Author: Chronicle Editor

Juventus bounced back from consecutive defeats by beating Salernitana. The hosts, bottom of Serie A in their first season in the top flight since 1999, were the ideal opposition for Juve after their 4-0 defeat at Chelsea and 1-0 home loss to Atalanta. Paulo Dybala hammered in their opener before Giorgio Chiellini had a goal ruled out by VAR. Alvaro Morata poked home Juve’s second soon after coming on and Dybala slipped as he missed an injury-time penalty. Juventus stunned by Atalanta in Serie A Juventus are now seventh in Serie A, 11 points behind leaders Napoli. Elsewhere, fourth-placed Atalanta…

Zimbabwe has reimposed a lockdown and mandatory quarantines for all travellers amidst rising Covid cases and to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. The country has recorded over 130,000 Covid cases and about 4,700 deaths since the pandemic began early last year. Zimbabwe authorities tightened coronavirus restrictions citing growing public complacency that they believe will only worsen as the festive season approaches. There is also the fear of a fourth wave. President Emmerson Mnangagwa reimposed a curfew from 21:00 to 06:00 local time. All international travellers will be required to be tested on arrival and to quarantine at a…

Norwich manager Dean Smith felt the decision to award Newcastle a second-half penalty in the Canaries’ 1-1 draw at St James’ Park was “pathetic”. Callum Wilson put the Magpies ahead from the spot after Billy Gilmour was adjudged by the video assistant referee to have blocked Federico Fernandez’s header with his arm. Teemu Pukki’s magnificent left-footed volley salvaged a point for the visitors late on, but Smith was unhappy with the manner of Newcastle’s opener. “We’ve taken all responsibility away from the on-pitch official,” said the former Aston Villa boss. “He’s obviously seen that [the ball] has touched [Gilmour’s] arm.…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed the country’s first case of the Omicron variant. This was stated in a press release issued by the centre on Wednesday morning and signed by the Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa. Chronicle NG reported that the Omicron variant, a new strain of the coronavirus disease, was reported by South Africa and first detected in Botswana. Following the discovery, countries such as the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, among others, imposed travel bans on countries in southern Africa. Similarly, the Canadian government stated that it discovered two cases of the variant from…

A boat conveying over 50 people on Tuesday evening has capsized in the northern Nigerian state of Kano. Police say 20 bodies have been recovered and seven people rescued so far following the accident. Many of the victims were Islamic school pupils travelling to a religious event. Officials and residents told the BBC that the boat was carrying dozens of people from the village of Badau to the town of Bagwai, where they were due to attend an Islamic religious ceremony. A police spokesperson in Kano state says a search and rescue operation is under way. Those rescued so far…

The Lagos State Government has released the White Paper on the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry report on the #EndSARS protests that rocked the state in 2020. The Lagos government said that claims in the leaked report by the Lagos Panel that nine persons died at Lekki toll gate on 20 October 2020 was speculative. Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr. Gbenga Omotoso disclosed this on Tuesday night. He said the full document would be made available shortly to Nigerians. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had two weeks ago set up a committee on the White Paper. In its summation, Lagos State…

Officials have revealed that the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, was present in the Netherlands earlier than previously thought. It was identified in two test samples taken in the country between 19 and 23 November, which is before the variant was first reported by South Africa. It is not clear whether those who took the tests had visited southern Africa. It was previously thought that two flights that arrived from South Africa on Sunday had brought the first cases of the variant to the Netherlands. Fourteen people on the flights to the capital, Amsterdam, tested positive for Omicron, among 61 passengers…

Manchester City are in an “emergency” with just “14 or 15” senior players for Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa, says boss Pep Guardiola. Barcelona target Ferran Torres misses out with a foot problem, while defender Aymeric Laporte is suspended. Kevin de Bruyne is yet to resume training despite testing negative after a bout of Covid-19 and will not play. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish – who joined City from Villa for £100m in the summer – are doubts. Even if they are passed fit, Guardiola says the pair “cannot play a lot of minutes”. Coming into the busiest…

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Tuesday, committed the 2022 Appropriation Bill of the State to a joint committee on Finance and Economic Planning and Budget after deliberations by members. Recall that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, last Wednesday presented to the Assembly a budget size of ₦1,388,285,459,990.51 for the year 2022. As the lawmakers read the bill for a second time, many of them commended the Governor for allocating 59 percent of the proposed budget to capital expenditure with some saying it would further bring the dividends of democracy to the residents of…

Osinbajo presides as NEC meeting endorses Finance Bill 2022 With more room to redefine the exchange for international competitiveness and the largest concentration of young people in the primary market, Nigeria is in a better position to advance its capital markets locally and globally. This was the view expressed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, in his keynote speech today in Abuja at the first Capital Market Conference of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group. Later in the day, the VP presided over a virtual meeting of the National Economic Council where the Council composed of all State Governors, FCT Minister,…