Clare Kendall is mesmerised by the unusual beauty of flamingos and the many other jaw-dropping sights of Tanzania.

There is also nothing moderate about a government instituting a system of torture against political dissidents.

The wave of protests across the Middle East and North Africa don't yet constitute revolution and real democratic change may be decades away, Auckland University associate professor Stephen Hoadley says.

Labour MP Ruth Dyson, accused of ramping up travel just before a perk for MPs was axed, says she will pay back the cost of her holiday to Ethiopia.

Negotiations are continuing for the release of the sister of an Auckland man and her partner who were taken hostage by Somali pirates, with a friend of the couple hopeful a resolution will be reached soon.

A Kiwi in Egypt says it's becoming clear Hosni Mubarak's resignation was a military coup, and wonders how keen the military will be to create a real democracy.

It's that time of year again when we're compelled to buy a sentimental card for our loved ones and go out for a set-menu meal - or wallow in our singledom.

Cellphone entrepreneur tries again, with venture targeting emerging markets.

Check out what's being said online about Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's shock decision to resign.

The White House is adamant that genuine and rapid change is needed in Egypt.

Violence and bloodshed could break out in a massive protest march on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's palace tomorrow, a New Zealander in Cairo reports.

Jill Worrall visits the carvings of Wadi Methkandoush, which have been incised into the rocky walls of a valley about 400km due south of Libya's capital Tripoli.

New Zealand news cameraman Olaf Wiig has been hurt dodging a molotov cocktail in Egypt as he covered riots for Fox News.

NZ's forest ecosystems are the second most threatened in the world and house only 5 per cent of their original habitat, according to an international report.