Le Thang Long

A Vietnamese court on Thursday rejected an appeal by former British glam rocker Gary Glitter against a three-year jail term for sexually abusing children, calling him a danger to society. The faded 1970s star, born Paul Francis Gadd, had been found guilty on March 3 of "committing obscene acts" with two young girls.

After months of plummeting sales, Vietnam’s poultry markets are springing back to life, selling chicken and eggs certified virus-free, as avian influenza outbreaks appear to be in check. The first major market reopened last week in Ha Tay province, 15km south-west of Hanoi, offering chicken and eggs neatly packed in plastic bags and sporting veterinarians’ certificates.

Former British glam rocker Gary Glitter was charged on Friday with committing "obscene acts with children" in Vietnam and could face more serious charges that carry the death penalty, prosecutors said. Nguyen Van Xung, deputy director of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial prosecutor’s office, said that Glitter, who stands accused of having sex with a 12-year-old girl, could later be charged with child rape.

Typhoon Damrey on Tuesday barrelled into the east coast of Vietnam, where officials evacuated 300 000 people after the storm tore a path of destruction through neighbouring China. The powerful storm, packing winds of more than 100kph, left at least nine people dead in south-west China on Monday.