Author: Chronicle Editor

Researchers on Thursday reported the first clinical evidence that drug-resistant mutations of the parasite responsible for malaria are gaining ground in Africa. Experts have long worried about the emergence of drug resistance across the continent, which accounted for more than 90 percent of malaria deaths worldwide in 2019. A new study published in The Lancet appears to confirm those fears. In clinical trials, the disease lingered longer in children receiving standard treatment for malaria if they were infected with mutant strains of the disease, the study found. The efficacy of Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) remained high, but the researchers said…

The Federal Government on Wednesday said Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu and others in captivity of Boko Haram insurgents are not forgotten by the Federal Government. It assured the public that plans were ongoing to rescue them from their captors and prevent further kidnapping of students from schools across the country. Seven years ago, 276 girls were abducted from Chibok Secondary School in Chibok, a community in Borno State. Leah Sharibu has been in captivity for three years and has had two babies there Some of the girls were said to have escaped and others were rescued by the military but…

Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street financier, who masterminded the largest Ponzi scheme in history and defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars, has died at the age of 82 in prison. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Madoff died on Wednesday, April 14, at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. The bureau did not specify a cause of death, saying in a statement that the cause will be determined by a medical examiner. Madoff was serving a 150-year sentence at the prison, where he had been treated for what his attorney called terminal kidney disease. A…

Liverpool’s Champions League campaign ended in disappointment as Real Madrid set up a semi-final meeting with Chelsea by keeping Jurgen Klopp’s side at bay in a goalless draw at Anfield. Real arrived at Anfield protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg and while they eventually went through in relative comfort Liverpool will curse themselves for missing several glorious first-half chances. Mohamed Salah shot straight at Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, who also saved well from James Milner, in the opening moments and shot over when he should have hit the target while Georginio Wijnaldum was also guilty of squandering an…

Manchester City are through to the semi-finals of the Champions League for only the second time after sealing victory over Borussia Dortmund in the last eight courtesy of a comeback win in Germany. Holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg, City found themselves needing to chase the tie when 17-year-old England international Jude Bellingham curled in a superb shot from the edge of the box. Stung by the concession, the visitors threw everything they could muster at the German side, with Kevin de Bruyne smashing an effort off the bar before Mahrez saw a shot blocked on the line…

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has narrated how the board lost more than N10 million in 2020 to fraudsters. The registrar told reporters at the board’s headquarters in Bwari, Abuja on Wednesday that the fraudsters penetrated the board’s payment portal for ad-hoc staff. He said the money, which was meant to pay JAMB Ad-hoc staff from the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, was hijacked by the suspected fraudsters. The registrar said the board investigated the illegality, tracked and finally apprehended 10 of the suspects in Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Abuja. He said: “We did not…

A 25-year-old Nigerian, Unachukwu Chiluba Paulinus, has been sentenced to death by a Vietnamese court for transporting nearly three kilograms of narcotics from Cambodia into Vietnam. The People’s Court in the southern province of Tay Ninh, on Tuesday, heard how police and border guard officers caught the Nigerian national red-handed carrying 2.997 kilograms of methamphetamine on February 19, 2020. According to reports from the Asian country, Paulinus confessed to the police that he had become acquainted with an unidentified man in Cambodia, who hired him to transport narcotics from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City for $2,000. IGP, security agencies…

Reverend Johnnie Moore, an American evangelical leader and business person who founded the Kairos Company, a public relations firm has praised Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for his brilliance and leadership. Moore made the comment on Wednesday after Prof Osinbajo gave a virtual speech at a conference organised by Liberty University. I am ALWAYS encouraged when I hear Pastor & @ProfOsinbajo —the honorable Vice President of Nigeria — speak brilliantly a/b his country & the continent Pleased he took the time to conduct a live Zoom conversation with the organizers of the “Equity for Africa” conference @LibertyU pic.twitter.com/grS6fN1hjJ — Rev. Johnnie…

President Joe Biden will withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, finally ending America’s longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory, officials said Tuesday. The drawdown delays only by around five months, an agreement with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump to pull troops, amid a growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved. The decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan in hopes of reaching an agreement that brings stability to a nation battered by nearly 40 years of war. But…

The Senate has called on the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the killings and kidnapping of citizens in Ebonyi state by alleged herdsmen. The upper chamber made the call amid resolutions reached, sequel to the consideration of a motion brought to the floor by Senator Sam Egwu (PDP, Ebonyi North) during plenary on Wednesday. Coming under order 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, Egwu, in the motion titled: “Urgent need for the federal government’s intervention to end the serial killings of innocent and defenseless citizens in Ebonyi state by alleged…