World Sex Sells News

A group of mostly left-leaning Nordic MEPs have in a letter urged the European Parliament to only patronise Strasbourg hotels that pledge not to tolerate use of prostitutes, with one French NGO swiftly welcoming the symbolic gesture.

[We] strongly propose that the EU parliament without delay follow the Nordic Council and decide that the EU parliament only use hotels that issue a guarantee that the hotel is not involved in the sex trade, and that all staff have written guidelines on this issue, the letter, addressed to parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering and signed by 37 MEPs, says.

The Danish, Swedish and Finnish deputies mostly come from the Socialist, Liberal and Green factions in the parliament and include former Danish Prime Minister and the current president of the European Party of Socialists, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. Two conservative MEPs, Sweden's Charlotte Cederschiold and Finnish deputy Eija-Riitta Korhola, also joined the initiative.

The Copenhagen-based Nordic Council was founded in 1952 as a forum for Nordic parliamentary co-operation. It adopted the measure on prostitution and hotels in 2006.

Prostitution is legal in Denmark and Finland. It is also legal to sell sex in Sweden but against the law to buy it.

There is plenty of anecdotal material that some well-paid European Parliament workers and MEPs, away from their partners for the week, pay for sex during the monthly plenary session in Strasbourg. But evidence is scarce.

Hotels deny they would ever help a guest find a prostitute, while some smaller guest-houses exclude prostitutes who normally live with them in order not to put off EU clientele during the plenary sessions. But the manager of one large Strasbourg hotel told EUobserver: If a guest brought back somebody, they would be very discreet.

The Strasbourg office of French anti-sex trade NGO Mouvement du Nid said the European Parliament has no impact on levels of street prostitution: The parliamentarians are not interested in street prostitutes. They prefer escort girls, call girls of a slightly higher level. They find little adverts and make telephone calls. That's how they take care of business, the NGO's Isabelle Collot said.

Dublin Labour Party parliamentarian, Joe Costello, has launched a new private members planning Bill aimed at restricting the growth of the sex industry in Ireland.

Costello said that it was high time that the sex industry in Ireland was subject to regulation by the authorities. He said that no specific planning permission was required at present for change of use from retail to sex shop.

Costello also wants members of the public to be given the opportunity to make comments and observations to the relevant authorities. He says there is a complete lack of political will to deal with what he says is a serious problem for many urban communities.

Prostitutes in Italy who have been ordered to stop wearing skimpy clothing while they tout for business in broad daylight plan to dress as nuns instead.

By donning nuns' black and white habits street walkers hope to make the tough new legislation so confusing that it becomes unworkable.

Thousands of women, many of them from Eastern Europe and South America, sell themselves for sex on the side of major roads leading in and out of Italy's main cities, where brothels and red light districts are banned.

But they face a crackdown from the centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi, as well as individual city councils such as Rome, Milan and Florence.

The mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, unveiled a decree this week which will ban the capital's thousands of street prostitutes from wearing unseemly and indecent clothing, saying the sight of barely clothed young women distracted male motorists and caused accidents.

Even the way in which sex workers stand is under scrutiny - the decree bans the women from adopting poses or behaviour or wearing clothing that unequivocally manifest the intention to solicit or practise the activity of prostitution.

Sex worker welfare groups have called the decree absurd and have pledged to challenge it in any way they can.

We'll dress as nuns so that the police will arrest scantily dressed girls outside discos or other women with their cleavage on show, said Pia Covre, of the Committee for the Rights of Prostitutes.

In Florence, for example, the mayor has forbidden girls from walking up and down and we are thinking of going around on bicycles instead. Meanwhile police in Rome have issued more than 100 prostitutes and 40 of their clients with spot fines of 200 euros (£158) since the new decree was introduced on Tuesday.

The sex workers were mostly from Romania, Colombia and Brazil. Many of the women have refused to pay the fines, which the mayor has said could increase to 500 euros by next month.

The Rome decree came after the Italian government last week agreed to outlaw prostitution in public places, recommending prison terms of up to 15 days and fines of 200 to 13,000 euros for prostitutes and their clients.

The mayor said his order would be valid until January 31, 2009, when the parliament is expected to adopt the government's proposed law.

The proposed law does not ban prostitution altogether because it does not outlaw sex work as a private business.

It's hard to find a decent peeler on Toronto's Yonge Street these days. There are only three strip clubs, one porn cinema and a handful of sex accessory shops now.

But in the 1970s, Yonge was the dirtiest street in Canada. Body-rub parlours, porno vendors, cinemas and clubs lined the strip south of Bloor. There was music on the street. Tourists visited Yonge for the atmosphere and not the Eaton Centre.

Valerie Scott worked in the body-rub parlours on Yonge during the '70s: There wasn't a lot of violence, hardly any. I never even came across any at all, all the times I worked in the massage parlours. I think because we worked together, there were always two or three or four of us working in a place. And it was just nice to hang out with the other women in between clients.

The first body-rub parlour opened in the spring of 1971. They grew in tandem with the Yonge Street Mall, an annual festival held between 1971 and 1973.

Parts of Yonge from Gerrard to Queen were closed to traffic and vendors moved into the street. The sex industry thrived on the increase in street business the mall provided. The body rub parlours also filled an economic niche on the street and kept Yonge going, taking advantage of real estate that other businesses didn't want.

It filled a vacumn. The stores were there, it was the centre of the city. Landlords were pretty desperate because they couldn't get serious retailers to go there, says Ron Soskolne, Toronto's chief planner in the ‘70s.

The increase in people attracted by the mall, however, meant an increase in crime. Some businesses complained they were losing money just as the parlours were flourishing. The mall became a financial liability for the city and was shut down in the summer of 1973. The parlours, however, remained. In just four years, there were more than 100 of them.

The party ended in 1977. On July 28, four men lured 12-year-old Emanuel Jaques, who worked on Yonge shining shoes, into an apartment above Charlie's Angels, a body-rub parlour across from the just-opened Eaton Centre. Jaques was restrained and sexually assaulted over 12 hours, then strangled and drowned. The murder shocked the public and provided the city and local businesses with a moral martyr to rally behind. Many of the sex businesses threw in the towel rather than endure the legal shitstorm. Some were closed down by the bawdy-house law, which gives authorities the legal right to close down any place in which prostitution occurs. Whether or not prostitution was indeed happening was beside the point. None of the businesses could afford to fight both the government and the public. At the time of Jaques' murder, there were 40 parlours on Yonge. By November there were four and in December the last one closed its doors.

The body-run era was over.

By the early 80s, Scott found herself dancing at the Zanzibar. The Zanzibar was a happening place. That place was packed on the weekends. Even during the week it was busy in the evenings and they had good quality shows. This is before table and lap dancing. It was far more burlesque. You didn't have anything on the stage like showers or poles. The stage was nice, it was a good hardwood stage. Good for dancing.

The strip clubs continued to do well, but Yonge Street decayed in the 80s.

After nearly 15 years of planning, Toronto Life Square finally opened last year. Yonge has become an epileptic's nightmare. Neon signs advertising the latest cell phone plans flash electric kool-aid over newly erected condos. It's a 21st century circus, with a size that fits for anyone with cash to spend.

The sex industry is still there, but it's only a shadow of its former self. The Zanzibar, the Brass Rail and Remington's are the only strip clubs left. A porn cinema commands a second-floor perch on the east side of Yonge. Only a few sex shops remain.

A Spanish politician's public description of how he lost his virginity in a brothel has angered his female counterparts, who accused him of encouraging prostitution.

Miguel Angel Revilla, head of the government of the northern region of Cantabria, told a television interviewer earlier this week that he had paid the first time he had sex at the age of 18.

Female members of the regional parliament from the opposition conservative Popular Party were outraged. As the head of the regional government, he should be an example for the young people of Cantabria, they said in a communique.

Revilla retorted:  There are major problems which need to be addressed now, not what a poor 18-year-old did who is now 65, adding: 99% of Spanish men did it back then.

New laws will be introduced in a crackdown on hundreds of prostitutes who work in Victoria's unlicensed brothels.

Prosecutors will no longer have to prove sex took place to be able to close down an illegal brothel. Showing a sexual service was offered or advertised will be enough to get a conviction.

The imminent blitz on illegal brothels has already been approved by Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson who expects the Prostitution Control Act amendments to be introduced next month.

He is also keen to control Victoria's sex entertainment industry. Robinson has ordered CAV to review operations of all sexually explicit entertainment venues that serve alcohol. He is considering a new category of licence for such clubs so owners and operators can be subject to stringent probity checks.

The CAV review will also look at the possibility of banning those venues from serving alcohol. Robinson said alcohol was already banned in legal brothels and it made sense to look at extending that ban to table-top dancing clubs.

Nimbyism is alive and well in Italy.

This weekend, the Bergamosex show is taking place, with a substantial number of Italian porn stars in attendance.

Pettyfogging locals are petitioning the mayor to ban it. (See also news item in Italian)

What makes the attitude of a minority of locals in Cologno al serio seem even more mean-spirited is that the takings of Bergamosex will be given to charity.

Australia's Victoria State Government is refusing to rule out banning Melbourne's King St strip clubs from selling alcohol, but says the measure would only be a last resort.

The Government has ordered a review of venues serving alcohol and also offering nudity and sex entertainment in the wake of another violent weekend in the city during which one person was killed.

But the minister responsible for liquor licensing, Tony Robinson, today hosed down speculation of a blanket alcohol ban on King St strip clubs: The Government's not in the business of coming out and banning things, banning things is a last resort .

We simply want to ensure that the conditions under which those premises in particular operate are appropriate, that they get the right balance between people's ability and capacity to enjoy Melbourne and all that it offers and also to walk the streets safely.

David Butten, spokesman for the Nightclub Owners' Association, has dismissed the idea of banning alcohol in such venues, describing the idea as totally left-field. Butten pointed to population growth and an influx of international students as major factors in the increase of city violence: The amount of visitors has increased by 6% each year. Melbourne's population is increasing dramatically.

Butten called on the Government to provide better infrastructure to cope with the increased numbers flooding the city streets at weekends, including 24-hour public transport, more police patrols and the education of young people about how to behave in a responsible manner.

(Anti-social) behaviour in the streets and public places is the real issue and it's not just in nightclub precincts, claimed Butten: It's happening throughout society. Nightclubs are just an easy label to associate with this violence. When you look at the media every day, there are incidents happening in suburbia that don't attract the same level of attention."

If people did some research, they'd find that the majority of people go out, socialise safely and responsibly and aren't even aware of these incidents. They are isolated incidents compared to the number of people that go out.

Australians spent $1.13 billion on prostitutes and strippers last year, business analysts say.

And despite concerns of rising fuel prices and a slowing economy the sex industry would grow at 8.1% to $1.22 billion this financial year.

Neil Gilmore, owner of Gold Coast brothel Pentagon Grand, said he was confident there would always be demand for the world's oldest profession.

In economic terms, the sex industry does enjoy so-called sticky consumption in that, like tobacco and alcohol, consumption levels remain relatively strong compared with other products during economic downturns, Gilmore said.

IBISWorld says prostitutes in brothels generate the biggest share of revenue, with street walkers accounting for about 15% of revenue. The next largest "product segments" are strippers at 12% and escorts at 8%.

And it seems an economic bust may produce a boom for the sex industry. Gilmore said compared to a night out trying to woo a woman the brothel's services - starting at $150 for 30 minutes - could be cost effective.

Fiona Patten the chief executive of the Eros Association, which represents adult retail and entertainment companies, said these related industries would also feel the pinch of an economic downturn but not too badly: We are somewhat shielded as in hard economic times people spend more time at home. Our products offer an inexpensive past time so we're seeing that DVD sales have not been hit as hard. Sex is a pretty basic part of life. It is like eating – if we don't do it we're not going to be around for very long. And, to extend that analogy, not everyone can afford to eat out at a restaurant but they'll still need to have a meal at home.

Harmony Films produces the acclaimed and award winning Young Harlots, Slam It! and Fuck Me lines, casting its movies with international performers in locations around the world.

The American audiences' first taste of Harmony Films' lavishly produced movies came through its distribution deal with Evil Angel. Jason Maskell, sales and marketing manager for Harmony Films, said the relationship between the two companies remains close and that Evil Angel did an amazing job selling and distributing their product.

We enjoyed four great years working with Evil Angel but we feel the time has come to develop and grow the Harmony Films brand across the US and North America.

Harmony Films Co-Owner Steve Elvins said: We now would like to expand the brand by taking on a couple more directors so we can start to release three or possibly four films a month. When we released one film a month, it worked fine for both Evil Angel and ourselves — but we would not expect the situation to be mutually beneficial if we increase our releases. Our films will have a different feel and look to that of Evil Angel's, so this will create a marketing problem which would be easier resolved if Harmony Films stood on its own two feet.

The first titles to be released in November by Harmony Films' American arm will be Young Harlots: Dirty Secrets and Strangelove: Ladies of Pleasure.

The German town of Marburg is planning to introduce a tax on its prostitutes based on the size of the establishment where they conduct their business, a local official has said.

Rainer Kieselbach, spokesman for the city of Marburg said the lump sum tax was aimed to raise an estimated 90,000 euros in annual tax revenues.

The prostitutes will be taxed for their services, but not for the entertainment acts, such as table-dancing, Kieselbach said: We decided to tax them based on the size of their working rooms -- a daily flat rate of 2.50 euros per 10 square meters.

A group of 22 masked prostitutes protested against the tax in a city council meeting last week.

There has long been a tradition of the gentleman's “happy ending” to round off a relaxing massage. Recently, there has been chatter in the New York press about just such shenanigans in upscale Miami hotels and New York bathhouses: the female “happy ending” is out there.

Grant Stoddard, the author of Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert , tells a story that illustrates the Jackanory finish is not confined to men, and possibly on the increase. An ex went for a regular massage. It was her first time at this establishment, and the receptionist suggested that she get her massage from George. She called me two hours later to ask me if it was okay that a Chinese guy in scrubs had brought her to orgasm six times. I was more impressed than anything. My girlfriend recommended George to several friends, most of whom went to the massage parlour. George, they were told, had been let go, and nobody hinted at ‘happy endings' being on offer.

So I set out to find — if not experience — some “happy endings” in London myself, and posted an ad. In 20 answers from both genuine masseurs and dodgy chancers, I found one guy who offered delightful Hawaiian lomilomi massage the naturist's way. Another came with several qualifications, including a diploma in sports and remedial massage. As I posed as a nervous potential client, he explained: “

I try to make people relaxed and happy. The ending is sensual and arousing, but it is done without any form of penetration. I do know how to give an amazing orgasm without. We talk a little about pressure points and human anatomy. I wonder how he broaches the subject of “extras”? He replied: When you massage a person, you ask how they want it: soft, medium or firm. You then ask what parts they want massaged: if they say yes to inner thighs, buttocks and the chest, and if they want to be totally naked, you generally get an idea of what they really mean.

Would “happy endings” become acceptable if all your friends were doing it, too? A bit like Botox and cocaine, it's ostensibly a dodgy sort of business, but its definition as such is dictated by your peer group.

Read full article from women.timesonline.co.uk

Those who watch over the morality of Beijing's nightlife may have closed down some of the dingier bars in a pre-Olympics "purge", but the oldest profession is alive and well - only, not as open.

Normally every foreigner getting out of a taxi at the entrance to the street full of bars in Sanlitun is bombarded with offers of "lady bar", "massage" or "sex" from the girls and their pimps.

During the Olympics, business has been swept into the sidestreets and clubs. The red light district is not quite as sinful as normal, but it's still far from innocent.

But aren't the police especially strict during the Olympics? asks a foreigner. They only bother about the Chinese, not you foreigners, a soliciting sex worker says.

Just 20 metres away stand two soldiers guarding the entrance of the diplomatic compound. They look on but do nothing. Their job is to stand guard, not stop prostitution.

In fact, prostitution is illegal in China. The girls - and their customers - face being sent to re-education camps. Occasionally the police will detain foreigners for a few days if they are caught in raids on brothels or massage salons.

Where's the Suzie Wong? asks an Olympic tourist seeking the expensive bar by Chaoyang Park with more than its share of attractive women.

You chat up three and score with one, laughs an insider. Semi- professionals, perhaps - beauties with a daytime job financing their Gucci handbags and designer outfits. Or perhaps looking for the big catch - a rich Chinese or foreigner.

It's a dangerous game. Today there are an estimated 700,000 Chinese infected with AIDS, and it would be an achievement if this were only to double in the next two years. UN estimates say the number could rise to several million.

It's why several hundred thousand free condoms have been provided for the more than 10,000 athletes in the Olympic Village and guests in Beijing's hotels.

The Boobs on Bikes parade has gone off without incident on Auckland's Queen Street despite a march by about 60 nutter protesters.

Thousands of spectators lined the city's main street to watch the parade of topless women, which went head despite the city council's opposition.

But a few nutters joined groups including the Human Rights Foundation and Auckland's Women's centre, carrying banners with slogans such as porn fuels rape.

The protest group walked silently along the street, protesting not about bare breasts, but against the free advertising they say the parade gives to Steve Crow and his hard-core pornography empire.

Auckland City Councillor Cathy Casey had threatened to lie in the path of the parade with a group of other morality protestors to stop it but her protest didn't eventuate.

Kamasutra TV, the only pornographic cable channel on Colombian TV will stop their transmission because of a lack of viewers, cable company Telmex announced.

The sex channel transmitted programs like La cocina er๓tica (Erotic cuisine), el G๚ru del porno (the Porn guru), Al otro lado del sexo (At the other side of sex) and Cแmara triple X, where the host would go to various discoteques to find couples to be intimate publicly.

The channel’s most talked about program was Los pichones , a reality show wherein people would perform explicit sexual acts.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to Auckland, New Zealand, tomorrow to watch topless women riding on motorbikes after a judge dismissed a council's attempt to ban the parade.

Judge Nicola Mathers threw out Auckland District Council's attempt to gain an injunction to stop the Boobs on Bikes parade down Queen Street, saying it breached a new bylaw allowing the council to ban offensive parades.

But Judge Mathers said in Auckland District Court today that it was debatable whether the bylaw was legal, and also debatable whether it met the legal threshold of offensiveness.

Parade organiser Steve Crow, who also organises the R18 Erotica Expo held in Auckland over the weekend, said the decision was a victory for common sense and freedom of speech.

Judge Mathers noted that some people were deeply offended and considered the parade tactless and distasteful. But she said at least 80,000 people voted with their feet last year by attending the parade, suggesting they approved of the parade and considered it harmless fun.

As police had advised that it was not an offence under the Summary Offences Act for a woman to go topless in public, Judge Mathers said it was hard to argue that the parade met the legal definition of offensive.

There has been an angry backlash to a New Zealand court's decision to ban a parade of topless women on motorbikes in Auckland.

The lawyer for the annual Boobs on Bikes parade says a by-law used to ban the event is invalid after the council asked an Auckland District Court judge to issue an injunction to prevent to event happening on Wednesday.

The council claims the parade would breach a newly amended by-law banning offensive public events but Jesse Soondram, lawyer for the parade's organiser Steve Crow, said the by-law was invalid.

Soondram said it had already been decided, by police and the courts, that it was not an offence for women to bare their breasts in public in the Summary Offences act.

He argued the council was trying to apply a stricter standard of what was offensive than existed in the law.

Although there were some opposed to the parade, the fact that 100,000 spectators turned up last time showed a large number of people held a different view, Soondram said.

A judgement will be given on the matter tomorrow, but Crow said the parade will go ahead regardless of the court's decision.

The new BJP Government tightening the screws on nightlife in Bangalore, protestors are calling it ‘Bangalore bleeding’.

With the Bangalore police deciding to go strictly by the book again all restaurants with live bands and dancing have been banned. Over the past two Sundays musicians, artistes, disc jockeys and Bangalore’s partying public have been protesting the reinforced ban at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in central Bangalore. Participating in this Sunday’s protests, writer and theatre personality Girish Karnad said the decision to ban live music lacked logic. It will affect artistes adversely. Instead of going after criminals the police are going after musicians.

Despite the protests featuring over 1000 people on Sunday, the Bangalore police cracked down on as many as 32 discotheques operating without valid licenses in the city.

The licensing order makes it mandatory for all places offering live entertainment to be licensed by the police after meeting strict standards. The Act prevents places serving alcohol from staying open beyond 11:30 pm and women from dancing in places where alcohol is sold.

Though, the state home department has indicated a move to modify the laws to reduce restrictions on nightlife, no legislative action has been taken yet. New Bangalore police commissioner Shankar Bidari has stated that he is willing to consider relaxation of nightlife rules if he receives sufficient representation from the public.

The existing laws has resulted in a tussle between owners of lower end dance bars and the upper end lounge bars and discotheques. The introduction of the licensing rules for cabarets, dance bars, discotheques and live bands in June 2005 had resulted in a clampdown on all forms of dancing at public entertainment spots in Bangalore.

However, in December 2005, following appeals by owners of establishments, the Supreme Court permitted live bands and dancing in restaurants and hotels on the condition that the establishments didn’t encourage prostitution or indecent shows. While the Bangalore police allowed dancing and live music shows at pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and discotheques, they imposed a more stringent curb on dance bars on the grounds that they encouraged prostitution. This discrimination has been challenged by owners of dance bars in the High Court resulting in a complete clampdown on all nightlife.

Swedish state-run pharmacies began to sell over-the-counter sex toys this summer.

Now the shops are being hauled before the Equal Opportunies Ombudsman, the government referee on sexual discrimination, after two men complained that the erotic toys – the bestselling are vibrators and vagina balls – discriminate against males.

The pharmacy chain, Apoteket, had a misguided and untrue view of sexuality whereby a woman with a dildo is seen as liberated, strong and independent, while a man with a blow-up plastic vagina is viewed as disgusting and perverted, said one of the petitioners.

Apoteket responded with a bollox claim that there are no products of good quality on the market for men.

The men were exercising their rights under a 2005 amendment to the Equal Opportunities Act, which was supposed to right the balance in a society in which women were seen as winning more and more ground.

It is said to be unlikely that the pharmacy chain will end up in court.

Swedish men have recently been railing against discrimination in favour of women. Hairdressers and taxis are no longer allowed to offer preferential rates to women. The entry age for clubs and discos has to be the same for men and women. Dating services also have to charge the same for males and females.

Western Australia's Opposition Leader Colin Barnett said hw would scrap laws legalising brothels. He said he would not allow brothels to spread across suburbs. He intended to regulate the industry by licensing brothels in designated areas.

If elected, a Liberal government will repeal the Prostitution Amendment Bill 2007, B arnett said: A Liberal government will not allow the spreading of brothels throughout the suburbs and towns of WA.'

Barnett and Opposition police spokesman Rob Johnson have been calling for changes to WA's new prostitution laws for months.

Johnson said only a few designated areas would be allowed in WA: W e can't afford mini-brothels operating in residential areas where you have men coming and going all the time to satisfy their sexual pleasures. Legalising brothels hasn't worked in the east. Since legalising brothels, there has been a proliferation of legal and illegal brothels.

A conservative nutter group has laid a formal complaint against Auckland's controversial Boobs on Bikes parade.

Family First NZ laid the complaint with police today against the parade which is planned for Auckland's Queen St in August. National director of Family First NZ Bob McCoskrie said he was calling on the police to enforce the law and prevent offensive actions happening in a public place.

This parade is an advertisement for the porn industry which is simply a business, with no regard for the welfare and protection of families who are exposed to offensive aspects of the parade.

It is certainly not a charitable family-friendly event like the Santa Parade or a sports event or celebration."

The parade drew thousands of people last year, as an assortment of porn stars, erotic dancers, models and a few drag queens, exposed their breasts downtown.

McCoskrie said the event was in breach of the Crimes Act. It will also now be in breach of a new bylaw just passed by the Auckland City Council (Bylaw 20.6.9 - Public Places 2008) banning public events likely to be offensive.

The parade, which last year had council approval, was organised by then Auckland mayoral candidate Steve Crow to promote the Erotica Expo.

Update: Not Indecent

8th August 2008

In response to an official complaint by Family First NZ to the police about the upcoming Erotica Expo advertising stunt known as “Boobs on Bikes”, the police have said In the opinion of the Police, given the standards of decency observed in this day and age, a female being topless in a parade on a weekday in Queen Street will not in itself constitute an indecent act.

Update: Offensive Nutters

12th August 2008

Family First NZ has written to the Minister of Police Annette King asking whether she supports the refusal by the police to take action against the Boobs on Bikes parade.

We know that almost 1,000 emails labeling the parade as offensive have been sent to both the Mayor of Auckland and the head of the Auckland police, says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ: Yet despite this strong opposition from families and the City Council themselves, the police are refusing to act.

In the letter, Family First NZ has asked for confirmation that as Minister of Police, Annette King supports the interpretation of the Police that ..given the standards of decency observed in this day and age, a female being topless in a parade on a weekday in Queen Street will not in itself constitute an indecent act.

Ryan Horne arrived in China in March from Los Angeles to manage the opening of a club in the heart of the city's night-life district.

With the Olympic Games just six days away, Beijing police are out in force, carrying out orders to increase security and clean up the district, called Sanlitun, with zeal.

Horne has been summoned to the local police station three times in as many months for somewhat bewildering and intimidating interrogations that last for hours and probe his views on topics from Tibetan separatism to whether Jackie Chan or Jet Li has the best kung fu moves.

I call them my 'special' experiences, Horne said, smiling tightly as he uses his mother's term to avoid saying something negative.

The crackdown has renewed allegations of xenophobia and even racism in Beijing, as well as cries that the police are draining the vitality from a place where foreigners and Chinese have traditionally mixed.

Bar owners report being swamped by new police demands, with rules changing daily and the threat of closure if they are not enforced. It's not just no drugs, no gambling, no prostitution. It's also: no tables on the sidewalk, no excess partying, no displays of affection. No service for foreigners with prostitutes.

Dozens of police patrol the area on foot and in cars, frequently raiding bars to check patrons' visas. Dozens more in plain clothes mingle with guests in the clubs, owners say. Their numbers are augmented by private security guards hired by local businesses.

Last week police told Horne he had to get rid of two bartenders who are of Tibetan origin. Horne was told no Tibetans could work in Beijing during the Olympics; police apparently fear they might mount disturbances in sympathy with the widespread protests this spring against Chinese repression.

The Olympics, which many here thought would bring thousands of customers, has instead driven many away, and business owners say they are counting the days until the closing ceremony. Thousands of foreigners have had their visas canceled or been blocked from obtaining one for fear they could be troublemakers, or worse, terrorists.

A Chinese woman, proud that she can afford to rent a new apartment said in an interview that she would love to show it off, except that her lease included a clause that she not invite any foreigners to her place until after the Olympics.

Sex workers of eastern Nepal have launched a campaign for legalisation of their profession after the authorities refused to recognise them as an organisation.

Nearly 70 sex workers had tried to register their organisation with the name Sex Worker Women's Group ", but the district administration turned down their move. Later, they got registered their organisation as Helping Women's Group and started campaign to legitimise sex workers.

We formed the organisation in order to face the hassle posed by the administration in an organised way. One of our aims is to motivate customers to have safe sex, Debika Dhamala, leader of the group, said.

She said the organisation would provide counseling to women sex workers to protect themselves from the deadly disease of HIV/AIDS.

Madrid nutters who filmed prostitutes negotiating with their clients outside their homes and broadcast them on YouTube have been fined for infringing the Spanish data protection Act.

Even after its facelift, Calle de la Montera has remained a haven for prostitutes.

Residents took matters into their hands last year by installing webcams and recording images of the prostitutes' clients.

Twenty-two of them were then placed on the YouTube website in the hope that they would act as a deterrent for the men if there was the danger that their wives would spot them attempting to buy sex.

The Spanish Data Protection Agency, however, has ordered the neighbours to take down the webcams and fined them 601 euros (£475) for broadcasting images of passers-by without their consent. The government-funded body said it was the first time that it had taken action against private citizens for invading people's privacy.

It gave warning that it was looking into several other cases in which people had become the unwitting stars of internet videos. The investigation has concluded that there was a grave infraction of the data protection law, the agency said, although it cited the desire of the neighbours to tackle crime and periodic efforts to obscure people's faces as mitigating factors.

Residents were angered by the fine. I don't think it's reasonable to fine people for filming their faces, Gilmar Barbosa, vice-president of a local nutter association, said.

Prostitution is widely tolerated in Spain and is not, in itself, illegal. The country's most respected national newspapers are packed with graphic adverts for prostitutes. Roadside brothels with flashing neon signs adorn the big highways and most cities have neighbourhood sex clubs. Police estimate that there are at least 1,000 such brothels operating openly in Spain.

Plans to legalise prostitution for the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa have been criticised by religious groups and opposition parties.

The local authority in Durban wants legalised adult entertainment venues during the tournament.

But African Nazareth Democratic Movement president Thokozani Hlatshwayo said the proposal was against the word of God.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance and the youth wing of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) have condemned the suggestion: Plans to legalise Durban's red-light districts before the 2010 World Cup should be condemned in the strongest possible manner . On the one hand it preaches strong family values and moral regeneration, but on the other hand they want to legalise prostitution on Durban's streets. It doesn't make sense, she said.

Durban's municipality said Germany had many adult entertainment centres during the World Cup in 2006, which were very popular with visitors. It said while prostitution was illegal in South Africa, it could not ignore the fact that the sex industry thrives during major events like the World Cup. To address this, entertainment centres such as strip clubs and escort agencies would be located in special areas where they would be safe and easily accessible.

Municipality Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo said a final decision had not yet been taken.

I CAN only dance when I'm drunk, confides Srijana, a 20-year-old employee of the Pussy Cat Bar and Shower, a tavern in Thamel, Kathmandu's main tourist hangout. She mounts a small stage and to whoops from a few tipsy locals, she sheds most of her clothes and gyrates to a Hindi pop tune. Dangling above her is a silver shower nozzle, positioned to spray flesh-revealing water on a dancer below.

Such gimmicks are common in Thamel's bars, where competition for lascivious males is fierce. Until a few years ago Nepal had no obvious sex industry. There are now an estimated 200 massage parlours and 35 “dance bars”, such as the Pussy Cat, in Thamel —with over 1,000 girls and women working in them. Many sell sex. In the Pussy Cat, another dancer admits to turning tricks, for 1,800 rupees ($28).

That is a tidy sum in Nepal, South Asia's poorest country. It is much more than Nepali women are paid in India's flesh-pots. But the dancers in Thamel are chasing a richer sort of Indian: tourists. And their government seems to be encouraging them. In an advertisement for Wild Stag Weekends, the Nepal Tourism Board offers this advice: Don't forget to have a drink at one of the local dance bars, where beautiful Nepali belles will dance circles around your pals.

In a country with a rich tradition of dance, where paying for sex is illegal, this might be harmless innuendo. But not everybody thinks so. During the recently-ended civil war, Nepal's Himalayan tourism industry collapsed. Some activists think that sex tourism is replacing it. According to John Frederick, an expert on South Asia's sex trade, Ten years ago the sex industry was underground in Nepal. Now it's like Bangkok, it's like Phnom Penh.

The war, which put much of rural Nepal under the control of Maoist insurgents, has increased the supply of sex workers. Srijana is from the poor and still violent district of Siraha in southern Nepal. She was widowed there two years ago, and left an infant son to come to the capital. Yet she is remarkably cheerful—perhaps because she is drunk, and the shower is not working.

A court in Kano has sentenced nine people to four months imprisonment or a N10,000 option of fine for nude dancing in the state.

The convicts were arrested in Star Light Hotel, Sabon Gari while performing strip dancing.

The officials of the state censorship board who arrested said the culprits were performing naked dance and other practices that are contrary to the law.

The presiding magistrate, Muntari Ahmad, said their offence is contrary to section 97 (d) of the State Censorship Act 2001, which prohibits any form of exhibition capable of corrupting public morals in the state.

China's government has told discos, karaoke bars and other entertainment venues to install windows in private rooms and ensure staff dress modestly from Oct 1.

According to rules released on the Ministry of Public Security's website (www.mps.gov.cn), entertainment venues must install transparent partitions between rooms that ensure the whole environment of the consumer's entertainment area in the room can be seen.

When open for business, the transparent part of rooms and windows to rooms at singing and dancing entertainment venues must not be obstructed, the rules say.

Discos, karaoke nightclubs and other bars in China frequently have private rooms for hire, and are a favourite places for businessmen to entertain guests, sometimes with prostitutes, which is illegal in China.

Staff clothing is also covered in the new rules. Staff members should dress tastefully, and not be too exposing.

Other rules demand closed circuit television cameras be installed and security guards placed at discos.

British adult video director John T. Bone was arrested June 12 in Bang-na, Bangkok after authorities received a tip that a group of foreigners were shooting porn in a local apartment complex.

Police arrested Bone (a.k.a. John Gilbert Bowen) and five others in the raid, including three Brazlian men, a Filipina woman and a Thai "katoey" or transsexual "bar girl," according to the Pattaya Daily News. The report states that officers caught Bowen and his crew in the act of shooting a group sex scene.

Police told the Daily News they found a fully equipped studio inside the apartment with lights, camera equipment, lube, DVDs, stills and boxes of condoms. The report identifies Bone as the ringleader of the group.

The production and sale of pornography is illegal in Thailand. Bowen and two associates were arrested in April 2007 on the same charges in Pattaya, Thailand, southeast of Bangkok.

According to the Daily News, Bowen and his associates will face 3 years in prison and fined up to 6,000 baht ($180) for the crime.