this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2024
404 points (96.5% liked)

Not The Onion

12529 readers
839 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

  1. Links to news stories from...
  2. ...credible sources, with...
  3. ...their original headlines, that...
  4. ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Comments must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Marcus, from Tottenham, North London, had been enjoying a holiday with his parents when he met a fellow Brit at the same hotel. A holiday fling sparked and the pair spent time together until the girl, also from London, flew back to Britain.

In Dubai, if an adult has a sexual relationship with a person under 18, they can be prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with a minor. The relationship would be legal in the UK.

Marcus and his parents were set to fly back shortly after - but their plans were thrown into chaos when police knocked on their hotel room door. The "terrified" teenager was then reportedly hauled in for questioning without any explanation and held at the Al Barsha Police Station, DID said. He spent three days there, during which time he was not allowed to make a phone call or speak with his parents, it is claimed.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 129 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

Or why you'd even vacation there. How tf did they convince people to vacation in a desert?

[–] [email protected] 36 points 6 days ago

FOMO. makes it seem exclusive. For whatever reason at least 50% of humans are just wired to want to feel better than everyone else. The actual experience itself doesn't matter as long as they can brag about it knowing that others weren't able to achieve it. Dubai literally has ice shipped in from melting glaciers so that rich people can put it into their drink https://arcticice.ae/

[–] gravitas_deficiency 20 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Seriously, it’s like worse Vegas, and I don’t like Vegas at all

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

I'd like Vegas if there was like an airconditioned pedway to walk around the strip out of the heat and away from the crazies but still be able to observe like a human zoo.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's way better than Vegas, at least they maintain the place. Vegas reminded me of a junkyard full of crackheads and flashy lights.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Vegas wasn't built by slaves.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Vegas is run by people paid below minimum wage.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Cute. They took the passports of Indians who traveled there to build it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (2 children)

And employers in Vegas threaten the immigrants with deportation if they complain to any authorities about the work conditions. Stop pretending Vegas is somehow good in any way.

And yes, Dubai has bad working conditions too.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

I never said Vegas is good. The CO2 cost alone makes it a no go for me.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago

https://hir.harvard.edu/taken-hostage-in-the-uae/

Btw, I'm using the word "Slave" because the migrant workers are having their passports confiscated to prevent them from going home. That's way worse then threatening to depot migrant workers.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

Really? I loved Vegas and can't wait to go back. Full disclosure though I'm not really a gambler and we didn't hit the casinos at all but there's some really cool stuff in that area.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

A bit of an unwarranted answer, but many richer Pakistanis go there to buy stuff that isn't easily available back home. Hence, they become cash cows for the ginormous malls over there (seriously. If you think American malls are big, you haven't been to Dubai). It's basically the closest foreign city we have direct flights to, due to our sanctions and all with India. For example, I got my Nintendo 3DS, and later the phone that I'm currently using (Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra), from malls in Dubai.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

How much are plane tickets? Flying somewhere to buy things is weird to my brain.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

They were undoubtedly cheaper before, but with a low-budget airline like airblue, at least, a round-trip ticket between Lahore and Dubai, for a single adult, economy class, can cost 85,216 PKR or 306.23 USD.

Choosing a more expensive airline like Emirates bumps it up to 138,028 PKR or 496.01 USD.

(Source: Google Flights)

To be fair, my father at least would often buy stuff while he had another reason to be there (i.e. for business).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

Well if you're an American, it might start making more sense to you in a few months when we have fucking 100% tariffs on imported shit (or whatever the fuck he's going to do).