NESTLED in a curve of the Mekong River, Vientiane, Laos, is a place where monks in orange robes outnumber tourists, and French colonial roofs and gilded temples form the skyline. Along the dusty streets of the capital of Laos, you're more likely to spot a polished Volkswagen bug puttering along than a traffic jam. And in the town center,...

VIENTIANE, LAOS -- Lillehammer, Albertville, Lake Placid. Major sports events have a way of putting obscure places on the map. This was the hope harbored by Laos's Communist leaders when they offered Vientiane, the capital, as the host of the Southeast Asian Games this December. But so far the greatest legacy of the games is a record deficit that...
Federal agents raided more than a dozen homes and businesses in California and arrested nine men on Monday, breaking up what they said was a plot to overthrow the government of Laos. One of those arrested, Gen. Vang Pao, is a prominent Hmong fighter and a leader in exile in the United States since the Communist takeover of Laos in 1975. Officials...
Vientiane er hovedstad i det sydøstasiatiske land Laos og ligger ved Mekongfloden. Floden danner her grænse til Thailand. Der er ca. 200.000 indbyggere (2005).
Vientiane blev hovedstad i Lan Xang i 1560 da kong Setthathirath etablerede den. Da Lan Xang faldt sammen i 1707 blev Vientiane et selvstændigt kongedømme. I 1779 blev byen erobret af den siamesiske general Phraya Chakri og den blev en siamesisk vasalstat. Vientiane blev fransk i 1893 og hovedstad over det franske Laos i 1899.