BANGKOK (Reuters) - Powerful criminal networks in Southeast Asia extensively use the messaging app Telegram which has enabled a fundamental change in the way organised crime can conduct large-scale illicit activity, the United Nations said in a report on Monday.

Powerful criminal networks in Southeast Asia extensively use the messaging app Telegram which has enabled a fundamental change in the way organised crime can conduct large-scale illicit activity, the United Nations said in a report on Monday.

The findings are the latest in a series of accusations implicating Telegram, whose CEO was recently arrested in France for allegedly allowing criminal activity to flourish on the platform. After the arrest — which led Telegram to agree to share some user data with law enforcement — several extremist groups moved to a new platform,

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders gathered Wednesday for an annual forum that will focus on the civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea, two key challenges that have tested the bloc's credibility.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will represent the United States at summits with Asian leaders in Laos this week and expects to discuss human rights in Myanmar, China's "irresponsible" behavior in the South China Sea and Ukraine,