Ethiopian breaks world record

Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia has become the first man under the sun to run under two hours and four minutes on Sunday. He breaks his own world record of 2:04:26 he set in Berlin, Germany 12 months ago. The sprinter clocked two hours three minutes 59 seconds in his new record.The 35-year-old was inside the required pace from the start and at the halfway stage was already 25 seconds faster than his split time last year, the Reuters news agency said. The respected runner backed out of the Beijing Olympics last month due to pollution concerns.He beat his final challenger, James Kwambai with around six kilometres left and his victory was never in doubt. The report said “Gebrselassie’s preparation for the event was affected by a calf muscle cramp but he said the perfect weather conditions and the support of the crowd helped him make light of the problem.””Everything was perfect,” Gebrselassie, a twice Olympic 10,000 metres champion, told German TV after crossing the line on a sunny but cool Berlin morning. “The weather was perfect, the race was perfect and the crowd was perfect.”"I felt like I was running in a stadium,” he added at a later news conference. “The supporters were so good they helped me feel all the time like I was starting afresh. “And really, this was once-in-a-lifetime weather. You must remember that.”Kwambai was second in 2:05:36, with fellow Kenyan Charles Kamathi third in 2:07:48. Irina Mikitenko of Germany won the women’s race in 2:19:19.

Namibian axed from Big Brother show

Namibian housemate Lucille Naobes on Sunday became the second housemate to be evicted in the Big Brother Africa III taking place in South Africa. Lucille was nominated alongside Angola’s housemate Ricco Venancio and Nigeria’s Uti Nwachukwu last week Monday however she failed to stand the test.She received nominations from 10 countries including the 13th vote from the rest of Africa whereas Ricco had no vote with Uti receiving two votes from Angola and Namibia. The Namibian housemate’s eviction is the second following Tanzania’s Latoya Lyakurwa.Lucille in an interview after the eviction with presenter of the show Kabelo Ngakane aka KB said she had feelings that she was going out. “I knew I was going out. I am happy that I have interacted with friends from Africa. I have tasted new food and learned new things,” she said amidst tears. Other housemates who reacted after Lucille’s eviction included Uti who hit items and Ghana’s Mimi who cried and questioned as to why the Namibia housemate was evicted. There are 12 nations battling it out for the cash prize of US$ 100,000, which will see the housemates spending 91 days.The eviction show was spiced up by a performance from Ghana’s Irene and Jane. Last year’s BBA II winner was Tanzania’s Richard.

Egypt: Joy as 11 hostages freed

Eleven Western tourists and their Egyptian guides kidnapped in a remote border region of Egypt are now free. Abducted 10 days ago, the five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian and their guides are said to be in good health.The news broke on Egyptian state television and confirmed by the Italian officials, the BBC reported. They have been taken to a military base in the capital, Cairo. “Our compatriots are free, and they are with Egyptian forces,” said Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.No details were given on the circumstances of their release. The kidnappers had demanded that Germany take charge of payment of an $8.8m (£4.9m) ransom. The news said it is unclear if any payment was exchanged.The abductees had been touring in an area well off the beaten track but a messy end to this crisis would not have been good for the health of the Egpytian economy, the news network said.