Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

November 23, 2008 3:11:34 AM CST


Ethiopia

Ethiopia news stories

20 Stories

 Ethiopian Tops 
 Own Marathon 
 Record 

Ethiopian breaks record in Berlin race

(AP) - Haile Gebrselassie broke his own marathon world record on Sunday, becoming the first runner to finish in under 2 hours, 4 minutes, the AP reports. The Ethiopian clocked 2:03:59 to win his third straight Berlin Marathon, beating the mark of 2:04:26 he set last year over the same flat course. He also became the first runner to win the race three times. More »

More about:  Ethiopia marathon Gebrselassie Berlin Marathon

 Brangelina Gives 
 $2M for Ethiopian HIV Clinic 

Center to be named for daughter Zahara, adopted from African nation

(Newser) - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt donated $2 million to establish a center to care for children affected by tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, People reports. The center will be named after daughter Zahara, 3, who they adopted from the African nation. "It is our hope when Zahara is older she will take responsibility of the clinic and continue its mission," Pitt said. More »

ANALYSIS

Biofuel Firms' African Land Grab Has Colonial Echoes

Western companies shower nations with promises met with some suspicion

(Newser) - Africa is being seeded for a coming boom in biofuels, as Western companies buy thousands of acres to cultivate vegetable-oil-rich plants like the Jatropha curcas, Der Spiegel reports. In countries like Tanzania, Ghana and Ethiopia, firms are often securing century-long farming rights for nothing but a promise to invest in local roads and schools. More »

More about:  Africa biofuel green technology Ethiopia Tanzania biodiesel Ghana colonialism

 HIV Adoptions From 
 Abroad on Rise 

Ethiopia leads nations on finding US homes

(Newser) - More US families are adopting HIV-infected children from overseas, primarily in Ethiopia, the AP reports. Stats from one international agency show 38 adoptions of infected Ethiopian children this year, up from 13 in 2007 and four in 2006. HIV adoptions have also increased in China, Ghana, Haiti, and Russia, say US adoption agencies, though at significantly lower numbers. More »

More about:  Africa public health HIV HIV/AIDS Ethiopia foreign adoptions

(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 »

More about:  China 2008 Beijing Olympics Kenya Beijing Ethiopia marathon Morocco running

Foreign Adoption
Getting Harder

Could be boon
for thousands in
US foster care

(Newser) - Heightened awareness of child trafficking and improving economies abroad are making it harder for Americans to adopt foreign kids. US officials are taking a closer look at visa applications and discouraging adoptions from countries that don’t comply with a new international adoption agreement, USA Today reports. At the same time, China, Russia, and South Korea have begun encouraging more domestic adoptions. More »

More about:  China Russia Africa South Korea adoption Ethiopia human trafficking foreign adoptions Liberia foster homes

US Airstrike
Kills al-Qaeda Boss in Somalia

Ayro led Iraq-style insurgency; at least 12 others dead

(Newser) - American war planes killed more than a dozen people in a town in the west of Somalia today, including one said to be the leader of that country's branch of al-Qaeda. Reuters reports that the airstrike on a band of Somali insurgents killed Aden Hashi Ayro, whose militants are blamed for an Iraq-style insurgency, complete with unprecedented suicide bombings, against the Somali military and its Ethiopian allies. More »

More about:  al-Qaeda Africa Somalia Ethiopia Horn of Africa Council of Islamic Courts

 Cheruiyot, Tune Win Boston 

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 »

More about:  Kenya Boston Ethiopia marathon Boston Marathon Robert Cheruiyot

10 Killed as Somalia Forces Battle Insurgents

Government fires on market as Somalia teeters on collapse

(Newser) - At least 10 people were killed and 35 seriously injured in Somalia’s capital yesterday as insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace, where Somalia’s president and Ethiopia’s foreign minister were meeting. The government responded by firing artillery shells and mortar in the direction of the attack, a crowded Bakara market that has served as a rebel base, reports the New York Times . More »

More about:  insurgents Somalia Ethiopia attack Islamist civil affairs

Ethiopia Forces Untrained Civilians Into War

Clerks, teachers, administrators sent into action against Ogaden rebels

(Newser) - Ethiopa's overstretched army is forcing untrained civilians into the bush to fight guerrillas, the New York Times reports. Office clerks, teachers, and other white-collar workers face imprisonment or torture if they refuse to comply, but many have been killed in battle, say aid workers. “We don’t know how to operate guns, but the government sent us to the front lines,” said one civil servant. More »

More about:  United Nations soldier Ethiopia humanitarian crisis

Law Firm's Lobbying
Dogs Giuliani

Company pushed law Bush opposed on anti-terror grounds

(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani's law firm lobbied Congress last year in favor of a law the White House said would undermine the war on terror, the New York Times reports. The firm represented Ethiopian political parties pushing for legislation to withhold American aid if their government doesn't share power. The administration supports the Ethiopian government as an ally against terrorism and considers the legislation detrimental to that effort. More »

More about:  Election 2008 George W. Bush Rudy Giuliani election lobbying Ethiopia

Foreign Adoptions
Down 15%

US families adopt fewer kids abroad due to
strict new policies

(Newser) - US adoptions from abroad have sunk for the third straight year, mostly because China and Russia have tougher policies, AP reports. A drop in adoptions from Haiti and South Korea have also added to the 15% decline since 2004. But a spike in adoptions from Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Vietnam have partly balanced the scales, experts say. More »

More about:  China Russia South Korea Vietnam babies Haiti adoption Ethiopia Guatemala foreign adoptions

1B Trees Take Root to Help Save Planet

Ethiopia, Mexico
lead UN agency's climate-change fight

(Newser) - A UN-sponsored initiative exceeded its goal of having one billion trees planted in 2007, AFP reports. Developing nations are leading the charge: Ethiopia tops the list with 700 million plantings, and Mexico, Kenya, Rwanda, and Myanmar all made substantial contributions. The UN Environment Program said it had confirmation of 1.56 billion trees planted, out of pledges for 2.24 billion. More »

More about:  climate change global warming Mexico Kenya Indonesia Ethiopia Wangari Maathai

Jolie's African Child Conceived in Rape, Mom Reveals

Says Zahara's lucky
to be with actress

(Newser) - The sickly Ethiopian baby adopted by actress Angelina Jolie was conceived after a knife-point rape, revealed the child's biological mother, Mentwabe Dawit, who said she's happy her daughter has found a good home. Her attacker "pulled a dagger, put one hand on my mouth so that I could not scream," raped her and disappeared, the 24-year-woman told Reuters. More »

More about:  rape Angelina Jolie adoption Ethiopia Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt