Around the World: Laos

Flood threat grows

Four people have been killed in flooding and landslides in Laos, where the Mekong river has hit its highest level in at least 100 years after several months of unusually heavy rain, officials said uesterday.

The government and ordinary people in the landlocked Southeast Asian country have been rushing to complete a 2.5-m wall of sandbags to stop the chocolate-brown waters inundating the capital, Vientiane.