According to reports, Italian authorities have arrested four Nigerian citizens accused of human trafficking and forcing underage migrant girls into prostitution, including through the use of esoteric rituals.

Four Nigerian citizens, of whom three are women, have been arrested in the province of Caserta as part of an investigation by the Catania anti-mafia police into the trafficking of Nigerians who were brought to Italy and forced into prostitution.

Those arrested were a 42-year-old woman and her 36-year-old brother, his 31-year-old wife and a 26-year-old woman.

They are accused of working with other unidentified suspects in Nigeria and Libya in human trafficking, an aggravated crime due to its cross-border nature; as well as causing harm to minors and exposing the injured parties to serious danger to their lives and their physical integrity.

The investigation began following statements made by a Nigerian minor named “Onda” (name changed to protect privacy, ed.), who disembarked in Catania in July 2016 from the Italian Coast Guard ship “Luigi Dattilo” together with 359 other migrants.

From her story, investigators learned that she had been recruited in Nigeria with the false promise of work in Italy, after having undergone an esoteric “juju” ritual, with which she agreed to repay the sum of about 20,000 euros. Once she arrived in Sicily, the young woman was taken from the reception centre where she was being hosted and was forced into prostitution.

Police were able to reconstruct the stories of other young Nigerian girls who, like “Onda”, were forced to prostitute themselves for a monthly payment of about 100 euros. They worked at outposts called “ugbo”, which means “the land”. These indicated the few meters of road assigned to each girl, and the police operation took this word for the name of the operation.

Who could have ever imagined winners of the Champions League title for three consecutive years would fail to occupy a place for themselves in the quarterfinals of the 2018-19 season?

It hasn’t been a great season for Real Madrid and the dismay is quite evident among the fans. Their humiliating defeat to Barcelona by 1-5 will remain etched in the minds of the people for a long time to come. Everything seems to be falling apart for the Vikings since the exit of its forward striker, Cristiano Ronaldo and resignation of team manager Zedan post commencement of last season.  Even if you are a regular in Betway football betting, we are sure you have been surprised by Real Madrid’s below par performance this season.

On the other hand, team managers swapping hands mid-season has not improved matters for this dwindling side. So, what do Betway Nigeria experts feel contributed to the team’s poor showing?

• Cristiano Ronaldo’s Exit

Ronaldo’s transfer to the Italian side Juventus has cost the Vikings its unrivalled status. It wouldn’t be wrong to say the Number 7 maestro was the spine which held the team upright for a year short of a decade. During his tenure with the club, he scored a record 450 goals. While Juventus are reaping the benefits of having a four-time Ballons d’Or and three Golden Boot award winner on their side, Real Madrid is yet to find a replacement.

Although there have been talks of cracking a deal with the likes of Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah to fill in the void, nothing seems to have materialised.

• Zedan’s Renunciation

The stepping down of Zinedine Zidane as coach, post Madrid’s Champions League win came as a shock to the football fraternity. Zidane’s successful stint with the Vikings won them 3 consecutive titles and the mystery surrounds the sudden move. Soon after Zedan’s resignation, the team management struggled to find a suitable replacement for the coach.

After weighing several options, the Spanish national team manager, Julen Lopetegui was appointed the new manager. A professional blow for Lopetegui followed this appointment as he got sacked from the national team. Real Madrid faced one of its worse phases during Julen’s 4-month long brief tenure with a stumbling performance both at home and away matches.

The sacking of Julen Lopetegui opened doors for Argentine legend Santiago Solari in the hope to turn things around for the falling side. As much as Solari tried, he couldn’t any work wonders either. Two consecutive defeats to Barcelona and latest against Ajax were the last nail in the coffin for Solari.

While the team management decides who would be the next best to fit into the French maestro Zedan’s shoes, the decision remains uncertain whether Solari would see the team to the end of this season or would have to hang his boots earlier.

Hazy Future

To make things worse for the side, reports of Gareth Bale’s murky future with the team are doing rounds. A legend of the game, Bale has played a pivotal role in Bernabeu bringing home 4 Champions League titles and lifting a La Liga trophy. However, rifts among teammates and critical views of the fans have put a question mark whether Bale’s contract until 2022 would be terminated mid-way.

Do you agree with the Betway experts? Let us know below.

Investigators have found the flight data recorders from an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday.

The devices recovered at the crash site were the Boeing 737 Max 8’s cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data recorder. The plane was en route from Addis Ababa to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, when it crashed six minutes after take-off, killing all 157 people on board.

Several airlines have grounded the Boeing model following the disaster. The months-old aircraft came down near the town of Bishoftu, 60km (37 miles) south-east of the capital at 08:44 local time (05:44 GMT).

The cause of the disaster is not yet clear. But the pilot had reported difficulties and asked to return to Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines said.

“At this stage, we can’t rule out anything, We can’t also attribute the cause to anything because we’ll have to comply with the international regulation to wait for the investigation” CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said.

A very popular Ghanaian atheist, Prince Vincent Ayagpong has buttressed his claim as to why he believes that God doesn’t exist.

Citing the recent Ethiopian Airlines plane crash which killed all 157 people on board, he questioned why God didn’t hear the prayers of even one of those 157 people.

He said the earlier people work to understand that we are here by chance, the better life would be.

He wrote on Facebook:

Is it not sad and mysterious that none of the 157 people who died in the plane crash yesterday was worth saving by any of the Gods believed to be up there?

I mean, so none of the 157 people which probably included children and infants was really a decent person that called on his or her God and the God answered?

There are a few possible reasons why none was saved:

1. God was sleeping
2. God was busy drinking beer with Satan
3. God couldn’t be bothered as he does not care about homo sapiens
4. God caused this evil to happen himself
5. God is powerless and couldn’t do anything
6. God has been dead a long time ago but no one came to tell us
7. There is no God

Considering the odds and how repetitively such things happen without any sign of a miracle working God showing up, the most plausible answer is that none of the Gods claimed, really exist.

The God delusion has been part of us for a long time and these things always remind us that indeed no celestial father is watching over us.

Do you remember Captain Planet? He mostly shown up when his people called him to save them or the world but the many Gods people believe in, keep failing them and yet they can’t see it.

It’s sad but I believe many shouted and called on God—he didn’t answer or turn up to save any.

We are here by random act of chance and not by the hands of any invisible father.

The earlier we begin to work hard to understand the world we live in and find solutions to our problems, the better.

Do not rely on the hand of any God, none exist.

Good morning!

—Chris-Vincent Agyapong

A mother flying from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia over the weekend insisted that the passenger jet turn back mid-flight when she realized she had forgotten her baby at the airport.

The plane was forced to return to the airport soon after takeoff last weekend when the mother realized she had left her baby at the terminal.

The Saudia plane had been due to fly from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, but had to return to the King Abdul Aziz International Airport when the mother refused to continue the journey mid-flight and demanded they reunite her with her child.

Video footage captured the baffled air control operators speaking by radio with the pilots, who were doing their best to explain the bizarre situation. As they did so, the airport staff were trying to establish the protocol for such a scenario, Gulf News reported.

“May God be with us. Can we come back or what?” the pilot can be heard asking the air traffic controllers.

After noting the flight number, the operator asks a colleague what protocol they should follow, if one even exists, Newsweek report.

“This flight is requesting to come back…a passenger forgot her baby in the waiting area, the poor thing,” the pilot continued.

Air traffic staff then pressed the pilot to confirm the story, to which he replied: “We told you, a passenger left her baby in the terminal and refuses to continue the flight.”

With the story straight, the operator then gave them the all-clear to turn around and return to Jeddah.

He said: “Ok, head back to the gate. This is totally a new one for us!”

The plane returned to King Abdul Aziz International Airport where the mother was able to retrieve her child.

Below is an audio recording between the pilot and air traffic controller. A bit of English is tossed in at around :35.

https://youtu.be/U3t8NYYWMKY

A young couple have been arrested in Iran over a romantic proposal in a shopping mall, which authorities say “offended Islam”.

A video of the romantic public proposal went viral and the couple at the centre of the video were arrested for offending Islamic principles with.

The proposal took place in a central Iran shopping mall in the city of Arak. The footage shows the man proposing as he and his girlfriend stood inside a heart shape made by arranging red petals on the floor. They were surrounded by red and white balloons as the man proposed and the woman accepted.

A crowd of onlookers cheered and applauded after the surprised woman accepted the proposal. The man then slipped a ring on her finger and they shared a hug.

Shortly after the video went viral, Islamic Republic News Agency journalist Sobhan Hassanvand tweeted the video, writing that both were arrested for a marriage proposal in contravention of Islamic principles.

The public proposal had drawn the reaction from authorities because it was based on “decadent” Western culture, according to Hassanvand’s post. He added that the pair were later released on bail.

Public displays of affection are prohibited in Iran’s strict Islamic laws, which also forbid gender mixing in public places. Relationships between Western and Muslim people in Iran are also forbidden.

Watch the video below.

? Man publicly proposes to woman at shopping mall in Arak, central #Iran
Both arrested for "marriage proposal in contradiction to islamic rituals… based on decadent Western culture," then released on bail pic.twitter.com/eKdlNX9Bte

— Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) March 8, 2019