Thailand

PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) — More than 60 members of a Chinese Christian church have been detained in Thailand, supporters said Friday, raising fears they may be returned to their home country, where they face possible persecution.

Deana Brown, one of two American supporters detained along with the church members, told The Associated Press that Thai authorities in the coastal city of Pattaya detained the 63 church members, many of whom are children, Thursday.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares surged in Europe on Monday after a mixed session in Asia, with bank stocks mostly gaining after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it had agreed to the sale of troubled Silicon Valley Bank to North Carolina-based First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

The FDIC took control of Silicon Valley Bank after it collapsed on March 10, promising to protect all depositors. Nasdaq-traded stock of First Citizens BancShares, Inc., parent company of First-Citizens, was up 12.4% in pre-market trading early Monday.

BANGKOK (AP) — As Myanmar’s military put on an annual show of strength Monday, its top leader told its assembled ranks they need to take decisive action against those fighting army rule of the country.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing spoke at a military parade on Armed Forces Day. At sunrise, members of all service branches marched in mass formations onto a huge parade ground in the capital, Naypyitaw, backed by armored vehicles, missiles and artillery as well as fighter jets and helicopters flying overhead.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares fell Friday in Asia as worries over turmoil in the banking sector and recession risks overshadowed gains on Wall Street.

Benchmarks declined in most major markets, while U.S. futures were higher. Oil prices fell.

Investors are worried that more banks might suffer a debilitating exodus of customers following the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. That turmoil is clouding the outlook for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates after hiking them to market-rattling heights over the last year.

BANGKOK (AP) — China threatened “serious consequences” Friday after the U.S. Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security.

The warning comes amid growing tensions between China and the United States in the region, as Washington pushes back at Beijing’s growingly assertive posture in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway it claims virtually in its entirety.

BANGKOK, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The progress towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Asia-Pacific is lagging and requires doubling the efforts to catch up, said a UN report launched here on Wednesday.

The region has only achieved 14.4 percent of the progress required, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) warned in its latest report, adding that at the current pace, the region will take another 42 years to reach all goals.

The 17 SDGs were adopted by the UN in 2015 as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

BANGKOK (AP) — The United States denied Chinese claims Thursday that its military had driven away an American guided-missile destroyer from operating around disputed islands in the South China Sea, in an incident that comes as tensions in the region between the two powers continue to rise.

The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said that a statement from China’s Southern Theatre Command that it had forced the USS Milius away from waters around the Paracel Islands — called Xisha by China — was “false.”

BANGKOK, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The progress towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Asia-Pacific is lagging and requires doubling the efforts to catch up, said a UN report launched here on Wednesday.

The region has only achieved 14.4 percent of the progress required, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) warned in its latest report, adding that at the current pace, the region will take another 42 years to reach all goals.

The 17 SDGs were adopted by the UN in 2015 as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

BANGKOK (AP) — Asia’s stake in Europe’s war was made crystal clear Tuesday when the leaders of the region’s two richest countries sat in the capitals of Russia and Ukraine in strong shows of support for the opposing sides.

With the world’s eyes on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first talks in Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on the other side of the front lines.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares advanced Friday in Asia, tracking a rally on Wall Street after a group of big banks offered a lifeline to First Republic Bank, the lender investors had focused on in their latest hunt for troubles in the banking industry.

Benchmarks rose more than 1% in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tokyo. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices climbed.