DUBAI: Anyone who has driven to Dubai and parked in districts such as Barsha and Barsha Heights will be all too familiar with the experience of finding various business cards advertising apparent “massage” services left on the car windows.
But this could soon be a thing of the past with new rules proposed by Dubai authorities that would see venders face stricter fines of up to 10,000 dirhams ($2,720) and immediate deportation.
In some districts in Dubai it is not uncommon for a motorist to park their vehicle, leave it for a few minutes, and return to find a selection of various cards advertising massage services, with photographs of women in various forms of undress.
The cards are left on vehicles by small teams, or individuals, who walk around the streets, quickly leaving an assortment of the offending items on the windows.
Abdul Majeed Abdul Aziz Al-Saifaie, director of the Waste Management Department, told UAE daily Gulf News that his department has drafted proposals requesting the amending of existing rules.
Under the new proposals people caught leaving the cards on vehicles, or at people’s apartments would face immediate deportation.
A fine of 10,000 dirhams would be imposed on licensed massage parlors committing the offense – the fine is currently 500 dirhams ($27).
Al-Saifaie said in many cases the people leaving the cards were also breaching residency laws.
“They don’t have resident visas or they are here on visit visas looking for jobs. So, our proposal is to deport them immediately,” he explained.
The proposals follow an ongoing battle against the problem, which has been the cause for thousands of complaints from residents who are fed up with finding the various cards left on their vehicles, or pushed under the doors of their apartments, often being picked up by young children.
Dubai authorities propose crackdown on “massage service” card vendors
Dubai authorities propose crackdown on “massage service” card vendors
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
