Author: Chronicle Editor

Three girls aged between seven and 10 have drowned in River Oluwa, Sabo area of Ondo town, Ondo West local government area. The victims were given as Iyabo Isiaka, Nife Akinnuoye and Seun Segun. The incident was said to have happened on Friday. They were said to have fallen off a bridge in the river and got drowned. Sources said the deceased teenagers went to the river to play and swim. Police intercept corpse of suspected COVID-19 patient in Osun Divers that rushed to save the children were late as they found their lifeless bodies floating on the river. Another…

The Eredivisie – the top tier of football in the Netherlands – has been abandoned for the season with no title winners and no teams relegated. The move comes after the national government banned major events until 1 September because of coronavirus. Dutch football’s governing body the KNVB said “it has become impossible to play out the 2019-20 season”. Ajax led the table from AZ Alkmaar on goal difference with nine games left but will not be named champions. Both Ajax and AZ Alkmaar will go into the Champions League qualifying stages, if ratified by UEFA. No sides will be…

The US virus death toll has surpassed 50,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, in what is the world’s deadliest Covid-19 outbreak. More than 3,000 deaths came in the last 24 hours, and there are now over 870,000 confirmed cases nationwide. But the US still has a lower mortality rate than most European nations based on current case counts, as the White House task force has emphasised. The grim news comes as parts of the US reopen after weeks of lockdown. Some hair salons, bowling alleys and other businesses are opening on Friday in Georgia, Alaska and Oklahoma. The…

The United States government has described the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari as a dedicated public servant and respected interlocutor for the American government. In a condolence message to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, eulogized the important role played by Kyari in the repatriation of over $300 million in funds stolen by former head of state, Sani Abacha. “Kyari was a valued and respected interlocutor for the US government and particularly for our leadership team in Abuja. “We appreciate working with him on many important matters, including…

Louis Odion, FNGE On a good day, Abimbola Adelakun is a compelling read. But writers do have dry days, when the muse fails the quill abysmally. Such must have been the misfortune of the columnist in her April 23 outing. The tragedy was however not her failure to deliver; the real catastrophe was actually the pedestrian intellection unwittingly exposed within a spell of creative drought. In the said Punch column entitled “Why are Nigerians still so poor?”, Adelakun resumed her pillory of just any institution, idea – just anything Nigerian, other than her own fancy. The raging Coronavirus pandemic would…

US President Donald Trump has been lambasted by the medical community after suggesting research into whether coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body. He also appeared to propose irradiating patients’ bodies with UV light, an idea dismissed by a doctor at the briefing. Another of his officials had moments earlier said sunlight and disinfectant were known to kill the infection. Disinfectants are hazardous substances and can be poisonous if ingested. Even external exposure can be dangerous to the skin, eyes and respiratory system. What did President Trump say? During Thursday’s White House coronavirus task force briefing, an…

The first human trial in Europe of a coronavirus vaccine has begun in Oxford. Two volunteers were injected, the first of more than 800 people recruited for the study. Half will receive the Covid-19 vaccine, and half a control vaccine which protects against meningitis but not coronavirus. The design of the trial means volunteers will not know which vaccine they are getting, though doctors will. Elisa Granato, one of the two who received the jab, told the BBC: “I’m a scientist, so I wanted to try to support the scientific process wherever I can.” The vaccine was developed in under…

MTN Group Limited will push on with the plan to reduce its majority stake in the wireless carrier’s business in Nigeria, it was learnt on Thursday. But the turmoil caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may require the sale to be done in smaller chunks than anticipated. The impact of the pandemic on international financial markets has not changed the importance of selling part of the 79 per cent shareholding to local investors, Chief Financial Officer (CF) Ralph Mupita said in a chat. However, the rest of a three-to-five-year plan to dispose of 25-billion rand ($1.4 billion) of assets will…

By Mamman Daura Coronavirus is a law, yet lawless unto itself. As of yesterday it has claimed 183,424 lives worldwide and 28 Nigerians. One of those lives lost was Malam Abba Kyari’s, Chief of Staff to the President. Malam Abba succumbed to complications after contracting and recovering from coronavirus a week today. Malam Abba Kyari was a man blessed with mountainous gifts and uncommon attributes of intelligence, diligence, hard work, loyalty to friends and worthy causes. One could exhaust superlatives to do him full justice. I first set eyes on Malam Abba about 47 years ago. I was at my…

By Femi Adesina He told us he would be back at his desk soon. I believed it. But now, it would never happen. Not tomorrow, not next week, not forever. Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, has gone the way of all flesh. Our last contact was on Friday, March 20, 2020. President Muhammadu Buhari was scheduled to meet with the Chairman of ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, by 3 p.m. Such meetings hold in the diplomatic room of the presidential office complex. The protocol is that aides invited to attend any meeting must be seated 15…