The Latest: Japan to produce 90M doses of AstraZeneca shots

TOKYO — More than 90 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be produced in Japan by a Japanese pharmaceutical company through a licensing agreement. It will cover three quarters of the supply the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company has pledged to provide to the country, officials said...

Pakistani court: Release man accused in Daniel Pearl's death

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the release Thursday of a Pakistani-British man convicted and later acquitted in the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. The court also dismissed an appeal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh's acquittal filed by Pearl’s family and...

Pakistan court charges TV mogul in real estate purchase case

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court on Thursday indicted the owner and editor-in-chief of the country’s largest independent group of newspapers and television stations along with two former government officials in a decades-old case related to allegations of tax evasion in a real estate...

Pakistan's Supreme Court orders man accused in beheading death of American journalist released

Pakistani suspect admits to role in Daniel Pearl’s beheading

ISLAMABAD (AP) — After 18 years of denial, the Pakistani suspect convicted and later acquitted in the 2002 beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl has told a court he played a “minor" role in the killing, the Pearl family lawyer said Wednesday. A letter handwritten by Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh...

Group: Pakistani Baloch dissident buried amid high security

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani dissident and civil rights activist who died in exile in Canada last month was returned to Pakistan and laid to rest in her home village in southwestern Baluchistan province under tight security, activists said Monday. Only immediate family members of 37-year-old Karima...

Nepali climbers who scaled K2 in Pakistan recount success

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Nepalese climbers who last week made history by scaling the world’s second highest peak — Pakistan’s K2 — in the winter season praised Pakistan’s military and civil authorities on Friday for facilitating their challenging expedition. The leader of the...

The Latest: Shanghai locks down 2 major hospitals over cases

BEIJING — Shanghai has imposed lockdowns on two of China’s best-known hospitals after they were linked to new coronavirus cases. Outpatient services have been suspended at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Renji Hospital, both of which have been cordoned off along with some surrounding...

Pakistan seeks to block US-based website of minority Ahmadis

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has ordered a U.S.-based website propagating the faith of Pakistan's minority Ahmadis shut down over allegedly blasphemous content, one of the site's managers said Thursday. Harris Zafar said Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority earlier this month issued a legal notice...

The Latest: Sri Lanka reopens tourism after 10-month closing

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka is welcoming tourists again after keeping the doors closed to visitors for nearly 10 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government’s action Thursday is seen as an effort to revive the island nation’s tourism industry, which has been badly hit by the...