Ethiopian Tops Own Marathon Record

Shaves 29 secs off previous men's marathon best

(NEWSER) - Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie set a new world record at the Berlin marathon today, beating the previous record of close friend Paul Tergat by 29 seconds. Tergat called to congratulate his rival 10 minutes after he crossed the finish line. The champion’s response? “Sorry, Paul, try next year” reports the New Y ork Times. More»

(AP) - Samuel Wanjiru pulled away over the final few kilometers to become the first Kenyan in the storied running history of that nation to win an Olympic marathon. The 21-year-old negotiated the 26.2-mile course through Beijing streets in bright Sunday morning sunshine in an Olympic record of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds. This was just the third marathon for Wanjiru, who twice broke the world half-marathon record last year. More»

Kenyan racks up 4th victory; Ethiopian triumphs in closest women's finish

(NEWSER) - Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya became the fourth man to win the Boston Marathon four times today, crossing the finish line on 2:07:46, 32 seconds slower than his own course record, the AP reports. Dire Tune of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 2:22:25, squeaking past Russian Alevtina Biktimirova by just 2 seconds in the tightest women's finish ever. More»

Ethiopia's population of the trees that produce it are dying

(NEWSER) - Gold and myrrh could one day find themselves a duo: Frankincense may soon be extinct. The tree that the perfumed resin is sourced from—boswellia papyrifera—grows mainly in northern Ethiopia ... or traditionally has. Today, as many as 7% of the trees there are dying annually, according to researchers, who also found that seedlings are not maturing. In a paper published today, the researchers explain that in the next 15 years, frankincense production could plummet by as much as half, with only 10% of the scraggly trees surviving over the next 50 years. And that, says a researcher, means "the frankincense population is doomed." More»

African countries should seize president 'responsible for torture'

(NEWSER) - George W. Bush should be arrested for his role in waterboarding, Amnesty International says, and his trip to Africa presents an opportunity for that. “International law requires that there be no safe haven for those responsible for torture; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia must seize this opportunity to fulfill their obligations and end the impunity George W. Bush has so far enjoyed,” the human rights organization said. (It's not the first time .) More»