Fried crickets and grasshoppers are sold at markets like this one in Vientiane.

According to a recent U.N. report, insects could be a solution to some of the world’s food and health problems. They’re nutritious, eco-friendly and abundant. Many countries already consider them a staple part of their diets.

So if we’re all to start consuming locusts and scorpions, we can start in Southeast Asia for guidance.

They’re a common sight in Bangkok.

Come nightfall, at any given outdoor market or busy road there will usually be at least one vendor with a pushcart loaded up with insect snacks, making many tourists squirm and others lick their lips.

Maybe you’re in the mood for some fried crickets. Or perhaps it’s the pile of bamboo worms that has you salivating. These bug vendors serve up to a dozen varieties of insects, which are usually fried in vegetable oil then sprayed with soy sauce to add some zing.

To locals, and some expats, these foods are not out of the ordinary — they’re part of the many meals on offer. Though most tourists prefer to munch on bugs for the shock value and to try something different — check me out on Facebook/Instagram, how crazy am I? — locals enjoy them for the flavor.

“Customers often like to eat fried insects while drinking beer, as a healthy and exotic replacement for popcorn or peanuts,” one vendor says.

More on Thailand’s fried bugs: A guide to Thailand’s edible insects

Similar markets and food carts exist throughout Asia and other parts of the world.

Take some of the options at this Beijing night market — fried scorpions, centipedes and locusts.

Going back to that U.N. report, it says 2 billion people around the world consider insects a delicacy or even a dietary staple.

Insects are generally high in nutritional value and beat out both meat and fish in protein content and quality. They’re also rich in fiber and healthy micronutrients including copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium and zinc.

This makes insects the ideal food of the future, the U.N. says — not just for the above parts of the world but globally. They will help promote health, wealth and a better environment and go some way to addressing current and potential food shortages.

Not only does chomping on a bamboo worm win you likes on Facebook, it helps save the world. Extra ‘like.’

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A traveler’s guide to eating insects

Bishop Isaac Owusu Bempah, Founder and Leader of the Glorious Word Power Ministries International, has labeled two of Nigeria’s celebrated pastors as partners in winning souls for the devil.

In the godly words of the controversial Owusu Bempah, the founding President of Believers’ LoveWorld Incorporated also known as “Christ Embassy”, Dr Christian Oyakhilome (popularly known as “Pastor Chris”) and General Overseer of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet Temitope Balogun (aka TB) Joshua, are not “true men of God” but leaders of occults, winning souls for the devil.

And this claim, according to Owusu-Bempah, is based on God’s revelation to him in a vision as well as his own analysis of the scripture, works and conduct of the two popular heads of two religious organisations in Africa.

Owusu-Bempah said he once heard Pastor Chris saying he saw nothing wrong with homosexuality and lesbianism and wondered which true man of God would lead his flock with such beliefs.

“No doubt he [Pastor Chris] is a friend and partner of TB Joshua”, Owusu-Bempa noted, claiming both men are dubious men of God who have a pact with the devil.

He was speaking with Okay FM’s Kwame Nkrumah Tikese last week.

For Owusu Bempah, Nigerians have allegedly realized the dubious character of the Nigerian televangelist faith healer and founding president of Christ Embassy and his partnership with TB Joshua and have consequently chased him out of the country to South Africa, where he presently resides.

On TB Joshua, Owusu-Bempa claimed he once saw him with his feet on the floor preaching, an incident he said revealed to him that TB Joshua was not from God.

“When you see anyone claiming to worship God who worships with his feet on the ground, he’s an occultist. And TB Joshua is an occultist.

“Ask yourself how TB Joshua, who claims God called him, worships with his feet on the ground? Let me tell you if you go to any church and you see the leader worshiping with his feet on the ground, it’s a sign of demonism; it’s occultic. People like that follow spirits that are not of God. It is occultic.”

Asked what makes him judge his fellow preacher man as not being of God besides his criticisms that TB Joshua does not wear shoes, he said he once saw TB Joshua in a vision as a strange animal with two horns, a wolf-like face with wolf-like teeth and the tongue of a snake, with blood all over his lips.

According to him, God later revealed that TB Joshua was an occultist who did not draw his spiritual powers from God.

“Some time ago, I used to like TB Joshua. I was watching him on television, and the Lord opened my eyes. ‘I saw him with horns on his head, and he had the face of a wolf. His tongue was that of a snake and he had blood smeared all over his mouth.”

“Immediately, I rushed into my bedroom, and the Lord told me that he wasn’t from Him but was working under the authority of bad spirits,” the pastor added.

That was when I realized TB Joshua was demonic and not of God, he claimed.

The man who has himself been labeled a false prophet by some of his critics, advised Ghanaians not to be misled by signs of wonders and so-called men of God whose powers do not come from God.

He also accused TB Joshua in particular of sometimes faking miracles to win the confidence of his flock. “He can perform a clean miracle today and contaminate it with a lot of fake ones”.

Joshua claimed his “own junior pastor went to his church to be healed. He was forced to sit in a wheel chair and made to claim before the cameras that he had received his healing even though he hadn’t. He returned to the country and within two weeks, he passed away”, Owusu-Bempah stated.

He again cautioned Ghanaians not to be in a hurry to attend the services of Prophet TB Joshua since he is the “anti-christ.”

“If you are a pastor who worked under him and he gets to know you want to reveal his secrets, he kills you directly,” Owusu-Bempah alleged.

“If no one is willing to say this, I will say it: TB Joshua is the anti-christ and an agent of the devil…I know of a pastor who attended his church, and when he should tell you about what he saw, your mouth would drop,” he stated.

Credit:

Owusu Bempah accuses Pastor Chris, TB Joshua of winning souls for the devil

Posted On Sunday, 19th May 2013

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu did not play a part in Udinese’s 1-0 win over Inter.

Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu made a second half appearance in Udinese’s 5-2 hammering of Inter Milan to book a qualification ticket to next season’s Uefa Europa League.

The Ghana international came off the substitute bench after 81 minutes to replace Colombian Luis Muriel at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza as Les Zebrettes sensationally crashed Inter Milan 5-2.

Udinese secured the vital win within 10 minutes of play as Giampiero Pinzi opened the scoring in just the first minute with Maurizio Domizzi getting the other.

But Juan halved the deficit for  Inter two minutes later but a ruthless Udinese side scored three more.

Captain Antonio Di Natale restored their two-nil advantage four minutes before half-time and Gabriel Silva added the fourth seven minutes into the second half.

Tommaso Rocchi pulled one back for Inter in 63 minutes but Luis Muriel scored again to cap a memorable evening for Udinese in Milan.

Badu will be making his third European appearance for Udinese after playing in the Uefa Champions League and Europa League in previous seasons.

Francesco Guidolin has now succeeded in leading the side to recover from an early season wobble to finish fifth in Serie-A.

Excerpt from:

Agyemang-badu Secures Europa League Spot With Udinese After Playing Part Of Heavy Win At Inter

Participants at a democracy lecture organised by the National Commission for Civic Education, NCCE, have described as appropriate a call by the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for politicians to stop sponsoring serial callers to undermine their opponents through radio phone-ins.

The Ashanti king at a democracy lecture said insulting people on radio cannot be classified as free speech.

CPP presidential candidate in the 2012 elections Dr. Abu Sakara agrees with him

He told Joy News Asantehene’s message must be taken seriously.

Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur told also Joy News Ghanaians need to reflect on the Asantehene’s message more carefully.

Link:

Stakeholders applaud Asantehene’s message against serial callers

Arsenal sealed their 16th consecutive Champions League qualification as a rare goal from Laurent Koscielny earned them a lucrative victory over Newcastle.

The French defender latched onto Lucas Podolski’s header following Theo Walcott’s free-kick to score his most important Arsenal goal as they pipped Tottenham to fourth spot in the Premier League and the final place in Europe’s elite competition.

The Gunners finished a point ahead of Andre Villas-Boas’s Spurs, who scored late on to beat Sunderland but needed to better their rivals’ result.

It could have been more comfortable for Arsenal as Walcott hit the post in stoppage time against a Newcastle side desperate to improve after recent home defeats by Sunderland and Liverpool.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and his team saluted their joyous supporters, who sung “are you watching, Tottenham?” with added fervour.

Reaching the Champions League ahead of Spurs completed a superb turnaround after they trailed by seven points at the beginning of March.

And the late-season form of Wenger’s side, who have won eight of their last 10 Premier League games, will also go a long way to appeasing fans who had doubts about the Frenchman earlier in the season.

Arsenal have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup but reaching the top four again at least means the Gunners can attract new talent in the summer with funds due to be released for players.

The win was as hard-fought as the scoreline suggested, with Newcastle probing in the first half and the visitors enduring a nervous final few minutes as news filtered through of Gareth Bale’s late goal at White Hart Lane.

Despite another home defeat, the Magpies finished 16th having secured their Premier League safety against QPR last weekend, and their season finished on a relative high note as the supporters saluted 38-year-old goalkeeper Steve Harper, who played his last game for the club after a 20-year career on Tyneside.

After finishing fifth last time round, this has been a frustrating season for Alan Pardew’s side but he will aim to address his squad this summer.

He would been heartened by his side’s first-half display, in which Papiss Cisse was a whisker away from giving the hosts an early lead but fired over following Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa’s cutback.

Santi Cazorla and Walcott were both off target as the visitors struggled to impose themselves and they were not helped when Mikel Arteta, who passed a fitness test on an injured calf before the game, was substituted before the half-hour.

His replacement, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, slotted into the deep midfield role despite usually appearing on the wing, but struggled to contain Hatem Ben Arfa.

Pardew’s side were in the ascendancy as the home supporters saluted Harper in the 37th minute to correspond with his squad number, the keeper unable to control his emotions amid the deafening cheers.

Harper’s day almost took a turn for the worse shortly after the break, however, when his poor kick fell to Walcott, but he made amends with a fine stop.

He could do little about Koscielny’s goal, however, when Podolski got on the end of Walcott’s free-kick from the right and swivelled to fire home from close range.

The goal sent Arsenal fans – aware that Spurs were being held – into raptures but only a good block from Per Mertesacker prevented the energetic Yoan Gouffran scoring an equaliser.

The remainder of the second half was played out in muted fashion, although it livened up when news of Gareth Bale’s goal filtered through.

The Arsenal bench crept onto the pitch in anticipation of Walcott’s late effort going in, but they only had to wait for four minutes of stoppage time to end before they could finally celebrate.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew: “We were under-strength to enter two competitions as we did. The Europa League on the Thursday night takes away a lot of legs for the Sunday.

“We’ve got very good young players. I think 80% of that team next year will do very well for us but they do need a lift, a bit of experience, a bit of quality.

“We have got some great players here. It’s key for us next year to keep everybody fit.”

Read the article:

Arsenal beat Newscastle to make Champions League slot

Posted On Sunday, 19th May 2013

Christian Atsu has won the Portuguese League with FC Porto.

Christian Atsu has won the Portuguese league with FC Porto following their 2-0 win over Pacos de Ferreira on Sunday.

The Ghana international was not included in the Porto team for the final game of the season but will receive his winner’s medal for playing more than 10 games for the Dragons this season.

Porto won the title by beating rivals; Benfica by just one point.

Vitor Pereira’s side knew only a win will confirm their 27th top flight crown with Benfica also doing the business against Moreirense.

Porto have now confirmed their dominance of the Portuguese top flight by winning three back-to-back titles.

They will now go straight into the group phase of next season’s UEFA Champions League.

See original article here:

Ghana Whiz Kid Christian Atsu Wins Portuguese League With Porto

Posted On Sunday, 19th May 2013

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu did not play a part in Udinese’s 1-0 win over Inter.

Midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu watched from the bench as Udinese beat Inter Milan to clinch a spot in next season’s Europa League.

The Ghana international played no part in the Zebra’s sensational 2-1 away win against the Italian giants despite being on the substitute’s bench.

Udinese secured the vital win within 10 minutes of play as Giampiero Pinzi opened the scoring in just the first minute with Maurizio Domizzi getting the other.

Juan got Inter back into the game two minutes after but Udinese held on for the remaining 78 minutes to secure the vital European spot.

Francesco Guidolin has now succeeded in leading the side to recover from an early season wobble to finish fifth in Serie-A.

Read the article –

Agyemang-badu Warms Bench As Udinese Secure Europa Spot

Posted On Sunday, 19th May 2013

Tema Youth lost 1-0 in Cape Coast to Ebusua Dwarfs.

Tema Youth’s quest for survival was dealt a blow as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Ebusua Dwarfs in the Ghana Premier League on Sunday in Cape Coast.

In-form midfielder Bright Lukman converted a penalty in the second half to help the Mysterious Club to their 13th victory of the season and keep their top four ambitions in sight.

For Youth they needed victory from the game to avoid joining already-relegated RTU and Berekum Arsenal but as it were, they fell to an impressive side at the Coastal city.

Youth trainer Edward Odoom left Ghana U20 kingpin Moses Odjer on his substitutes bench while striker Francis Narh started up front.

Professor Mintah named a strong side with Richard Gadze and Bright Lukman both in his line-up.

Dwarfs dominated possession and counted themselves unlucky when Lukman’s thunderbolt was palmed just away by Youth goalkeeper Kofi Mensah.

After the break, the home side were and the impact of Gadze and Lukman told.

Full-back Atinga laid a splitting cross to Gadze to traverse the Youth defence before being fouled inside the box.

Lukman stepped and hit a fierce drive to register the only goal of the game for Dwarfs to send them to 44 points.

Read this article:

Tema Youth Slip Again In Relegation Fight After Defeat To Dwarfs

The second round of the Greater Accra Division Two football league (Zone Four) kicked off over the weekend as teams battle to secure one of the two places available to the Middle League from this group.

In a keenly contested game played at the Madina Aviation Park on Saturday, Future Professionals owned by Egypt – based Ghanaian international, Ernest Papa Arko, dropped valuable home points as they drew 2 – 2 with visiting Legon FC.

Future Professionals took a goal lead into the break thanks to Alhassan Basit’s 32nd minute effort, but, that was cancelled out by Eric Adjetey a couple of minutes into the second session.

Godwin Gakpo increased the tally for Legon FC in the 51st minute as they took control of the midfield, reducing the home team to long range efforts as they sort to come back on level terms.

Sensing an unwanted home defeat, Future Professionals upped their game and were duly rewarded with a quarter of the game to go as Kobla Gadri created space for himself inside the opposition goal area and fired one past the goalkeeper to bring his side back on level terms.

Team Manager of Legon FC, Selom Fiano told ghanafootballtalent.com after the game that his side threw away an excellent opportunity to collect all three points as they lost concentration in the last quarter of the game.

He promised to reverse this setback in the rest of their games as they seek to climb up the ladder in a bid to make the middle league.

In other Zone Four games played on Saturday, Ajax FC drew 1 – 1 with Vision FC at the Madina Telecom Park. Kwesi Dampson scored for the Ajax early in the second half before Alex ‘The Boy’ Yamoah leveled matters for the visiting team.

Dreams FC continued from where they left off in the first round as they defeated Madina Youth 3 – 1 at the Ashaley Botwe New Town Park.

A brace by Abdul Bashiru and another by Abdul Rahman Babangida won the day for the home side with Foster Anim getting the consolation for Madina Youth.

NARITA FC and AL – SADD drew 1 – 1 at the Madina Ashanti Park with Frank Anku scoring for the former before Ibrahim Amidu leveled for the visitors.

Shelter Force and Global Stars FC played out a goalless drawn game at the Atomic Police Station Park in the other Zone four fixture played over the weekend.

In the other game in the zone played on Sunday, Mobile Phone People drew 1 – 1 with Adenta United in a game played at the Madina Telecom Park.

Salim Sumaila scored first for Mobile Phone People in the opening half with Isaac Ansah leveling matters for United in the second as the former preserved their leadership of the table.

Writer’s email: okotosports@yahoo.com

Continue reading here:

Greater Accra Division Two football Zone Four Review

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is pleased to announce that the first-ever National Supporters Union Seminar will take place in Accra on Thursday 23rd May, 2013.

The seminar, which is under the auspices of the GFA, is aimed at bringing the various national supporters groups together to deliberate their role in contributing to the success of our national teams.

The one-day forum will also examine the dangers of hooliganism during football matches and scrutinize the ways of clamping down on the menace in football in Ghana.

Experts from various sectors of the football industry including marketing, psychology, media and an ex-international will address the supporters unions to help them to improve on their activities.

The Minister for Youth and Sports Elvis Afriyie Ankrah and Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi will open the seminar which takes place at the GFA headquarters from 10am.

All the supporters unions will send three representatives each to attend the event.

The seminar by the GFA is the first of its kind in Africa.

Editor’s Note:
The media is kindly invited to report on this event which starts at 10am. There will be interview opportunities with the dignitaries in attendance. Please spread this message via your radio and tv programmes as well as your newspapers.

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First-ever National Supporters Union Seminar to take place on Thursday