Author: Chronicle Editor

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, warned on Tuesday that Sub-Saharan African nations are at growing risk of debt distress because of heavy borrowing and gaping deficits, despite an overall uptick in economic growth. The sober assessment comes as African countries continue to tap international debt markets and issue record levels of debt in foreign currencies, spurred on by insatiable investor demand for yields. In its economic outlook for the region released in Accra, Ghana, IMF projected the rate of economic expansion would rise to 3.4 per cent this year, up from 2.8 percent in 2017, boosted by global growth and…

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny will be out for six months after surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon, says Gunners manager Arsene Wenger. Koscielny, 32, was carried off 12 minutes into Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final second leg defeat by Atletico Madrid last Thursday. France manager Didier Deschamps had already confirmed the centre-back would miss this summer’s World Cup. “You will not see him until December at best,” said Wenger. “Koscielny is devastated. “People have always inflamed tendons but they don’t rupture but in his case it went. I don’t know why. “The recovery will be full because the advantage of surgery…

Seven Nigerian women have returned from Libya pregnant, they were part of 218 Nigerians that voluntarily returned on Tuesday from Libya where they had been stranded en-route Europe. The returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos about 3.44 a.m. aboard a chartered Libyan Airlines Airbus A330-200 aircraft with registration number 5A-LAU. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that they comprised of 46 adult females, five female infants, 161 adult males, two male children and four male infants. The returnees were brought with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU). Speaking…

Leicester want Huddersfield boss David Wagner to be their next manager, with the Foxes expected to part company with Claude Puel this month. (Times – subscription required) Chelsea and Belgium forward Eden Hazard, 27, says there is “no chance” of him leaving Stamford Bridge for Manchester United. (Mail) Spain striker Alvaro Morata, 25, could leave Chelsea and return to Juventus. The Blues may then consider a move for Paris St-Germain and Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani, 31. (Tuttosport, via Metro) Chelsea have moved in front of Liverpool in the race to sign Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir, 24. (L’Equipe via Star) Arsenal…

Arsenal are confident of naming a successor to Arsene Wenger before the World Cup kicks off next month. The Frenchman, who has two more games as manager, is leaving the club after almost 22 years. The Gunners have no specific deadline for the recruitment process, but an announcement is expected before the tournament starts in Russia on 14 June. READ: Barcelona president met with Antoine Griezmann’s agent Ex-Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has been linked with the job, along with Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri. Former Arsenal midfielders Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira have also been suggested as potential successors, as have…

The Nigerian Army said it has rescued more than 1,000 Boko Haram hostages, kept in some villages in Bama Local Government Area of Borno. Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, the Director, Army Public Relations, disclosed this in a statement in Maiduguri on Monday. Chukwu said the rescue operation was conducted by troops of 22 Brigade of Operation Lafiya Dole in conjunction with allies of Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). He listed the villages to include Malamkari, Amchaka, Walasa and Gora villages of Bama Local Government Area of Borno. READ: Dubai princess Sheikha Latifa still missing – HRW He added that the…

Rights activists are increasingly worried about the fate of 32-year-old Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who has not been seen publicly since being captured at sea in March while trying to flee the United Arab Emirates. Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged the Dubai authorities to reveal the whereabouts of the princess, saying her case could constitute “enforced disappearance”. A source close to the Dubai government has said only that Latifa was indeed brought back to Dubai and was “with her family” and “doing excellent”. But accounts by people involved in the escape who spoke with AFP suggest…

Trenton McKinley, now dubbed the ‘Miracle Boy’ regained consciousness just after his parents signed the paperwork to donate his organs. The 13-year-old boy in the US state of Alabama suffered severe brain trauma when a car trailer he was riding on flipped over and fell on his head. Doctors told his parents he would not recover and that his organs were a match for five children who needed transplants. A day before his life support was to end, Trenton showed signs of awareness. The teenager suffered seven skull fractures in the accident in Mobile, Alabama, in March. According to his…

The Lagos State Police Command on Monday said women’s rights of movement in Lagos State, will not be restricted on Tuesday by the traditional Oro Festival in Ikorodu, east of Lagos. The Commissioner of police, Imohimi Edgal, made the clarification in a statement signed by the spokesman of the command, SP Chike Oti. Edgal said that the clarification became necessary in view of the news making the rounds on the social media that women are forbidden from coming out of their homes on Tuesday May 8, being the day set aside as Oro Day in Ikorodu. He said that the…

President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed that he will be travelling to the United Kingdom on Tuesday to see his doctor at his request. Buhari who wrote on his personal Twitter account did not disclose reasons why his doctor asked him to visit. “I will be traveling to the United Kingdom tomorrow, to see my doctor, at his request. Will be away for four days; back in Abuja on Saturday, May 12,” he tweeted. Buhari, 75, spent substantial part of 2017 in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment. I will be traveling to the United Kingdom tomorrow, to see my…