Cologne, Germany
A Cologne brothel has altered its billboards for prostitution services pegged to this summer’s World Cup soccer tournament, after a menacing visit from men claiming the ad was offensive to Muslims. The Pascha brothel’s billboards feature a buxom model surrounded by the flags of all 32 countries playing in the tournament. Brothel owner Armin Lobscheid said a group of about 30 hooded men brandishing knives showed up at his office demanding that he remove the flags of Iran and Saudi Arabia. “The situation was explosive,” Lobscheid told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. “Some of the people compared our ad to the Danish Mohammed cartoons.” Lobscheid agreed to black out those flags. Prostitution is legal in Germany.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How potatoes became an 'unusual bellwether' in Russia's economyUnder The Radarp Spud shortages are pointing to a wider crisis in the nation's finances
-
7 food trails worth zipping alongThe Week Recommends Take a bite out of the United States
-
Libraries are feeling the cost burden of e-book popularityUnder the Radar Certain states are working to change laws around e-book purchasing for libraries
