by Donovan McGrath

Five dead after helicopter crash on Mount Kilimanjaro
(Daily Mail online – UK) Extract: The Tanzania National Parks Authority said the victims were a Tanzanian guide Innocent Mbaga, a 32-yearold doctor Jimmy Daniel, a Zimbabwean pilot living in Tanzania Constantine Mazonde, 42 and two Czech tourists, David Plos and Anna Plosova, both 30, who were on board the Airbus helicopter when it crashed. The helicopter crashed near the mountain’s Barafu camp … Tanzania’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The Mwananchi newspaper and East Africa TV, citing Kilimanjaro region’s head of police, reported that the helicopter was on a medical rescue mission before it crashed. Musa Kuji, the commissioner for Tanzania National Parks, told reporters that the Czech tourists had been on a six-day trip … They were on their descent from the mountain when the helicopter crashed around the Barafu Camp area in Kilimanjaro National Park, Mr Kuji said. Meanwhile, the Aviation Authority announced … that an investigation had been launched, in accordance with international aviation safety standards, to determine the circumstances and probable cause of the crash. Although around 50,000 tourists climb Kilimanjaro annually, aircraft accidents are rare on Mount Kilimanjaro, with the last recorded incident in November 2008, when four people died. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, is nearly 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level. The crash happened between 4,670 and 4,700 metres, Mwananchi reported. The helicopter belonged to a company called Kilimedair, officials said. The company’s website says it offers a speedy descent service for climbers who have reached Kilimanjaro’s peak and find the ‘traditional two-day descent’ challenging, offering flights that allow them to ‘skip the long trek’. (25 December 2025)

Newly identified species of Tanzanian tree toad leapfrog the tadpole stage and give birth to toadlets
(CNN online -USA) Extract: Scientists have newly described three extraordinary species of tree toad that leapfrog over the egg-totadpole stage. The females give birth on land to dozens of toadlets, each measuring just a few millimetres long. Live birth, or skipping the egg-laying and larva stage, is extremely rare in amphibians. Among nearly 8,000 species of frogs and toads, fewer than 1% are viviparous, or bear live young. This strategy may have evolved as an adaptation in habitats lacking easy access to water where frogs and toads typically lay their eggs, the study authors reported. “Describing these new species that give birth to live young is fascinating and helps us understand the evolutionary flexibility of amphibians, one of the most diverse and ecologically sensitive groups of vertebrates,” said Dr. Diego José Santana, curator of amphibians and conservation ecologist at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History… The three varieties of tree toad from Tanzania were previously classified as one species: Nectophrynoides viviparus. However, when scientists analysed the physical traits and genetic data of hundreds of museum specimens, along with vocal recordings of toads in their habitats, they determined that the three types of toad were separate species in the Nectophrynoides genus. These newly described species provide researchers with a clearer picture of the diversity in tree toads that bear live young and could help to conserve them… Toads that reproduce in water lay an impressive number of eggs – in some cases about 20,000 in a single clutch. “They can do that every couple of weeks,” said Dr. Mark Scherz, senior author of the study published … in the journal Vertebrate Zoology. “They lay those eggs and they develop into teeny, tiny, tadpoles, of which only a fraction ever make it out of the pond,” … Live birth, in which the eggs are fertilized internally, by comparison, yields toad broods that are significantly smaller: around 40 to 60 toadlets. “The maximum we’ve ever recorded was, I believe, over 160 fully developed toadlets inside one individual,” he added… In 1905, German herpetologist Gustav Tornier found and described the first viviparous toad species,N. viviparus, in Tanzania. They measure no more than 1.5 inches (37 millimetres) long, have slender fingers with rounded discs at the tips, and glandular masses (sometimes referred to as “warts”) on their limbs. The toads come in a variety of hues, including white, pale grey, buttery yellow, caramel brown, earthy red or black. Scientists have since identified more than a dozen Nectophrynoides species that bear live young. N viviparus is the most widespread species in the genus and the only one found in Southern Highlands of Tanzania as well as the country’s Eastern Arc Mountains, where all other Nectophrynoides species live… (14 November 2025)

The TAZARA turns 50
(Al Jazeera online – Qatar) Riding the troubled railway line between Tanzania and Zambia as China moves to rebuild it. Extract continues: Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia – In Dar-es-Salaam’s train station, hundreds of passengers sat amid piles of luggage as a listless breeze blew through the open windows. Shortly before their scheduled 3:50pm departure on the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority’s (TAZARA) Mukuba Express train, an update crackled over the tannoy: the train would be leaving two hours late. A collective groan rippled through the crowd, and under the soaring roof of the station, pigeons darted back and forth, disappearing into holes left from rotted-out ceiling tiles. But nobody was really surprised. Given the train’s reputation for unreliable service, the passengers knew a two-hour delay for the TAZARA was practically on time. The railway runs from Tanzania’s largest city through the country’s southern highlands and across the border into Zambia’s copper provinces, finally pulling into the town of Kapiri Mposhi some 1,860 kilometres (1,156 miles) away. It’s a journey that, according to the official timetables, should take about 40 hours. For regular passengers, it’s a cheap way to reach parts of the country that are not located near main highways. For foreign tourists, it’s a unique way to see Tanzania’s landscapes far from the bustling cities and overcrowded safari parks, provided they are not in a hurry. A first-class sleeper car all the way to Mbeya, a travel hub and border town just to the east of Zambia, surrounded by lush mountains and coffee farms, is just over $20… [The] railroad celebrated its 50th anniversary, but it has struggled for most of its existence requiring foreign investment for basic upkeep and failing to haul the amount of freight it was built to carry. Inconsistent maintenance and limited investment have seen its infrastructure and cars deteriorate from decades of use. It’s hard to determine exactly where a trip on the TAZARA will be at any given time, due to the myriad delays and breakdowns that randomise each journey. Simple derailments from poorly loaded cars and deteriorating tracks are common, and then there’s the occasional unfortunate brush with nature … [the] service was cancelled after a passenger train struck an African buffalo while passing through Tanzania’s Mwalimu Julius Nyerere National Park. But since the beginning of 2025, the TAZARA has been plagued by more serious incidents – and fatalities that reveal the desperate need for an overhaul of both ageing infrastructure and poor safety management. In April, two locomotives being moved from Zambia to a workshop in Mbeya for repairs derailed at a bridge in southern Tanzania, killing both drivers. Two months later, in June, a train derailed in Zambia and was then struck by the “rescue train” dispatched to assist it. The collision killed one TAZARA employee and injured 10 staff and 19 passengers, according to a media release from the railway. Citing “unexpected operational challenges,” passenger service was briefly suspended … As it turned out, the few operational locomotives the TAZARA could field were stuck in Tanzania, after a fire damaged one of the hundreds of bridges along the track. But big improvements for TAZARA are on the horizon, thanks to a major investment by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), which has pledged $1.4bn to refurbish the ageing rail line over the next three years… Most of the money will be spent on rehabilitating the tracks, but $400m will go toward 32 new locomotives and 762 wagons, “significantly increasing freight and passenger transport capacity,” according to a TAZARA statement. In return, the Chinese state-owned corporation will receive a 30-year concession to run the TAZARA railway and recoup its investment before turning day-to-day management back over to Tanzanian and Zambian authorities… In the 1970s, the Chinese government invested in the TAZARA project – when Western nations wouldn’t – as a symbolic gesture towards former colonial and now-independent nations, hoping to spread goodwill and communist thought through cooperation and development. Now, infrastructure projects are more explicitly tied to financial outcomes. The scramble for copper in Zambia to fuel the development of green technology, electric cars, and more means repairing the TAZARA and increasing its reliability will facilitate the flow of copper ore to Chinese ports and factories. Throughout its life, the TAZARA has underperformed, moving a fraction of its design freight capacity of 5 million tonnes of cargo per year – currently, that number is about 500,000 instead. With the planned improvements, Chinese investors hope to quadruple that number to move two million tonnes of cargo annually along the railway. Many Tanzanians use the train for business as well, though on a much smaller scale. The passenger trains include room for cargo, and cheap goods from Dar-es-Salaam can be easily sent to towns and villages along the line. . . [What] is likely the real goal of China’s latest investment[?] While official statements from TAZARA and CCECC focus broadly on rehabilitation and efficient service, the railway’s core purpose – linking Zambia’s Copperbelt to Dar-es-Salaam’s port – makes copper exports the obvious driver… [Improved] timetables for passenger service, are likely secondary goals to those involved in the refurbishment project… [Representatives] from China, Tanzania and Zambia met in Lusaka to inaugurate the agreed-upon project, and promised a prosperous future for all involved. The revitalisation has started at Kapiri Mposhi, with an announcement of “boots on the ground” on TAZARA social media accounts, with pictures of a Zambian work crew lowering a new section of rail into place. Though the investment from China means ceding control of the TAZARA for three decades, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema highlighted the potential upside of a new economic corridor, and focused on the people who have lived along the nearly 2,000km of railroad for generations. “This is your asset,” he told them. “Look after it from Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia all the way up to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.” (28 December 2025)

Chronic water shortages dampen holiday mood in Tanzania’s biggest city
(BBC News online – UK) At first light in Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam, some of its six million residents begin their day with a frantic search for water. Extract continues: Christmas is approaching, but the festive mood is dampened by the dry pipes, as the city experiences serious water shortages. In some homes, plastic containers are stacked outside the door, ready to be carried at a moment’s notice whenever word spreads that a nearby tap is flowing again. City authorities ration water. Homes get it once a week, but the wait can stretch for weeks for some families. The crisis, caused by a drought and rising demand, has persisted for months. Many people are forced to turn to private vendors, who source their water from boreholes and tanks. They are a respite for thousands of families, but their high costs are a heavy burden to low-income households… Furaha Awadhi, a mother of two living in Tegeta on the outskirts of the city, says the price of water has risen from $4 (£3) for 1,000 litres to $10… Unlike many other major Tanzanian cities, Dar es Salaam has been particularly vulnerable to the failure of the October to December rainy season. Even Dodoma, which often receives little rainfall throughout the year, is less affected thanks to its man-made dams. In contrast, Dar es Salaam lacks a nearby freshwater source … Much of the city’s drinking water (about 70%) comes from the Ruvu River, whose flow is closely linked to seasonal rainfall inland… “When water is scarce, everything else stops. . . The government has acknowledged the severity of the problem. Water Minister Juma Aweso told the BBC that Dar es Salaam’s dependence on rainfall-fed rivers had left it particularly exposed. (24 December 2025)

Israel has confirmed Hamas handed over the remains of deceased Tanzanian hostage Joshua Mollel […] under the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal.
The Israel prime minister’s office said that, following the completion of forensic tests at the National Centre of Forensic Medicine, the foreign ministry had informed the 21-year-old student’s family. Mollel was undertaking an agricultural internship in southern Israel when Hamasled gunmen attacked on 7 October 2023. He was killed at Kibbutz Nahal Oz and his body was then taken by fighters. His return means six deceased hostages – five Israelis and one Thai – are still in Gaza. “The government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Mollel family and all the families of the fallen hostages,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said … The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel said: “Amid their grief and the knowledge that their hearts will never fully heal, Joshua’s return offers some comfort to a family that has endured unbearable uncertainty for over two years.” Before handing over Mollel’s remains to the Red Cross in Gaza … Hamas’s military wing said that it had recovered a hostage’s body in the eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City… (6 November 2025)

China, Tanzania reaffirm longstanding friendship, pledge deeper cooperation
(Xinhua News Agency – China) Extract: China and Tanzania are friends with a shared future, and the friendship forged and nurtured by leaders of the older generation remains the most valuable spiritual asset of the two countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said … Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Hassan asked Wang to convey her New Year greetings and best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping. She thanked China for its strong support for Tanzania’s development under the framework of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation. The Tanzanian side firmly adheres to the one-China principle, Hassan said, adding that Tanzania is ready to align its development plans with China’s, deepen practical cooperation, advance the revitalization of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway and the building of a regional prosperity belt, strengthen inter-party exchanges, expand people-to-people interactions, and promote economic growth so as to bring benefits to the two peoples. Hassan spoke highly of the four major global initiatives proposed by Xi, saying that Tanzania stands ready to enhance multilateral coordination with China and jointly promote a more just and equitable global governance system. The Chinese foreign minister conveyed Xi’s cordial greetings to Hassan, saying that China and Tanzania are friends with a shared future. The friendship between the two countries was forged and nurtured by leaders of the older generation, has withstood the test of changing international circumstances, and remains a most valuable spiritual asset, he said… (12 January 2026)