Author: Chronicle Editor

The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) on Monday said that it generated N346.6 million from tickets sold across the country in March. Mr Patrick Lee, CEAN’s National President, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. Lee said that the figure represented 45 per cent increase compared to 189 million realised in March 2021. He also said that there was a seven per cent improvement in ticket sales in March, as N301.48 million was generated in February. He listed the highest grossing films in Nigeria in the month of March as: “The Batman;…

The Manchester United dressing room is split over the possible appointment of Ajax’s Erik ten Hag as the club’s new permanent manager. (MEN) Christian Eriksen’s former club Tottenham and Manchester United are considering signing the Denmark midfielder, 30, on a free transfer this summer after seeing his return to top form at Brentford. (Mail) Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he is “happy” with how contract talks are developing with the club’s Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, 29. (Liverpool Echo) There remains optimism Liverpool could sign France forward Kylian Mbappe, 23, from Paris St-Germain this summer – should Salah decide to leave the club. (FourFourTwo) Mbappe says remaining at PSG is also still an option, despite his…

Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) have said that about 168 people are still missing after a deadly attack on a busy train last week in Kaduna. NRC did was not clear on how many of the 168 were kidnapped for ransom – as some may have gone home without telling the authorities. Gunmen blew up a section of track between the capital, Abuja, and the northern city of Kaduna last Monday. During the ordeal at least eight passengers were killed. One survivor has told the BBC how a decision to change carriage could have saved his life, and the lives of…

Africa Magic, in association with MultiChoice, recently unveiled the list of nominees for the eighth edition of its premium awards that included a new category, Best Online Social Content Creator. The inclusion according to the organizers is in recognition of the growing popularity and quality of social media content across the continent. Nominees in the category include Mr. Macaroni for Multi Personality Disorder, Tee Kuro for Nollywood epic Love Story 1& 2 (parody), Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori for Kayamata, and Oga Sabinus for Mr. Funny. Other nominees are Taaooma for Road Rage, Jacqueline Suowari for Of Line and Layers, Edem Victor for…

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has described as despicable the attack on the chairman of the Human Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Mr Lanre Suraju, and his family. Mr Suraju is a civil society advocate in the extractive industry. The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya-Orji, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, expressed shock at the unfortunate development where the lives of Suraju and his family were seriously at risk. “I received the news of the attack on Mr Suraju and his family at their home with the utmost sadness and disappointment and wish to condemn the…

Manchester United target and Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji, 26, wants to leave Borussia Dortmund and is considering a move to the Premier League. (Sport1) Barcelona are unwilling to meet Antonio Rudiger’s initial financial demands but will have another meeting with the Germany defender, 29, over a free transfer from Chelsea this summer. (Sport – in Spanish) Barcelona want to agree a contract extension for Ronald Araujo, who has received an offer from Manchester United, but the Uruguay centre-back, 23, has not taken kindly to Barca’s pursuit of Rudiger and Chelsea’s Denmark 25-year-old defender Andreas Christensen. (Sport – in Spanish) Aston…

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed safety of 14 more passengers on board the attacked Abuja-Kaduna train of March 28, bringing the total safe passengers to 186. The NRC’s Managing Director, Mr Fidet Okhiria, confirmed this in a statement he issued on Sunday. ”The statement is aimed at updating Nigerians on the on-going development regarding the clearing of the incident site (recovery of the rolling stock, repairs of the track) and status of Passengers that were on-board the AK9 train of Monday, March 28. ”Of the 362 validated passengers on board the attacked AK9 train service on March 28,…

Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic and jazz musician Jon Batiste have shared the top honours at the 64th Grammy Awards. Batiste’s uplifting soul record We Are won album of the year, while Rodrigo won best new artist and best pop album. Silk Sonic’s soul throwback anthem Leave The Door Open took home both the record and song of the year prizes. Apart from the awards, the ceremony saw a tribute to Foo Fighters star Taylor Hawkins, and a video plea from Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. In a pre-taped message, he urged musicians to “fill the silence” left by Russian bombs “with…

In October 2021, Donald Trump announced he was planning to launch a revolutionary technology company. “I created Truth Social… to stand up to the tyranny of big tech,” he said. “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter yet your favourite American president has been silenced.” The app launched on Presidents’ Day, 21 February, but six weeks later is beset by problems. A waiting list of nearly 1.5 million are unable to use it. Number 1,419,631 Truth Social looks a lot like Twitter, a platform that banned Mr Trump after a mob of his…

The producer of the Oscars has said he prevented Will Smith from being “physically removed” from the ceremony because “Chris Rock did not want that”. Will Packer said he had been told the bosses of the organising academy had planned to have the actor ejected after he slapped the comedian on stage. “I had not been a part of those conversations,” Packer said. “So, I immediately went to the Academy leadership that was on site and I said, ‘Chris Rock doesn’t want that’.” Packer told ABC’s Good Morning America, in his first interview since the incident, that he had he…