Author: Chronicle Editor

Israel says it is transferring 5,000 doses of Covid vaccine to immunise frontline Palestinian health workers. Israel has one of the most advanced vaccination programmes in the world but Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza have yet to see one. UN experts say Israel has a responsibility for vaccinations there. Israel says that is not part of agreed protocols and it has not received any requests from the Palestinians. This is its first such transfer. Israel has recorded some 640,000 Covid cases since the pandemic began, and just over 4,700 deaths, Johns Hopkins University research shows. There have been…

Popular Afro Juju musician, Sir Shina Peters, has been ordained a bishop of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church. The legendary singer was ordained at a ceremony in a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in the Iju area of Lagos on Saturday. The singer shared a video and photo of his ordination on his Instagram handle on Sunday with the caption, ‘‘Bishop with the swagger. God above all.” On his Facebook page, Shina Peters wrote: “To God be the glory. I will serve my God till the end’’. Ovation International magazine publisher Dele Momodu wrote: ‘‘Congratulations Bishop Isaac Oluwashina Akanbi Peters. Ore…

A new visa scheme offering millions of Hong Kongers a pathway to British citizenship went live on Sunday as the city’s former colonial master opens its doors to those wanting to escape China’s crackdown on dissent. Anyone with a British National (Overseas) passport and their dependents can now apply online for a visa allowing them to live and work in the United Kingdom. After five years, they can apply for citizenship. The immigration scheme is a response to Beijing’s decision last year to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong to snuff out the huge and often violent…

A Singapore Zoo has welcomed a lion cub named Simba to its animal kingdom following artificial insemination that officials said Tuesday was a first for the city-state. It is rare for lions to be conceived through artificial insemination, with the procedure first carried out successfully in 2018 resulting in two cubs in South Africa. Lion populations in the wild have plummeted more than 40 percent over the past two decades, with about 23,000 to 39,000 mature animals left, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It lists lions as vulnerable. Singapore’s new cub, named after the main character in Disney’s…

Mohamed Salah scored for the first time in seven Premier League games with a brilliant double at West Ham United to help Liverpool move up to third in the table. A trademark quick shift and curling finish from the Egypt striker rewarded a bright start to the second half from the Reds after Jurgen Klopp’s side had failed to find a cutting edge to their first-half possession. Salah capped a scintillating Liverpool counter-attack to double his side’s lead 11 minutes later, instantly controlling Xherdan Shaqiri’s looping pass over the top before prodding past Lukasz Fabianski. Tuchel Records First Win As…

The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, on Sunday, said that the total shutdown of the Third Mainland Bridge would be lifted at midnight of Jan. 31, 24 hours ahead of schedule. Popoola told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the telephone that the contractor was able to complete the repair works on the bridge on Saturday, hence the lifting of the total closure at midnight. “The casting of the expansion joints was completed on Saturday. Therefore, the Third Mainland Bridge will be opened by 12 midnight of Jan. 31. “Motorists can start plying the bridge as…

Sergio Ramos is ready to quit Real Madrid this summer for the Premier League as he doesn’t fancy Paris St Germain. Talks over a new contract at the Bernabeu have collapsed and that means the Spanish defender whose trophy haul includes five La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues, a World Cup and two European Championships – will be available on a free transfer in July. He is entitled to talk to clubs outside of Spain right now to secure a pre-contract agreement – and his agent, brother Rene Ramos, is targeting England. The Spanish international is unconvinced by a move…

“The police have acted according to the instructions they have been given, that any criminal should be shot at sight…anybody who calls themselves OPC…should be arrested or if he doesn’t give himself to arrest should be shot at sight.” – President Olusegun Obasanjo (December 1999). The above quote is one of many old comments from past and present leaders of the country, which have suddenly resurfaced in the wake of the recent happenings across the country, especially in the South-West of Nigeria, with regards to the directive by the Ondo State governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) on the 17th of…

Emphatic finishes from Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso gave Thomas Tuchel his first victory as Chelsea head coach against a below-par Burnley. Captain Azpilicueta – the longest-serving player in the team – drilled Callum Hudson-Odoi’s lay-off high past Nick Pope just before half-time in the Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge. Azpilicueta’s fellow Spanish defender Alonso added a classy second late on, skilfully controlling a Christian Pulisic cross before lashing a volley over Pope at his near post. The impressive Hudson-Odoi was unlucky not to score in between with a shot that was deflected on to a post by Burnley…

When Nigeria’s then-head of state Sani Abacha stole billions of dollars and died before spending his loot, it prompted an international treasure hunt spread over decades. The man hired to get the money back tells the BBC’s Clare Spencer how the search took over his life. In September 1999, Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini answered a phone call that would change his next 20 years. “He called me in the middle of the night, he asked me if I could come to his hotel, he had something of importance. I said: ‘It’s a bit late but OK.'” The voice on the…