Vietnam's Supreme Court has refused to commute the death sentence of a 24-year-old Thai woman who had smuggled narcotics into the country, according to the Saigon Daily.

The Supreme People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City has upheld the lower court's death sentence against Preeyanooch Phuttharaksa, the newspaper said on its website.

Preeyanuch was arrested in October 2011 after customs officials at Tan Son Nhat Airport found more than three kilogrammes of methamphetamine hidden inside her luggage.

Before her arrest, Preeyanuch had sneaked drugs into Vietnam twice, according to the indictment.

She was handed the death penalty on June 26 by the People's Court and she later appealed to a higher court.

Preeyanuch, a student, had confessed to having been paid 50,000 baht by a Nigerian drug gang to bring the drugs into Vietnam from the west African country of Benin. She had met her Nigerian contact originally at a mall in Bangkok.

Thai officials have said that even if the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence, she could still petition the Vietnamese president for mercy.

Vietnam executes criminals with lethal injections, which replaced the firing squad last year.

Statistics from the Thai Foreign Ministry show that about 100 Thai women are currently being detained for drug trafficking in several countries, including China, India, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Brazil and South Africa.

Some of them had married citizens of African countries and were forced to become involved in the trans-national drug trade, while others were willing to act as drug couriers due to the high pay, officials say.

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VN upholds death penalty for Thai

DIXON At 5 years old, Trirong Khuntangta was carrying herbs back to his school where he learned how to dry and prepare them.

The downtown Dixon building that he converted into the Traditional Wellness Center is a far cry from his boarding school in Thailand, but the lessons he learned still are a part of his everyday work there.

The Touch of Thai owner was looking to go low key and calm when he created his center, he said, although the dizzying array of services provided at 216 W. First St. doesnt necessarily give that impression.

Walking in the front doors, a tea shop serving light breakfast and lunch is to the right. To the left, there might be someone playing the piano or someone on a lunch break getting a 5-minute massage.

Cooking classes will be offered in the back kitchen. Yoga, Zumba and meditation classes are provided upstairs in a large open room with old hardwood floors that also can be rented out for banquets.

The idea behind the Traditional Wellness Center is that having multiple revenue sources gives Khuntangta more flexibility.

Plus, he really enjoys the herbalism part. In addition to light food, his Ginkgo Tree Cafe offers herbal tea.

Herbalism is so complicated, Khuntangta said, as ginger, lemon grass and turmeric steeped in hot water in a glass teapot in front of him. Its not hard, but theres so much.

Khuntangta received his bachelors in political science and masters in international relations, and hes attending Thai alternative medicine school. Hes finished 3 years and has 2 to go.

Thats why he decided to team up with Carol Krueger, a KSB Hospitalpharmacist and fellow herbalist. Krueger actually first learned the trade as well as Tai Chi, yoga and how to give massages from Khuntangta more than 15 years ago.

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Traditional with a Thai twist

LOS ANGELES (AP) Nguyen Chi Thien, a Vietnamese dissident poet who spent nearly 30 years in communist prisons in his native country, died in a Southern California hospital Tuesday after a long bout of lung illness, according to a close friend. He was 73.

Thien had contracted tuberculosis while in Vietnamese prisons and doctors were investigating a large mass in his lung in the days before he died, his close friend Hanh Thang-Thai said. The actual cause of his death was unclear.

Thien's former translator, Nguyen Ngoc Bich, says Thien is by far the most famous Vietnamese poet of his generation.

"It's like the passing away of a great symbol for the so-called free Vietnam, people who still believe in freedom and democracy for Vietnam," Bich said.

Thien first went to prison in 1960, after telling Vietnamese high school students that, contrary to their textbooks, the end of World War II was not the result of a Soviet attack, but rather U.S. nuclear attacks in Japan.

He was later imprisoned again because of poems he wrote that decried communist oppression. But due to a lack of evidence, he never went to trial.

In 1977, Thien was released from prison long enough to write down poems he had memorized in captivity, a manuscript that became known as "Flowers of Hell."

The poems were published in Vietnamese after he hand-delivered them to British diplomats at their embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam.

When he exited the embassy, security agents were awaiting him and he was promptly sent back to prison.

While he was still imprisoned, Thien won the International Poetry Award in Rotterdam in 1985.

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Vietnamese dissident poet Nguyen Chi Thien dies

One month to go before the Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR), October 25 & 26 in Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, Sept 27, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - Following ten successful conference runs in six of Southeast Asia's major cities - Manila, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore, the Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) continues to be at the forefront of CSR development in Asia. This 2012, Bangkok will host the 11th AFCSR on October 25 & 26, Thursday & Friday.

The two-day event, with the theme "Innovative Approaches to Create Value for Business and Society," will allow attendees to interact with leaders and experts from the business, government and civil sectors and to learn about improving business competitiveness through innovative implementation of CSR.

H.E. Anand Panyarachun, Chairman of the Board, Independent Director, and Member of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, Siam Commercial Bank; and Former Thailand Prime Minister will be joining us for the Opening Ceremonies on October 25, 8:30 AM.

We also have 45 confirmed speakers, each an expert on their own field. You will find the sessions very interesting. Please find attached our conference brochure and program agenda to find out more about the sessions we have prepared for you.

We have listed our impressive line-up of speakers from 25 different countries that will share their knowledge about the best CSR practices all over the world.

1. Ms. Emily Abrera - Chairperson, Children's Hour (Philippines) 2. Ms. Anusha Alles - Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Brandix Lanka (Sri Lanka) 3. Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert - Senior Adviser, SGV & Co. (Philippines) 4. Mr. Mohiuddin Babar - Convenor, Nature Alliance (Bangladesh) 5. Ms. Ma. Cecilla Filipinas Calleja-Taufique - VP for Public Relations and Community Affairs, Rapu-Rapu Minerals Inc. (Philippines) 6. Mr. Russell Campbell - APAC Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Intel (Thailand) 7. Mr. Archawat Chareonslip - Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Coca-Cola (Thailand) 8. Prof. Nieves Confesor - Professor, Asian Institute of Management (Philippines) 9. Ms. Marthyn Cuan - Chief Information Officer, Manila Electric Company (Philippines) 10. Mr. John Dasilva - Project Development Manager, Kenan Institute Asia (Thailand) 11. Dr. Steven DeKrey - President, Asian Institute of Management (Philippines) 12. Ms. Marilou G. Erni - Executive Director, Petron Foundation (Philippines) 13. Ms. Suzanne Fallender - Director of Social Innovation, Intel (U.S.) 14. Prof. Bradley Googins - Director Emeritus, Center for Corporate Citizenship, Boston College's Carroll School of Management (U.S.) 15. Prof. David Grayson - Director, Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility, Cranfield School of Management (U.K.) 16. Ms. Agnes De Jesus - Senior Vice President, Environment and External Relations, Energy Development Corporation (Philippines) 17. Mr. Jonathan Joson - Communications Relations Manager, Sagittarius Mines (Philippines) 18. Mr. Boris Joaquin - General Manager, Team Metamorphosis (Philippines) 19. Ms. Angela Kang - Executive President, Global Competitiveness Empowerment Forum (South Korea) 20. Ms. Amanda Keogh - Director for Sustainability, Fuji Xerox (Asia-Pacific) 21. Prof. Mari Kondo - Professor, Doshisha Business School (Japan) 22. Mr. David Laurence - Executive Director, The Australian Center for Sustainable Mining Practices (Australia) 23. Mr. Chris Levy - Associate Director for Corporate Affairs, GlobeScan (Canada) 24. Mr. Thirawit Leetavorn - Senior Vice President, Double A (Thailand) 25. Mr. Sam Y. S. Lee - Founder and Chief Executive Officer, InnoCSR Co. (China) 26. Mr. Rafael C. Lopa - Executive Director, Philippine Business for Social Progress (Philippines) 27. Ms. Jude Mannion - CEO, Robin Hood Asia (New Zealand) 28. Ms. Monica Marshall - Deputy Director, Global Head Public Private Partnerships, United Nations World Food Programme 29. Mr. Alex Mavro - Executive Director, Sasin Centre for Sustainability Management (Thailand) 30. Mr. Takeshi Miyamoto - Director General, Global Compact (Japan) 31. Ms. Tulip Noorazyze - Director of CSR, Shangri-La Tanjung Aru (Malaysia) 32. Dato Paduka Timothy Ong - Chairman, Asia Inc. Forum (Brunei Darussalam) 33. Mr. Quintin Pastrana - PGPA Manager, Chevron Geothermal Philippine Holdings Inc. (Philippines) 34. Dr. Sopon Pornchokchai - President, Thai Appraisal Foundation (Thailand) 35. Ms. Belen O. Rillo - Vice President, Jollibee Foundation, Inc. (Philippines) 36. Ramon R. Del Rosario - President and Chief Executive Officer, Phinma, Inc. (Philippines) 37. Mr. Joseph Scaria - Area Director for Asia Pacific Region, Habitat for Humanity International (Thailand) 38. Dr. Michael Shafer - Director of Operations, Warm Heart (Thailand) 39. Mr. Ola Jo Tandre - Director of Corporate Responsibility, Telenor Group (Norway) 40. Mr. George Tahija - President Director, PT Austindo Nusantara Jaya (Indonesia) 41. Mr. Thomas Thomas - Executive Director, Singapore Compact for Corporate Social Responsibility (Singapore) 42. Ms. Ambreen Waheed - Executive Director, Responsible Business Initiative (Pakistan) 43. Ms. Miki Watanabe - Leader, Planning Group, Corporate Social Responsibility Group, Fuji Xerox (Japan) 44. Mr. Jochen Weikert - Senior Manager, Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (Germany) 45. Mr. Oliver Yang - Corporate Social Responsibility and Government Relations Manager, AmCham Shanghai (China)

We are committed to making your AFCSR experience as smooth as possible. In this light, we suggest that you make reservations at the soonest possible time to avail of the best rates for you and your colleagues.

We hope that we can count on your attendance for this year's AFCSR. Please contact delegates.afcsr@aim.edu.

Also, please do like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AFCSR) or follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/AFCSR2012) as we shall be updating you on developments from time to time.

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Asian Forum on CSR (AFCSR) 2012: 'Innovative Approaches to Create Value for Business and Society'

Thai index tops gain; Vietnam down after Moody's downgrade

BANGKOK, Sep 28 (Reuters) Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Friday, racking u p strong gains for the quarter, as global markets welcomed Spain's spending cuts, but Moody's downgrades dented Vietnam's banks and the broader Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's VN Index.

Thailand's benchmark SET index led the pack, rose nearly 1 percent to end at its highest close since May 1996. It posted a 10.8 percent gain for the July-September quarter, Southeast Asia's best, reversing a 2.1 percent loss of the previous quarter.

Optimism over Thai banks' earnings for the third quarter boosted buying interest, said Bangkok-based strategist Viwat Techapoonphol of Tisco Securities.

Among actively traded, Bank of Ayudhya Pcl rose 3.3 percent, snapping a six-day losing streak. It was under selling pressure early this week after a stake sale by shareholder General Electric Co The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's VN Index reported a 7.1 percent quarterly fall, the region's worst, adding on a 4 percent fall for the second quarter.

On Friday, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Vietnam's sovereign credit rating by one notch to B2, citing stresses in the banking industry. It cut local and foreign currency deposit ratings of all eight Moody's-rated Vietnamese banks.

Among losers on Friday, Vietcombank fell 2 percent while Military Bank was down 0.75 percent.

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Thai index tops gain; Vietnam down after Moody's downgrade

A Ho Chi Minh City court sentenced a Thaiwoman to death, on Tuesday, fortrafficking methamphetamine from Benin to Vietnam.

The HCMC Peoples Court condemned Preeyanooch Phuttharaksa, 23, to deathfor illegally transporting drugs.

Phuttharaksa told the court she met a Nigerian man named Nalin at a shopping mall in Bangkok last November.

Nalin asked her to participate in an internationalnarcoticsring; she agreed to do so for themoney.

On October 17, 2011, Phuttharaksa flew from Thailand to Togo, and took a bus to Benin.

In Benin, two African mengave her a suitcase and asked her to bring it to Vietnam. Shecarried thesuitcase with her onflights fromBenin to Casablanca, Casablanca to Doha and Doha to Ho Chi Minh City.

On the evening of October 29, 2011, she arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airportwherecustoms officials discovered more thanthree kilograms of methamphetamine at the bottom of her suitcase.

Phuttharaksatold the court she waspaid more than US$2,500, excluding airfares, for her trip.

The courtsaid shehadtrafficked drugs to Vietnam ontwoprevious occasions and Vietnamese police are still investigating.

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Thai student sentenced to death for trafficking speed into Vietnam

Thai suspects confess to Australians killing

The Seattle Times - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

Two Thai men suspected of killing a 60-year-old Australian tourist on the resort island of Phuket admitted to the crime Tuesday, saying they meant only to slash her pocketbook strap and never meant ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 4:24 pm Thai children's emotional quotient (EQ) scores have been falling, dropping from 186.42 in 2002 and 179.58 in 2007 to 169.72, according to the 2011 surveys by the Public ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 2:25 pm An Army spokesman Wednesday denied that Deputy Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan had plotted a coup against the Pheu Thai government. Deputy Army spokesman Col ...

SINA - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

BANGKOK, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul attended an anti-piracy conference in Dubai scheduled on June 27-28, the ministry said Wednesday. The event is hosted by the ...

The China Post - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

Link:
Decision on US airbase disappoints Thai experts

Thai suspects confess to Australians killing

The Seattle Times - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

Two Thai men suspected of killing a 60-year-old Australian tourist on the resort island of Phuket admitted to the crime Tuesday, saying they meant only to slash her pocketbook strap and never meant ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 4:24 pm Thai children's emotional quotient (EQ) scores have been falling, dropping from 186.42 in 2002 and 179.58 in 2007 to 169.72, according to the 2011 surveys by the Public ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 2:25 pm An Army spokesman Wednesday denied that Deputy Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan had plotted a coup against the Pheu Thai government. Deputy Army spokesman Col ...

SINA - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

BANGKOK, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul attended an anti-piracy conference in Dubai scheduled on June 27-28, the ministry said Wednesday. The event is hosted by the ...

The China Post - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

Read more:
AirAsia to move all Thai operations to Bangkoks second-largest airport

Thai suspects confess to Australians killing

The Seattle Times - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

Two Thai men suspected of killing a 60-year-old Australian tourist on the resort island of Phuket admitted to the crime Tuesday, saying they meant only to slash her pocketbook strap and never meant ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 4:24 pm Thai children's emotional quotient (EQ) scores have been falling, dropping from 186.42 in 2002 and 179.58 in 2007 to 169.72, according to the 2011 surveys by the Public ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 2:25 pm An Army spokesman Wednesday denied that Deputy Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan had plotted a coup against the Pheu Thai government. Deputy Army spokesman Col ...

SINA - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

BANGKOK, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul attended an anti-piracy conference in Dubai scheduled on June 27-28, the ministry said Wednesday. The event is hosted by the ...

The China Post - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

Excerpt from:
Thai suspects confess to killing Australian tourist in botched robbery on resort island

Thai suspects confess to Australians killing

The Seattle Times - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

Two Thai men suspected of killing a 60-year-old Australian tourist on the resort island of Phuket admitted to the crime Tuesday, saying they meant only to slash her pocketbook strap and never meant ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 4:24 pm Thai children's emotional quotient (EQ) scores have been falling, dropping from 186.42 in 2002 and 179.58 in 2007 to 169.72, according to the 2011 surveys by the Public ...

The Nation - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

June 27, 2012 2:25 pm An Army spokesman Wednesday denied that Deputy Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan had plotted a coup against the Pheu Thai government. Deputy Army spokesman Col ...

SINA - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

BANGKOK, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul attended an anti-piracy conference in Dubai scheduled on June 27-28, the ministry said Wednesday. The event is hosted by the ...

The China Post - Wednesday 27th June, 2012

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Thai mob hurls abuse at Perth womans killers