DUBAI: Lebanese clubbers were left shocked at the weekend as two female performers cavorted on stage in a sexually explicit live show which saw them ripping each other’s costumes off.
Some clubbers were so disgusted by the scenes unfolding in front of them that they walked out of the exclusive venue.
In video footage that was sent to Arab News but is too explicit to show and has now gone viral across social networks, people can be heard gasping in disbelief as one of the performers poured hot wax from a burning candle onto the other woman’s body.
On Tuesday, Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces shut down Beirut’s Discotek club, after Interior Minister Nohad Al-Machnouk saw the videos and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
Speaking to Arab News, one woman, who asked only to be named as Roya and witnessed the shocking show, said: “I did not expect this kind of nudity and profanity on stage, it was just a normal night with my friends before all this happened.”
“We all turned around and couldn’t watch — some people even left the club immediately,” she added.
“It was a surprise when one of the dancers undressed the other. I personally was not expecting that to happen. I don’t believe anyone attending the event from the guests, planners, or management was expecting it either,” Houssam, another clubber, told Arab News.
The club issued a statement on their social media platforms apologizing for the incident saying “Neither Discotek management, nor the Cirque Le Soir management, were aware of the individual actions of the performers.”
“Cirque Le Soir is a renowned show that is currently on a World Tour. We have conveyed our objection to Cirque Le Soir management for the unacceptable acts. We realize that some of you may have been offended and that was never our intention,” the statement added.
The club's management declined to make any comments on the incident.
Arab News tried contacting Beirut’s municipality and Cirque Le Soir for comment but received no answer.
Beirut nightclub shut down after sexually-explicit stage performance
Beirut nightclub shut down after sexually-explicit stage performance
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.
