Poor swept off Hanoi's streets

Poor swept off Hanoi's streets

HANOI (DPA): Vietnamese police have rounded up some 1,000
beggars, prostitutes and mentally ill people in Hanoi and sent
them to camps outside the capital while senior officials started
meetings on Tuesday ahead of a regional summit.

Rural laborers seeking work in the city have also been banned
by officials trying to put the best sheen on Hanoi, which hosts
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders' summit to be
held on Dec. 15 through Dec. 16.

Police have also launched a crackdown against known and
suspected criminals in the past week and more than 400 drug
traffickers, pushers and users have been locked up, police said
Tuesday.

Three key routes into the capital from Hanoi's international
airport have been cleared of temporary markets and some "trouble
spots" have been dispersed, said other police sources.