Sumo wrestler Osunaarashi becomes tourism ambassador for Egypt

Jun 3, 2016

Sumo wrestler Osunaarashi becomes tourism ambassador for Egypt

Egypt's Osunaarashi, the first sumo wrestler from Africa to turn pro in Japan, became a tourism ambassador for his native country on Thursday, in a campaign to encourage Japanese to visit a destination avoided by many travelers following political upheaval. "I want to contribute in ...

Kin say freed American journalists have left Bahrain

Feb 17, 2016

Kin say freed American journalists have left Bahrain

An American journalist and her camera crew who were arrested in Bahrain and accused of participating in an illegal gathering have left the country after being released on Tuesday, their families said in a statement. Bahrain had said security forces arrested four U.S. citizens on ...

Jan 7, 2016

Truck bomb kills dozens at Libyan police training center

At least 65 people were killed on Thursday when one of Libya's worst truck bombs in years exploded at a police training center in the town of Zliten, local officials and hospital sources said. No group immediately claimed the attack, but the bombing was one ...

Nobel Peace Prize seen as boost for Tunisia's struggling democracy

Oct 10, 2015

Nobel Peace Prize seen as boost for Tunisia's struggling democracy

It was the fall of 2013 and Tunisia's newfound democracy was in grave danger. The assassination of a left-wing politician had prompted the opposition to walk out of the constitutional assembly. The government was paralyzed, the constitution unfinished and the country on the brink ...

Officials say two sons of Egypt's Mubarak freed from prison

Jan 27, 2015

Officials say two sons of Egypt's Mubarak freed from prison

The two sons of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were released from prison Monday, nearly four years after they were first arrested along with their father, authorities said. Security officials said the two, wealthy businessman Alaa and Mubarak's one-time heir apparent Gamal, walked free from ...

Jan 19, 2015

Building peace in the Arab world

Four years after the Arab Spring of hoped-for democratization, Japan needs to extend steady support for efforts to build peace in the Arab world and tolerance of diversified views and opinions.

Four years on, hoped for Arab Spring's aims elude

Dec 9, 2014

Four years on, hoped for Arab Spring's aims elude

It began with a spark, four years ago: An itinerant fruit seller, despairing of life in authoritarian Tunisia, set himself on fire and burned to death. It provoked a revolution, and the flames caught swiftly across a region that had known little but despotism ...

Landmark Tunisian presidential election seen heading for runoff

/ Nov 24, 2014

Landmark Tunisian presidential election seen heading for runoff

Tunisians have voted to pick their first directly elected president, with the two major parties expecting a run-off as the final step in the North African state's transition to full democracy following a 2011 revolution that ousted longtime ruler Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Official results ...