Political unrest in Egypt could mean Kiwis paying more at the petrol pump, after oil prices climbed to their highest point in 28 months.

A New Zealander who managed to flee the turmoil in Egypt says he feared for his safety, and getting a flight out had been "a bit of a gamble". "I just was trying my best to remain calm. It's rather nerve-wracking to have gunfire and so on

For a seventh day, protesters have flooded downtown Cairo, rejecting a new government under President Hosni Mubarak.

It's hard not to feel both hope and trepidation at what is unfolding in Egypt, writes Herald foreign desk editor Nicola Lamb.

Diplomats in Cairo are doing all they can to help New Zealanders leave Egypt, Prime Minister John Key said today, while families here are fearing for their loved ones who remain in the crisis-torn country.

Kiwis with relatives in crisis-torn Egypt say they are worried about what might happen next. More than 100 people have been killed and thousands injured in anti-government riots as protesters demand that President Mubarak resigns.

Cocoa prices shot up this week after the Ivory Coast said it was contemplating an export ban.

Three lionesses pounced on a crocodile - and a tourist caught it all on camera.

The French Government may have made a major error of judgment by helping Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali stay in power for so long.

Rioters ran amok yesterday in the central Nigerian city of Jos.

Fourteen civilians have been killed in clashes with Tunisian police.

Southern Sudan looks to have voted for secession from the Arab-led north of the country.

A car exploded in front of a Coptic Christian church as worshippers emerged from a New Year's Mass in the Egyptian city of Alexandria early Saturday, killing at least seven people, officials said.