Author: Chronicle Editor

Think twice about that frothy, bubbly alcohol you consume as scientists have issued a new warning about its health effects by unravelling the linkage between it and cancer. Alcohol damages the DNA of stem cells responsible for producing new blood, according to a mouse study which may explain the link between drinking and cancer, scientists said on Wednesday. Health watchdogs have long warned that alcohol consumption contributes to seven types of cancer — of the mouth, throat, larynx or voice box, oesophagus or food pipe, breast, liver and bowel. What was not well understood was, how? For the new…

GOtv subscribers will have the opportunity of watching the Aiteo/CAF Football Awards Ceremony Live. The ceremony, which holds in Accra, Ghana, tomorrow , will be beamed on SuperSport Select 1 at 8pm. The final shortlist for the awards features Liverpool duo of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane and Borussia Dortmund striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Salah, the Egyptian star, has already won the 2017 BBC African Footballer of the Year award, while Gabon’s Aubameyang won the CAF African player of the year in 2015. The list was was arrived at following the whittling down of an 11-man shortlist announced in November. READ:…

Hector Bellerin’s stunning injury-time strike earned Arsenal a point against Chelsea in one of the most entertaining matches of the Premier League season so far. The two sides shared an incredible 33 chances, with the heroic keeping of Gunners’ Petr Cech and Blues’ Thibaut Courtois ensuring only four goals were conceded. Courtois had made exceptional stops to deny Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette before he was finally beaten when Jack Wilshere fired high past the Belgian in the 63rd minute. The lead only lasted four minutes, with Eden Hazard converting from the spot to level after his foot had been…

Nigeria has agreed a $550-million deal to buy two Chinese communications satellites and hopes to sign the contract before the end of the month, the communication minister said on Wednesday. Adebayo Shittu said China Exim Bank and the manufacturer, China Great Wall, have agreed to pay for the new satellites after Nigeria renegotiated an earlier deal that had required it to cover 15 percent of the cost. “This is a very big business opportunity … which is … why they have agreed that even without our ability to contribute 15 percent they are prepared to pay the entire sum of…

Former White House aide Steve Bannon “lost his mind” after he lost his job at the White House, US President Donald Trump has claimed. The president disavowed Mr Bannon after he was quoted in a new book describing a meeting between Mr Trump’s son and a group of Russians as “treasonous”. The Russians had offered Donald Trump Jr damaging information on Hillary Clinton at the June 2016 meeting. Mr Bannon’s quote appears in a new book by journalist Michael Wolff. “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his…

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s supporters got a boost on Wednesday when a key ally of the elderly leader announced he would head a group campaigning for him to seek re-election next year. Buhari, 75, has not publicly said whether he will take part in the February 2019 election. Political insiders have privately questioned Buhari’s willingness, or ability, to keep the top job after he spent much of the past year in Britain being treated for an undisclosed ailment that left him visibly weakened. But Adebayo Shittu, Nigeria’s minister of communications who played a prominent role in Buhari’s 2015 campaign, said…

Manchester City’s David Silva says he has missed recent matches because of the premature birth of his son. Silva, 31, missed games against Newcastle and Crystal Palace with manager Pep Guardiola confirming his absence was for personal reasons. The Spain international signed a new contract with the club in November and has scored five times this season. In a statement he said his son Mateo was “born extremely preterm and is fighting day by day”. READ: Liverpool yet to receive new Barcelona bid for Coutinho Silva, who returned for Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Watford, added: “I want to thank…

The Adamawa Chapter of Muslim Council has raised concern over the influx of Quranic School Pupils (Almajiri) into major towns in the state. The council, in a communique issued at the end of its 29th General Assembly on Wednesday in Yola, called on parents and government to do something about it. The communique was signed by the Communique Committee Chairman, Malam Gambo Jika, and the Secretary Abdullahi Damare. “The assembly observed with concern the influx of Almajiris into the state, especially into our major towns in the name of seeking Quranic education. READ: N10bn: Viathan issues Nigeria’s debut 10-year guaranteed…

Private equity-backed Viathan Group has issued Nigeria’s debut 10-year corporate infrastructure bond in local currency to raise 10 billion naira ($32 million) at a yield of 16 percent to fund power assets. Viathan, owned by Synergy Private Equity, develops and operates off-grid power solutions in Nigeria. It issued the bond backed by InfraCredit, a triple A rated credit facility set up by Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund and GuarantCo. Synergy has committed capital of over $100 million and has invested in 10 companies in Nigeria and Ghana, it said. READ: Trump tells Kim: My nuclear button is ‘bigger and more powerful’…

United States President Donald Trump has boasted that his nuclear button is “much bigger” and “more powerful” than North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s. Mr Trump’s tweet is the latest contribution to an increasingly personalised feud between the nuclear-armed leaders. Mr Kim threatened earlier this week that his nuclear launch button was “always on my table”. Unsurprisingly, Mr Trump’s unorthodox words sent social media into a frenzy. It ended a quick-fire day of tweeting by Mr Trump in which he took credit for a lack of plane crashes, announced awards for “corrupt media” and threatened to pull aid from Palestinians for…