A 37 year old man from Tanzania died on Monday after taking part in a drinking contest. The winning price was 10,000 shillings or 6.6 US dollars. The man passed away after consuming 1.5 liters  (or 50 oz.) of liquor (45 percent alcohol concentration). The incident occurred in the southeastern part if Tanzania. For more details, go here.

The challenge for a country like Tanzania boils down to a simple decision that involves assessing the opportunities versus the costs that might come back to haunt the administration in the long term. When poverty is as rampant and devastating as it is in Tanzania, when there is constant and urgent need for new jobs, and when the government is under pressure to encourage the economic activities of the private sector, there seems no other way but to accept that the environment will take the hit.

A group of American businessmen, investors and diplomats will tour Tanzania this summer where they will be joined by Tanzanian ambassador to the US, Mwanaidi Maajar, who will serve as their guide for the duration of their stay. The American businessmen are expected to explore investment opportunities in mining, power and tourism sectors. Last week, [...]

A military mutiny erupted in the West African country of Burkina Faso last week over unpaid allowances (the classic source of discontent among military personnel). Tens of thousands of people were protesting against the rising food prices at the time. The police forces are reported to having joined the protesters and the rebels are now [...]

Giraffe poaching is becoming a very lucrative business in Tanzania and a factor that might drive the local population of giraffes extinct.

Reuters ran a short news article on Friday citing Burundian officials who claimed that the number of mobile users in the country is now close to 1.7 millions. This is a huge improvement from 2008 when there were only 480,000 phone users in the country. U-com, owned by an Egyptian multinational company is the largest [...]

The 9th Africa Business Investment Forum is scheduled to begin its opening sessions on Monday morning in Dar es Salaam. The presidents of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi are expected to attend.  The sponsors of the event are Vodacom Tanzania, IPP Media, BOA Bank, Twiga Cement and Tanzania Breweries Limited. It appears that every [...]

The International Rescue Committee has issued a report claiming that “alarming numbers of Ivorian women and girls have been raped, sexually assaulted, beaten and harassed by armed men at home or as they were fleeing violence”. It appears that many of the women who fled Ivory Coast in the last four month decided to leave [...]

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is set to win tomorrow’s presidential elections in Africa’s largest oil producer. Goodluck is credited for pushing forward with the amnesty process in the Delta region which has led to a reduction in violent attacks among various ethnic groups. He took office in May of 2010 and he has been the acting [...]

Prosecutors issued a 15 day detention order for Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, and his sons. Yesterday, Mubarak was brought to hospital because of a ‘heart crisis’, a move that was seen by most Egyptians with sheer skepticism. In fact, some Egyptian journalists saw it as an attempt on Mubarak’s family to find a [...]