Vientiane is beggar-free, state radio says

Lao police have rounded up the city's 141 beggars and placed them in charity homes or rehabilitation centres, said Radio Vientiane in a broadcast monitored in Bangkok.

 "Among the 141 beggars there were two women and 28 drug addicts," said the radio. The addicts have been admitted to drug-rehabilitation centres, it added.

 Vientiane, with a population of about 600,000, is one of the world's least crowded capitals. Communist Laos, half the size of France, has less than 6 million citizens.//dpa