Author: Chronicle Editor

The Queen will meet US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden next week, Buckingham Palace has said. The meeting at Windsor Castle on Sunday 13 June coincides with the end of Mr Biden’s visit to Britain for the G7 summit of leaders from the world’s biggest economies. Mr Biden will be the 12th serving US president the Queen has met as monarch. She met his predecessor Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Buckingham Palace in 2019. The Queen will meet the President of the United States of America and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle…

NASA has announced that it is sending two new missions to Venus in order to examine the planet’s atmosphere and geological features. The missions, which have each been awarded $500m (£352m) in funding, are due to launch between 2028 and 2030. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said the missions would offer the “chance to investigate a planet we haven’t been to in more than 30 years”. The last US probe to visit the planet was the Magellan orbiter in 1990. However, other spacecraft – from Europe and Japan – have orbited the planet since then. NASA partners with Elon Musk to…

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at a newly agreed coalition which looks set to remove him from power after 12 years as prime minister. Mr Netanyahu called on right-wing members of parliament to block the coalition from taking office. Eight opposition parties reached an agreement to work together to form a new government late on Wednesday. But the group, from across Israel’s political spectrum, still needs parliamentary backing to take office. In his first comments since the coalition was announced, Mr Netanyahu urged members of the Knesset (parliament) “elected by votes from the right” to oppose the coalition. In…

Gunmen have hijacked a school bus belonging to Chimola Schools in Akure, Ondo State on Thursday morning. The incident reportedly took place at Oba Ile Estate, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State. Although no pupil was on board when the attackers struck, they were said to have whisked away an official of the school who was on her way to pick up pupils from their homes on Thursday morning. According to a resident, the gunmen who were on motorcycles, rounded up the vehicle around 6:45am. Narrating the incident, Mrs Akindemowo Bolatito, the administrator of Chimola School, said it…

Seventeen sites have been cleaned up and certified, the Federal Government said on Wednesday while appraising the remediation process in oil-polluted sections of Ogoniland. Environment Minister Mohammed Mahmoud told State House reporters after the week’s virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that the various other components of the clean-up agreement were being attended to. According to him, the budget for the administrative body, which is overseeing the clean-up process, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) was just passed on Tuesday. Speaking further, Mahmoud said that the government awarded contracts for six water projects in the area, while 400 Ogoni women…

A local AK-47 fabrication factory has been uncovered by the Nigerian Police Force in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State. Two suspects believed to be behind the factory were paraded on Wednesday along with others arrested across the country. Seventy nine others, suspected to be kidnappers, bandits, armed robbers, gun runners, and producers of fake number plates were also paraded by the police. The names of the weapon fabricators were given as Joe Michael and Iliya Bulus. Ortom commends Buhari’s shoot-on-sight order on criminals with AK-47 Police spokesman Frank Mba told reporters that the suspects were arrested by…

Gunmen believed to be armed robbers, attacked banks and police stations in two Osun State towns on Wednesday killing policemen. The two towns – Ikire in Irewole local government Area and Apomu in Isokan local government – both off the Ibadan-Ile-Ife Expressway, were under attack almost simultaneously between 5:30pm and about 7pm. The gunmen broke into the bank branches. They killed a police guard at the bank in Apomu and shot a bank official in the leg, according to sources in the town. They also reportedly shot a policeman during the attack on the bank in Ikire. They shot into…

It will rebuild confidence in our youths, make the difference, says Osinbajo Backers of the scheme include EU, Dangote, Visa, BUA, Lafarge, Microsoft and co In addition to employment opportunities created through the Economic Sustainability Plan and job schemes being implemented under the Social Investment Programme, among others, the Buhari administration in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and other private sector partners is set to launch a 20,000 yearly graduate job fellowship to be called the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme, NJFP. Speaking today while making the formal announcement, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, said the 12-month job fellowship…

Following the ongoing implementation of a robust security action plan to protect citizens and critical national infrastructure across the country, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, have arrested a total of 84 notorious criminal suspects within the past one month. Frank Mba, the police spokesperson said a total of 45 sophisticated firearms and ammunition including 1-GPMG, 1-LAR rifle, 17-AK47 rifles, 2-Pump Action rifles, 20- locally fabricated firearms, 3-single barrel guns, 9899- live ammunition of different calibres, 80-fake vehicle number plates, 1- Toyota Camry with Reg. No. AA 792 HJA and 1-Toyota Corolla LE with Reg. No. QAP 622 AA, were…

Nigerian Army troops operating as part of Operation Hadin Kai in conjunction with Air Component of the Operation on Wednesday inflicted heavy casualty on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists group who launched a futile attack on Damboa LGA of Borno State. The terrorists attacked the town in multiple waves with Armoured Personnel Carriers and 12 gun trucks all mounted with Anti Aircraft Guns, as well as locally fabricated armoured-plated vehicles loaded with explosives and motorcycles, Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima, director army public relations said. The gallant troops successfully defeated the attack, destroyed the locally fabricated armoured-plated vehicles and…