A news conference with Egypt's civil aviation minister has recently ended - but with as many new questions as answers, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond.

• It had earlier appeared that at least all passengers had been freed, but it is now stated that three remain on board along with crew members
• It was stated that no concrete demands have been made, but earlier reports clearly suggested the hijacker had asked to see his estranged wife
• The hijacker is said to have requested to divert the plane to Turkey or Cyprus - but again it is not clear why he would want to go to Turkey if he wanted to see his former wife in Cyprus

It had appeared that this crisis was coming to an end, our correspondent says - but this news conference suggests that it is far from resolved.

Cairo-based journalist Ruth Michaelson is quoting Egyptian officials as describing the hijacker as "an idiot".

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is in Japan signing "vital economic agreements", the state-owned Herald newspaper reports, external.

Deals include money to improve Zimbabwe's road infrastructure.

The AFP news agency says that Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to join Mr Mugabe's efforts to reform the United Nations.

Japan is competing with China and the US for influence on the continent - China's President Xi Jinping visited Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, at the end of last year.

Later this year, Kenya will be hosting the Tokyo International Conference on African Development - the first time the event is being held outside Japan.

Image source, Reuters

Aviation expert David Learmont tells the BBC that he believes that the pilot should not have followed the hijacker's instructions.

We have more quotes from the press conference given by Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades where he talks about the hijack of the EgyptAir plane.

The president laughed and then a reporter asked: "Can you confirm that everything was about a woman?"

The AFP news agency is quoting Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades as saying that "the hijacking is not terrorism-related".

Earlier it quoted a government source as saying that the hijacker had demanded to see his estranged wife, who lives in Cyprus. 

Image source, AFP

The BBC's Ranyah Sabry in Cairo says it appears all the hostages have been freed, and the hijacker is now on his own in the plane. Egyptian officials are due to hold a news conference shortly.

US foreign aid agency the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has suspended its partnership with Tanzania, criticising, external the government's handling of elections in the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar.

The MCC has released billions of dollars in US government grants to countries with the requirement that they demonstrate attempts to install "good governance" and other pro-democracy measures. 

"On March 20, 2016, Tanzania moved forward with a new election in Zanzibar that was neither inclusive nor representative, despite the repeated, externalconcerns, external of the US government and the international community," it said in a statement. 

October's elections were annulled after the opposition announced their own results, and the electoral commission said there were irregularities.

The agency also cited the government's failure to guarantee that the newly passed Cybercrimes Act "would not be used to limit freedom of expression and association, in light of arrests made during the elections".  

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's army has offered a 1m naira ($5,000, £3,500), external reward for information that could help in the rescue of Colonel Samaila Inusa, who was abducted in the northern state of Kaduna on Saturday.

A statement says that the colonel "was whisked away by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers".

The army does not say who it it thinks may be behind the kidnapping, but the BBC's Naziru Mikailu says it has been linked to criminal activity.

Image source, Nigeria Army

Cyprus broadcasting (CYBC) is suggesting the hijacker may have personal motives, Reuters is reporting. 

The hijacker had an ex-wife in Cyprus, CYBC said. Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter onto the airport tarmac, written in Arabic, asking for it to be delivered to her.  

Here's a summary of what we know at this time:

• A man hijacked an EgyptAir plane traveling from Alexandria to Cairo, forcing it to land in Cyprus. The plane began its journey in Saudi Arabia

• Most passengers have been released but at least four foreign passengers and the crew remain on board
• Egyptian state media has identified the hijacker as an Egyptian national
• Cyprus state media says he has demanded asylum in the country

• The hijacker was reportedly strapped with explosives, though this has not been confirmed

Image source, EPA

Cyprus radio is reporting that the EgyptAir hijacker has demanded asylum in Cyprus, according to AFP news agency. 

Image source, EPA

Dozens of passengers disembarked the plane at Larnaca, as this footage shows - leaving, according to the airline, only four foreign passengers and the crew on board.

The hijacker is from Egypt, the country's state news agency says. Other reports, however, have suggested the hijacker is a Libyan national. 

A Cyprus foreign ministry official tells Reuters news agency it is thought that there was one hijacker on board the plane.

The EgyptAir plane is at Cyprus's Larnaca airport.

The crew and four of the passengers are still on board, the airline says.

Image source, EPA

The airline has tweeted:

The BBC's Ranyah Sabry in Cairo says Egyptian officials say no demands or claims of responsibility have yet been made by the hijacker. She says it is unclear where he boarded the plane - whether at the last stop of Alexandria, or in Saudi Arabia where the plane originated.

Image source, Reuters

Between 30 and 40 passengers have been released from the hijacked plane, Cypriot state media report. 

BBC Radio 5 Live

Reports indicate that some passengers are being freed from the plane.

A journalist at the airport has told BBC Radio 5 live that passengers have come down the stairs of the plane carrying their luggage. They boarded a bus back to the main terminal buildings.