AMSTERDAM TARGETS BROTHELS, CANNABIS SHOPS

Authorities said Saturday they will halve the number of brothels and
marijuana shops in Amsterdam's red-light district and surrounding area.

The city announced plans to clean up the district a year ago and since
then 109 sex "windows," from which prostitutes attract customers, have
been closed.

The new measures aim to reduce the number of windows to 243 from 482
last year, a city spokesman said.

Amsterdam also wants to close half of the 76 cannabis shops in the
city centre.

"Money laundering, extortion and human trafficking are things you do
not see on the surface, but they are hurting people and the city.We
want to fight this," said deputy mayor Lodewijk Asscher.

"We can still have sex and drugs, but in a way that shows the city is
in control," Asscher said.

The 800-year-old red light district needs to diversify and showcase
the city's history, Asscher said.

Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands in 2000 and its soft
drug policy, one of the most liberal in Europe, allows the sale of
marijuana and possession of less than five grams.