SEC tightens custodial rules for digital assetsThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed tighter rules on the custody of clients' assets in digital asset businesses to protect investors against misappropriation of assets as well as fraud. The revisions have three primary changes that will promote protection of digital asset investors, said the SEC. First, digital asset operators are strictly prohibited from using a client's assets, fiat money and digital assets for the benefit of another client or any other persons. Finally, digital asset business operators may not seek benefits from clients' fiat money, except from deposits with commercial banks. In the case of digital assets, seeking benefits for clients shall be prohibited, including deposit and lending to other persons, except in the form of digital asset investment with licensed digital asset fund managers.

ExxonMobil, Apple, Boeing latest US giants to cut ties with MoscowApple was among the large US companies to announce moves to exit or freeze business in RussiaNEW YORK: Apple, ExxonMobil and Boeing announced Tuesday in rapid succession steps to withdraw or freeze business in Russia as more US corporate giants take action after the Ukraine invasion. Earlier, Apple said it would halt all product sales in Russia and limit the use of Apple Pay and other services in the country. "I appeal to you... to stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to the Apple Store!" General Motors suspended vehicle exports to Russia, while Detroit rival Ford aid it was suspending its remaining operations in Russia, including commercial van manufacturing. Credit card companies including Visa, Mastercard and American Express announced they were blocking Russian banks from their payment networks following international sanctions.

(Photo: Foreign Ministry)Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has insisted Thailand will maintain its neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a government source said. Gen Prayut told the meeting that the long-standing relations between Thailand and Russia must be taken into account and Thailand must tread carefully, the source said. Thailand must maintain a neutral stance and bring Thais in Ukraine back home quickly," the source quoted the PM as saying. Asked by reporters to comment on the matter on Tuesday, Gen Prayut insisted that Thailand has to follow Asean's stance on the matter. The topics discussed included the 125th anniversary of Thailand-Russia relations and plans to establish broader relations between Phuket and Russia's Far Eastern federal district of Kamchatka.

Diagnostic sales also have been strong for companies including Abbott Laboratories, which had $7.7 billion in Covid-19 test sales last year. Last week, Moderna reported $17.7 billion in sales of its Covid-19 vaccine Spikevax for 2021, and predicted it would generate at least $19 billion in Covid vaccine sales this year. The company is developing a combination flu and Covid vaccine, and is testing experimental vaccines against other viruses in late-stage studies. The expected Covid-19 sales could push Pfizer's total company sales over $100 billion for the first time in its history. AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine was its second biggest seller in 2021, at $4.1 billion in revenue.

Oosthuizen left South Africa to teach English abroad shortly after finishing high school in 2018. It was addressed to Dave Rensburg in Moo 6 Bophut, Koh Samui, Surat Thani, Pol Col Yutthana said. Inside, authorities found a plastic packet containing about 260 grammes of brown crystalline substances, Pol Col Yutthana said. She denied any involvement during the examination, Pol Col Yutthana said. She said Mr Rensburg had nothing to do with any illegal wrongdoing at the property, according to Pol Col Yutthana.

In the Facebook post, RDS claimed no Favipiravir tablets were available outside Bangkok and accused the GPO of monopolising the market. As of Sunday, Thailand confirmed 24,719 new Covid-19 cases and 42 deaths, bringing the cumulative total of Covid-19 infections since early 2020 to 2,869,616 and deaths to 22,894.

Chan Shih-chang has actually missed the cut in three out of the four events played since Blue Canyon so victory on Sunday will be an impressive turnaround in form. “In the first two rounds my driving was very good, I only missed one fairway for two days. But my putting was good today and it helped me a lot. The Royals’ Cup 2022 is one of the country’s professional golf tournaments. Such great support shows how great the Royal’s Cup is.

Normally, he said, hospitals are granted funds based on the number of patients they treat over a year, and medical facilities in remote areas usually get small sums due to few patients. On a scale from one to seven based on the severity of financial problems, 39 small public hospitals were at level six in 2020, but this reduced to eight last year and zero this year, Kiartiphum said. There were 15 hospitals at the worst level of financial crisis in 2020, and the number reduced to one last year and zero this year. He added that up to 829 or 92 per cent of 900 public hospitals in Thailand had a good financial standing in the first quarter of this year.

Việt Nam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Serbia will receive support from the hub in South Africa, the WHO said in a press conference late Wednesday. “Those countries were vetted by a group of experts and proved that they could absorb the technology and, with targeted training, move to production relatively quickly,” according to the WHO. During the event, the WHO also announced the establishment of a similar hub in the Republic of Korea. These hubs will serve all low- and middle-income countries wishing to produce biologicals, such as vaccines, insulin, monoclonal antibodies and cancer treatments. “One of the key barriers to successful technology transfer in low- and middle-income countries is the lack of a skilled workforce and weak regulatory systems,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Vinij said he did ask the government for support but he did not mention how much or what he wanted. The CEO said he made the request for unspecified support in November 2021 and he had almost forgotten about it now as he had not received any reply. He said he usually got feedback quickly – in a few weeks. However, he had not received a reply for around four months now. Also, a number of countries wanted to organise such a match but have not been able to.

Yong pointed out the necessity to possess high immunity all the time because Covid-19 has a fast incubation period. “A study on two Covid-19 jabs provided a good result, but immunity subsequently dropped as time passed,” he said, adding that the immunity provided by the third jab dropped as well. He explained that it was necessary to stimulate both B cells to prevent infections and T cells to reduce severity of the virus and boost recovery, especially among vulnerable people.

Mr Arkhom says the central bank must assess the economic recovery. If the central bank wants to raise the policy rate, it has to be confident the economy is in full recovery first, says Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith. This year the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise its policy rate to tame rising inflation, said Mr Arkhom. Mr Arkhom said the government is focused on seven missions to push for economic expansion of 4% this year. Transactions via the country's digital payment platform PromptPay increased to 9.4 billion in 2021, rising by 10 times from 2017.

Laos agrees to reopen borderThailand and Laos have agreed to soon reopen cross-border checkpoints, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Wednesday. The decision was made after Lao ambassador to Thailand Seng Soukhathivong paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to mark the occasion of his 4.5 years at Government House. The Lao ambassador thanked the government for providing assistance during the flood disaster in 2019 and in the form of Covid-19 medical supplies. Both parties agreed on key issues including a plan to reopen cross-border checkpoints to increase the value of border trade and boost economic recovery. He also asked the Lao government to consider developing the R12 route connecting the borders of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, which would benefit local communities, Mr Thanakorn said.

He pointed to the controversy surrounding Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongsirin, formerly the country's lead investigator in human trafficking. The NGOs said human trafficking is a transnational form of organised crime that earns huge amounts of money. Gen Prawit wanted to know the details of all the accomplices ahead of legal proceedings, Gen Kongcheep said. Regarding the fate of Pol Maj Gen Paween, national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk said no legal charges had been pressed against him. He also guaranteed that Pol Maj Gen Paween would be safe if he returns.

ThaiBev to resume work on unit’s $2bn Singapore IPOA worker arranges bottles of Thai Beverage Pcl (ThaiBev) Chang beer on a conveyor system as they move along the production line at the company's Beer Thip brewery in Ayutthaya province. ThaiBev, which is traded in Bangkok and Singapore, is still seeking to raise about US$2 billion from the brewery business’s IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. A share sale could value the brewery arm at about $10 billion, one of the people said. Its first listing plan in May 2020 was scuppered by Thailand’s lockdown in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Apart from the brewery business, ThaiBev also runs distilleries that produce liquor including SongSam rum, Meridian brandy and Drummer whiskey.