Good morning! In today’s trending news on The News Chronicle:
1. The LGBTQ community trends on the internet as President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey expressed his unease at what he thought were the LGBTQ colours being used at the United Nations this week. “One of the issues that bothers me the most … is that when entering the United Nations General Assembly, you see the LGBT colors on steps and other places,” he said. However, a few UN diplomats explained that Erdogan may have mistaken the 17 distinct colours of the Sustainable Development Goals, which adorned parts of the UN headquarters, including its steps, for a summit held earlier this week, with the rainbow Pride colours symbolising LGBTQ rights. It is worthy of note that Turkey as well as many African nations, are against homosexuality, with some considering it a crime.
2. Meanwhile, The DSS has denied allegations made by Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Sanusi Bature, that it arrested one of the judges of the Kano state governorship election petitions tribunal, following the sack of former Governor Abba Yusuf. “This is a very ridiculous statement. Arresting judges for what reason? It is not true, please,” Peter Afunanya, the spokesperson of the nation’s secret police remarked.
3. In the world of energy, Dangote Refinery is set to begin production in October 2023, five months after the former president, Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the facility. However, Devakumar Edwin, the Group Executive of Dangote Refinery, revealed that oil refined in the facility would be bought in US dollars, not naira. [This is] because it is located in a free zone on the outskirts of Lagos,” he remarked.
4. RIF Trust Nigeria, a travel company reveals there is a route Nigerians can use to travel to Canada without a visa. Previously, Canada had expanded its visa-free travel list to 13 countries across Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. However, Nigeria was not included in this list despite bilateral trade relationship. Zuberu Kadiri, the company’s manager explained that the addition of Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada to Canada list of visa-free countries is a plus to Nigerians. “Nigerians who can obtain Citizenship-by-Investment programs in these countries and have visa-free air travel via an eTA to Canad,” he said.
5. As Arsenal vs Tottenham match draws near, football analysts predicts the match to go in Arsenal’s favor. Though the Opta supercomputer has given them a 47.6% chance of victory over rivals Tottenham, in the world of sports anything is possible. The game will be the first ever Premier League north London derby with both clubs unbeaten playing. Arsenal looks forward to win three straight league games against Tottenham for the first time in over 30 years.
6. Abu Abel, a real estate mogul who was once caught on camera bullying DJ Chicken, has sparked hostile reactions online due to his ‘seemingly’ philanthropic act. This is after a screenshot of a money receipt sent to Mohbad’s son surfaces online. Mourners react they don’t want him or his ‘bloody money’ around anything that has to do with Mohbad.
7. Spy Kids: Armageddon, Netflix’s reboot of the franchise with the original writer-director Robert Rodriguez, is currently trending on Netflix. The film is rated PG making it family friendly. It was released on Netflix on August 5, 2023.
