It is only recently that I have begun to enjoy eating pawpaws. As the saying goes, too much of everything is harmful. The story is a long one. Way back in the 1960s, I was a young boy in primary school, growing up in the then Njombe District in the Southern Highlands. My late father…

Rural Tanzania feels distant enough from the Strait of Hormuz that some who prefer farmland to skyscrapers feel insulated from the Middle East war. In Europe, the pain has been immediate, with rising fuel costs forcing major airlines such as Lufthansa to cancel up to 20,000 flights due to soaring jet fuel prices. It raises…

The Red-cheeked Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius), perched high in the trees called repeatedly for three days. Known for its habit as a brood parasite, like all other cuckoos, the bird does not build a nest or raise its young. Instead, the female lays her eggs in the nests of other species. Cuckoo eggs often resemble those…

The underworld of conspiracies is perhaps the most ‘comfortable’ zone of existence on earth. It is hard to believe that things just happen without a reason. Imagine a person travels by train across the United States and checks into a hotel with a cache of firearms where the President of the United States, would be…

We welcome our lovely readers to our weekly Health Diaries column, where we explore various disease-related topics, simplifying complex concepts for our audience. Seeing a child have convulsions can be frightening for any parent or caregiver. Convulsions, also known as seizures, occur when there is abnormal electrical activity in the brain, leading to sudden body…

News emerged from the “Africa We Build Summit 2026” held in Nairobi last week regarding a proposal to establish an oil refinery in Tanga. The facility would be jointly owned by oil-producing countries in the region. Questions have since been raised: How feasible is the project, what will happen to Uganda’s proposed refinery and above…

Most people ignore what they flush away. Yet your bowel habits may be the simplest daily report on your health—often more honest than many laboratory tests. Doctors commonly use the Bristol Stool Chart to describe stool form. The healthiest types are soft, smooth and easy to pass (Types 3–4). Hard, dry pellets suggest constipation, while…