Latest news with #Laotian
The Mainichi
8 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japanese Embassy in Laos warns against child prostitution following social media posts
TOKYO -- The Japanese Embassy in Laos has issued a warning against child prostitution after a spate of social media posts suggested that Japanese men are traveling to Laos to engage in sexual activities with young girls. The embassy emphasized that such acts are punishable under both Laotian and Japanese law, urging Japanese nationals traveling to Laos to "strictly refrain from illegal activities." According to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prostitution itself is punishable in Laos. Japanese police are also actively cracking down on overseas child prostitution in cooperation with foreign investigative agencies. The ministry warned that individuals can face punishment for violating Japan's Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, even if there is no complaint from the victim or if the perpetrator claims not to have known the child's age. On social media, there have been posts by Japanese men allegedly engaging in prostitution with girls appearing to be of elementary or middle school age. There are also media reports about the growing issue of child prostitution. According to the Foreign Ministry, a Japanese resident in Laos submitted a petition in June with more than 20,000 signatures calling for the eradication of child prostitution in the country. In response, the Japanese Embassy issued a warning on June 17 to Japanese nationals traveling to or residing in Laos.
Tatler Asia
a day ago
- Tatler Asia
Heirloom grains of Asia: how these ancient staples made their way to modern tables
2. Red cargo rice (Thailand) A long-grain unpolished rice, red cargo rice retains its bran layer, giving it a reddish tint and a nutty, hearty flavour. Traditionally eaten with grilled meats or spicy coconut soups, it was once considered 'poor man's rice' but has seen a wellness-driven renaissance. Bangkok's organic cafés and macrobiotic eateries now serve red cargo rice as a wholesome base for vegetarian dishes, Buddha bowls, grilled chicken plates and other menu items. Some home chefs in Thailand and abroad have also steadily added red cargo rice into their repertoires. 3. Glutinous purple rice (Laos and Northern Thailand) Central to Laotian meals for centuries, glutinous purple rice is sticky, slightly sweet and visually striking. Traditionally eaten with grilled meats and jeow (spicy dipping sauces), it's steamed in bamboo baskets and eaten by hand. Its colour comes from anthocyanins, the same antioxidant pigments found in berries. 4. Bario rice (Malaysia) From the highlands of Sarawak comes Bario rice, a hand-harvested, small-batch grain cultivated by the Kelabit people for over a century. Known for its delicate aroma, fluffy texture and short growing season, Bario rice is a prized ingredient during communal celebrations and longhouse feasts. Restaurants like Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur highlight Bario rice to champion indigenous Malaysian ingredients. Its rarity and flavour have earned it recognition among Southeast Asian food circles, with online speciality shops now offering it as a premium, artisanal rice. 5. Adlai (Philippines) Also known as Job's Tears, adlai has been cultivated by Lumad communities in Mindanao for generations as both a staple grain and a symbol of resilience. Its chewy texture and slightly nutty flavour make it an excellent rice substitute. Traditionally used in porridges and stews, it's now making appearances in high-end restaurants. Filipino chefs like Claude Tayag and the late Margarita Forés and restaurants like Hapag have elevated adlai to gourmet status, using it in everything from risotto and paella to grain salads. Urban restaurants in Metro Manila often market it as a 'luxury local grain', emphasising its low glycemic index and high protein content. Health influencers in Asia and Australia have caught on, touting it as a sustainable alternative to imported carbs. See more: What to eat: 7 Filipino rice dishes and snacks we're craving right now 6. Forbidden rice (China) Once reserved exclusively for Chinese emperors, this ancient black rice earned its 'forbidden' moniker due to its historical exclusivity. With a history dating back over a thousand years, it was prized for its supposed longevity-boosting properties. Rich in anthocyanins and iron, its mildly sweet, nutty flavour works in both savoury and dessert dishes. In China, it's often prepared as congee or sweet zhou, while internationally, it stars in black rice pudding, grain bowls and even fine-dining duck pairings. Wellness brands across Asia market it as a supergrain, alongside acai and chia. 7. Black heirloom rice (Philippines) Cultivated by indigenous communities in the Cordillera mountains for generations, the Philippines' black heirloom rice stands out with its deep purple colour and glutinous texture. Traditionally, it's steamed and served with native chicken or pork during tribal feasts, a symbol of prosperity and communal pride. Its use in Filipino cuisine spans from champorado (chocolate rice porridge) to gourmet takes on suman (rice cakes). Chef Jordy Navarra of Toyo Eatery in Manila has spotlighted black rice in his menus, using it to underscore Filipino terroir and storytelling through food. Other restaurants that have integrated it into their menus include Purple Yam and Hapag. Filipino diaspora bakeries abroad now bake black rice sourdough, while some Manila restaurants experiment with black rice risotto and grain bowls.
Eater
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
It's a Ribbon Salad Summer
Last year was all about the dense bean salad. This year — I'm calling it — is the summer of the ribbon salad. Although peeling a carrot or zucchini into long strands isn't anything particularly new (hello, zoodles), Cassie Yeung, a TikTok creator and the author of the forthcoming cookbook Bad B*tch in the Kitch , is partially responsible for making this technique go viral with the ribbon carrot salad she first posted on TikTok this past April. Yeung's salad is simple enough. It pairs long and flexible strands of carrots with grated garlic, green onions, sesame seeds, and a dressing composed of rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chile crisp. It's refreshing and light and has a slight pickle flavor, making it a perfect summer salad. 'I just didn't think that this was going to be something that blew up,' Yeung says. She was initially inspired by carrots from the farmers market, which she often peels into ribbons and adds to homemade poke bowls. The salad recipe is in her upcoming cookbook, so she's been testing and perfecting it for well over a year. 'I never really thought to film it and post it because, at the end of the day, it's [just] a carrot,' Yeung says. In fact, she debated even including the recipe in the cookbook because she felt it was too simple. 'But it makes [the virality] so much more exciting because it's such a simple ingredient,' she says. Yeung's initial carrot salad video has amassed 19 million views and over two million likes. She's also introduced riffs on the salad — one with red onions and dill, another with daikon that replicates banh mi pickles — and those videos have amassed over two million views. A slew of other creators have followed suit, crafting their own ribbon salads and tagging Yeung as their inspiration. Yeung believes her salad's virality is due in part to the accessibility of carrots, and in part to the presentation. 'It's just really playful,' Yeung says. 'It's almost like you're eating noodles. The way something is cut and prepared completely changes the experience for me.' The same is true in Lao cuisine, where Luang Prabang-style papaya salad cut into long ribbons completely differs from its Thai counterparts, which are typically shredded. The texture makes for a completely different dining experience. 'Luang Prabang was the royal capital of Laos up until 1975, so the cuisine is about taking simple things and making it elegant,' explains chef Ann Ahmed, the owner and operator of Gai Noi, a Laotian restaurant in Minneapolis. 'When I conceptualized Gai Noi, I knew the heart of it was Luang Prabang and the menu had to reflect that.' The Luang Prabang-style papaya salad on the Gai Noi menu begins with long strands of green papaya that is dressed in a mixture of lime juice, pounded chiles, fermented fish sauce, and pops of tomato. The flavor is spicy and savory and pungent, but the experience of eating it differs from a standard thum muk hoong because of the noodle-like strands of papaya. 'The style of ribbon holds more flavor because it has more surface space,' Ahmed says. 'The sauce sits in the curves. It's pretty genius.' Although papaya and carrots are great introductions to a ribbon salad, pretty much any long vegetable can be adapted for it, like zucchini and daikon. 'It's easy to do and it's all in the wrist,' Ahmed says. 'The thickness is what matters. Make sure you get a really good peeler.' Aside from swapping out the vegetable base, you can also completely customize the salad dressing to form new ribbon salads. 'The carrots become a vessel for any sauce you like,' Yeung says, noting she's experimented with a Mediterranean-style carrot salad and wants to attempt a kimchi version next. 'I think that a lot of cultures can intertwine their own flavors. That's the best part of it because at the end of the day, it's so simple — so you can really get creative with it.' See More: Cookbooks Eater at Home How to Cook What to Cook
News18
4 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Supreme Court Backs Trump, Lets Him Deport Migrants Rejected By Their Home Countries
Last Updated: The case drew attention after eight criminal migrants were stopped mid-deportation to South Sudan. The US Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump another legal victory on Monday, allowing his administration to deport undocumented immigrants to third countries, especially if their home nations refuse to take them back. In an unsigned order, the justices set aside lower court rulings that had restricted such deportations, giving Trump more leeway in dealing with some of the most difficult deportation cases. The case is still ongoing, but the court's order means the earlier rulings will not apply for now. The three liberal justices dissented. Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the court's intervention a 'gross abuse" of judicial power and warned that some deportees could face torture or death. 'In matters of life and death, it is best to proceed with caution," she wrote. The case centers on migrants who have been ordered to leave the US but whose home countries are unwilling to receive them. Under American law, such individuals can instead be sent to a 'third country" if one agrees to accept them. The migrants for whom this case grabbed attention are a group of eight men. These eight men are convicted of serious crimes including murder, kidnapping and sexual assault. The Trump administration attempted to deport them to South Sudan last month after their home countries had refused to take them back. The effort sparked legal backlash when Judge Brian Murphy, an Obama appointee to the court in Massachusetts, halted the flight mid-journey, arguing the deportees had not been given a fair chance to contest their removal. Washington Times. The plane was diverted to a US military base in Djibouti, where the men are currently being held in a shipping container turned makeshift detention unit. Homeland Security says it is still trying to provide them with a chance to appeal their deportation to South Sudan. South Sudan is a country the US itself warns its citizens against visiting due to instability. Among the group are Cuban nationals convicted of attempted murder and kidnapping, a Laotian man convicted of murder, two Burmese nationals found guilty of sex crimes and others from Mexico, Vietnam and South Sudan with similarly grave convictions. Trump's legal team has accused the judge of overreach, saying his ruling endangered US military operations, diplomatic ties in Africa and ongoing humanitarian efforts. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the judge's intervention compromised secretive negotiations with partner nations. Despite the Supreme Court siding with Trump, Judge Murphy ruled Monday that the men in Djibouti must still be granted due process. First Published: June 24, 2025, 22:55 IST
The Journal
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
US Supreme Court allows third country deportations to resume
A US SUPREME Court has paved the way for the Trump administration to resume deportations of undocumented migrants to countries that are not their own. The unsigned order from the conservative-dominated court came in response to an emergency appeal by the US Justice Department to lift a stay imposed by a lower court on so-called third country deportations. The original case challenging the third country deportations will now be heard by an appeals court but the Supreme Court's move allows the removals to proceed for now. The Supreme Court did not provide an explanation for the decision and the three liberal justices dissented. District Judge Brian Murphy had ordered a halt to third country deportations in April, saying migrants were not being given a 'meaningful opportunity' to contest their expulsions. Murphy said they should get at least 15 days to challenge their deportation and provide evidence of whether they may be at risk of torture or death if expelled. The original case involves the deportation of eight men — two from Myanmar, two from Cuba, a Vietnamese man, a Laotian, a Mexican and one from South Sudan — who the US authorities said were convicted violent criminals. They were being flown to impoverished war-torn South Sudan when Murphy's order came down and have been held since at a US military base in Djibouti. The Trump administration has defended the third country deportations as necessary since the home nations of some of those who are targeted for removal often refuse to accept them. Advertisement Justice Sonia Sotomayor, author of the dissent, accused the administration of 'flagrantly unlawful conduct' that is 'exposing thousands to the risk of torture or death.' 'The government has made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard,' Sotomayor said. 'Fire up the deportation planes' The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) welcomed the Supreme Court move as a 'victory for the safety and security of the American people.' 'If these activists judges had their way, aliens who are so uniquely barbaric that their own countries won't take them back, including convicted murderers, child rapists and drug traffickers, would walk free on American streets,' DHS said in a post on X. 'DHS can now execute its lawful authority and remove illegal aliens to a country willing to accept them,' it said. 'Fire up the deportation planes.' The Supreme Court ruling is a victory for the safety and security of the American people. The Biden Administration allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood our country, and, now, the Trump Administration can exercise its undisputed authority to remove these criminal illegal… — Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 23, 2025 Donald Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the US, and he has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations since returning to the White House in January. But his mass deportation efforts have been thwarted or stalled by numerous courts, including the Supreme Court, over concerns that migrant rights to due process are being ignored. Murphy, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, also temporarily blocked the government from expelling Asian migrants to Libya. With reporting by – © AFP2025 Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
