A Japanese journalist known for covering war zones has sued the Foreign Ministry after it invalidated his passport and demanded he surrender it, saying it deprives him of his right to travel and interferes with press freedom.
Kosuke Tuneoka was stopped at Tokyo's Haneda airport in February on his way to Yemen for reporting. He was told his passport had been invalidated and then received a ministry order to immediately surrender it.
Tsuneoka says he filed a lawsuit to stop the government from taking similar steps against others.
Tsuneoka was held captive for five months in Afghanistan in 2010.
A Syria-bound Japanese photographer had his passport taken in 2015 to prevent him from traveling there.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics left-hander Ken Waldichuk had reconstructive surgery on his troublesome pitching elbow and will be sidelined all season, another tough injury blow for the pitcher this past year.
Already on the 60-day injured list with a ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his pitching arm, he was examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday and it was determined he needed the procedure. Waldichuk suffered a setback in his rehab after facing hitters April 29.
The surgery performed by ElAttrache included a flexor tendon repair and a UCL reconstruction with internal brace procedure. Waldichuk will return to Oakland and his rehabilitation.
Waldichuk had been working his way back from an offseason procedure to remove scar tissue from his pitching elbow to help alleviate pain he experienced after his final start of the 2023 season.
Waldichuk pitched Sept. 29 on the road against the Los Angeles Angels and then began experiencing discomfort. He was later diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain and an ulnar collateral ligament sprain following an MRI exam.
He was first examined by Dr. Mike Freehill at Stanford and then also by ElAttrache. Waldichuk chose to go the conservative route for rehab and had a Tenex procedure with Dr. Steve Yoon on Oct. 17 to remove the scar tissue. He had a follow-up PRP injection to the flexor tendon on Oct. 24 and began physical therapy.
Waldichuk went 4-9 with a 5.36 ERA in 35 appearances and 22 starts with one save over 141 innings for the A’s in 2023, his first full big league season.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE - Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Ken Waldichuk delivers during the first inning of the team's baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 24, 2023, in Chicago. Waldichuk had reconstructive surgery on his troublesome pitching elbow and will be sidelined all season, another tough injury blow for the pitcher this past year. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
