NKOREA-DETAINED AMERICAN — An American detained in North Korea says he spied against the country and asks for forgiveness at a media presentation nine days after a U.S. tourist was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor for subversion. 

KOREAS-TENSIONS-FESTERING RHETORIC — Day after day, North Korea boasts of new developments in its weapons programs and ramps up fiery threats to attack rivals South Korea and the United States. A look at North Korea's recent bellicose threats, claims and weapons launches.

PHILIPPINES-CRUCIFIXION — A Filipino devotee is nailed to a cross for the 30th time in an annual Good Friday ritual, which he dedicated to peace in Belgium and other countries targeted by Islamic extremists. 

PAKISTAN-IRAN — Iran's Hassan Rouhani begins a landmark visit to Pakistan, his first since becoming president, at a time when Saudi Arabia is courting Islamabad to increase participation in a new Saudi-led military alliance of mostly Sunni nations, a coalition perceived by Tehran as an anti-Shiite block. 

AFGHANISTAN — Clashes between supporters of two rival warlords in northern Afghanistan kill one person and wound five, an Afghan official says. 

RUSSIA-JAPAN — Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says Moscow is thinking about setting up a naval base in the Kuril islands, an area in the Far East of the country that Japan considers to be part of its territory. SENT: 130 words.

MALAYSIA-TERROR SUSPECTS — Malaysian police detain 15 more suspected Islamic State members, who police say planned to launch attacks and tried to obtain chemicals to make bombs. 

SOUTH CHINA SEA-MALAYSIA — Malaysia says it has detected about 100 Chinese-registered boats encroaching in its waters near the Luconia Shoals in the South China Sea. 

CHINA-PROBLEM VACCINES — A crackdown on expired and improperly stored vaccines net 130 suspects and more than 20,000 doses of suspect medications, Chinese police say, in the latest scandal to pummel confidence in the safety of the country's food and drug supply. 

INDIA-BELGIUM-ATTACKS-FLIGHT ATTENDANT — An Indian flight attendant who was injured in the Brussels airport blasts is in stable condition and recovering, her airline says. S