Brothel owners in Amsterdam's red light district have taken the city council to court over its decision to close a number of sex businesses. The council is demanding the closure of 33 brothels, which account for around a third of the district's sex businesses, by the end of the year. The prostitutes union says the move will force many women to work illegally. Prostitution was legalised in the Netherlands five years ago. The brothel owners say they will go to the highest court to save a third of the windows in Amsterdam's famous red light district from disappearing. Amsterdam's mayor, Job Cohen, claims that many sex businesses are fronts for criminal activity, such as women trafficking and money laundering. But the prostitutes' union, the Red Thread, which represents 20,000 prostitutes, argues that closing legal brothels will force many women onto the streets. The city council wants the banks to play a role by making it easier for sex businesses to get financing.... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 09:06:00 12-29-06 |
Thai insurgency targets Buddhists |
| Buddhists are fleeing their homes in southern Thailand in the face of an increasingly militant Muslim insurgency that has begun calling for an independent and pure Islamist nation in the impoverished region bor.. full News |
Editor - 09:03:00 12-29-06 |
Robot heading for Antarctic dive |
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Editor - 09:00:00 12-29-06 |
Gratitude, Frustration, Anger As German Fund Finishes Payments to Nazi Victims |
| During Germany's World War II occupation of Poland, Jerzy Kowalewski paid a heavy price for helping the resistance. The Nazis knocked out all of his teeth, then packed him in a cattle car to the Auschwitz conce.. full News |
Editor - 08:58:00 12-29-06 |
Wikipedia creator turns to search |
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Editor - 08:51:00 12-29-06 |
Saddam team 'to take belongings' |
| Lawyers for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein have confirmed to the BBC that they have been asked to pick up his personal effects. But an Iraqi official denied that he has been handed from US military to Iraqi.. full News |
Editor - 08:49:00 12-29-06 |
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