Author: Chronicle Editor

On Sunday, Israel announced plans to close the offices of Al-Jazeera, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Qatari satellite news broadcaster of incitement. Netanyahu had said on July 27 that he wanted Al-Jazeera expelled amid tensions over a sensitive Jerusalem holy site. “Al-Jazeera has become the main tool of Daesh (the Islamic State group), Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran,” Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, a member of the Druze community from Netanyahu’s Likud party, told a news conference, to which Al Jazeera was not invited. He accused the Qatar-based broadcaster of “inciting violence which has provoked losses among the best of…

Alexis Sanchez faces a race to be fit for Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Leicester on Friday after sitting out the Community Shield, Arsene Wenger has confirmed. The Chile international was one of a number of players given a watching brief on Sunday as the Gunners beat Chelsea on penalties to lift the Community Shield at Wembley. Sanchez only returned to pre-season training on Tuesday following his involvement in the Confederations Cup. Asked whether the absentees would feature against the Foxes on Friday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Premier League, Wenger said: “Overall, we will see. “I left them…

• Parade another batch of Abuja-Kaduna highway ‘kidnappers’ The Delta State police command has confirmed the arrest of two male teachers of a secondary school (names withheld) in Agbor who were allegedly involved in homosexuality. It was gathered that the teachers have allegedly ruined the lives of some students in the school, a popular male secondary school. According to the father of one of the students, (name withheld), the suspects had been in the act with male students for over four years before nemesis caught up with them with the arrest by the police. They were allegedly caught in the…

• Defence minister visits troops in Borno • 50 per cent of deaths due to malaria, says WHO Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have announced the killing of two Boko Haram insurgents and recovering of explosives and motorcycles in an ambush. The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen Sani Usman disclosed this yesterday in a statement in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. He said the operation took place early yesterday at the Forward Operation Base in Mainok, along a track leading to Alagarno forest in Borno. Usman explained that the explosives were recovered at Banki route junction, near Bama on…

On Sunday, President Muhammadu Buhari made a telephone call to Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra to commiserate with him and people of the State over the Ozubulu Church attack. The Sunday’s early morning attack on St. Philip Catholic Church, Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area had claimed the lives of 11 worshippers and 18 others injured. Buhari had earlier in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, condemned the attack and described it as “an appalling crime against humanity and unspeakable sacrilege”. In the statement, the President said that “there was no justification…

The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State Mr Garba Umar, has said that the command would leave no turn unturned to bring the attackers on worshippers at St. Philip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu, by a gunman to justice. Umar, who spoke at a news conference in Awka on Sunday, gave the updated figures of casualties as 11 dead and 18 injured. He ruled out the possibility of a terror attack, and spoke about an isolated feud between individuals in the community. He said that the command had invited some suspects who would be useful to the investigation. The CP advised residents…

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani condemned Sunday the reported massacre of dozens of civilians in a remote area of the war-torn country where the Taliban claimed a victory against military forces. “Criminal terrorists have once again killed civilians, women and children in Sayad district of Sar-e Pul province, adding to their crimes. “This barbaric act of them is deemed a direct violation of human rights and a war crime,” Ghani said in a statement. The comments came after the governor of Sar-e Pul said that “as many as 30 to 40 innocent people… were brutally shot and killed” in the province’s…

Legal luminary, Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN), has advocated a proactive and stringent punishment enforcement to curb the rising cases of sexual abuse of minors in Nigeria. Apart from the punishment provided in the statute books for convicted offenders, Ali also advised that convicts should be made to undergo compulsory psychiatric rehabilitation saying: “anyone will full sanity will not likely defile a child moreover his own child.” He spoke at the Annual Law Week of the Ekiti State Chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) held over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital which has as its…

Champions League winner Wesley Sneijder is on the brink of becoming the latest star name to sign for ambitious Ligue 1 outfit Nice after arriving at the city’s airport on Sunday. Unfashionable Nice have made a habit of signing top class talent over the last few seasons, with France international Hatem Ben Arfa, Italian striker Mario Balotelli, Brazilian centre-back Dante and Morocco playmaker Younes Belhanda all joining over the past two years. Now, 33-year-old Dutch international Sneijder, who won the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010, is set to sign a one-year deal with an option for another year,…

Nigeria’s Yinka Ajayi, Patience Okon-George and Margaret Bamgbose have qualified for Monday’s women’s 400m semi-finals at the ongoing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in London. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in Heat 2 of the race, Shaunae Miller-Uibo of Bahrain placed first with a time of 50:97secs at the championships that began on Aug. 4 and will end on Aug. 13. Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann Mcpherson placed second with 51:27secs, while Ajayi came third with 51:58sec to qualify for the semi-finals. Read Also Arsenal Beat 10-man Chelsea in Community Shield In Heat 5, lane 2,…