two wins from two group games for Tottenham with a 3-0 victory at APOEL Nicosia. The in-form striker gave Spurs a first-half lead against the run of play when he latched on to Toby Alderweireld’s through-ball and finished coolly, after the hosts had earlier hit the crossbar. Read Also Diego Costa completes Atletico Madrid move from Chelsea Hugo Lloris was forced into two good saves after the interval as APOEL continued to threaten, but deadly Kane finished off another swift breakaway when he was set up by Moussa Sissoko. And the England…

Chelsea have confirmed Diego Costa has completed his move to Atletico Madrid. The transfer will take effect on January 1, 2018 due to Atletico’s transfer ban and the player will wear the No 18 shirt. Sky sources understand Atletico will pay more than £50m for the Spain international striker. Costa said on Atletico’s website: “I’m very happy to return home, I’ve always said it, Atletico is my home, I’m very, very happy. “I’m looking forward to starting to contribute. I’m going to give my all for the team, as I always try to do. “I’m very grateful to everyone, the…

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday recommended one month paid maternity leave and four weeks paid paternity leave to ensure healthy development of young children. UNICEF Representative in Nigeria Mohammed Fall disclosed this at the National Early Childhood Development conference (ECD) in Abuja with the theme; “Investing early in Nigerian children”. Fall also recommended two years pre-primary education, adding that the policies will afford parents time and resources needed to support their young children’s healthy development. He said that Nigeria currently has three months paid maternity leave, only one year free pre- education and no paternity leave. The…

Iraq’s prime minister on Tuesday ordered the Kurdish region to hand over control of its airports to federal authorities or face a flight ban, as the Kurds claimed victory for the “yes” vote in an independence referendum rejected by Baghdad and Iraq’s neighbors. The Iraqi Kurdish leadership billed Monday’s vote as an exercise in self-determination, but the Iraqi government is strongly opposed to any redrawing of its borders, and Turkey and Iran fear the move will embolden their own Kurdish populations. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued his ultimatum a day after the landmark vote, which he said was a “historic…

The great disruptor that is US shale oil is coming to Asia, as refiners in the energy-hungry region look to expand and diversify their sources of crude, and the consequences will likely go well beyond a shift in oil trade flows. It should come as no surprise that rising oil output in the United States would find its way to the region that is the world’s fastest-growing consumer of the fuel, but perhaps the rapid pace of the shift has caught some in the market off-guard. Crude oil exports to Asia from the United States are still relatively small-scale, with…