Sarah Rainsford Eastern Europe correspondent EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Imagine having a president called Nicky. That’s what Romanians just voted for: a softly-spoken, slightly geeky mathematician who everyone refers to by his first name, Nicusor – or Nicky. On Monday, hours after claiming victory in the elections, the new president picked up his daughter from school as usual.

Love Taupō Some have called it an “eyesaur”. Many more have described it as “fabulous”. But one word Boom Boom, a seven-metre tall stainless steel dinosaur sculpture in New Zealand, could never be associated with is “boring”. Just days after the sauropod statue was installed in Taupō Sculpture Park, in the scenic centre of New

There is a mix of stories on Tuesday’s front pages, but UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s condemnation of Israel’s “intolerable” bombing of Gaza is prominently featured. The Daily Mirror declares “this must end now” in their lead story paired with an image of a malnourished four-month-old baby in Gaza. The paper spotlights Lammy’s message to

Rushdi Abualouf Gaza correspondent James Chater BBC News, London Reuters Israel has intensified its offensive on Gaza in recent days At least 38 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip during a half-hour period overnight, according to Palestinian medics. Israeli warplanes struck several locations, including a school in

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Democratic senators sparred Tuesday over the Trump administration’s foreign policies, ranging from Ukraine and Russia to the Middle East, Latin America, the slashing of the U.S. foreign assistance budget and refugee admissions. US State Secretary Marco Rubio defended the administration’s decisions to his former colleagues during a Senate Foreign

Brandon Livesay BBC News, reporting from court in New York City Jane Rosenberg /Reuters Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes testifies at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial in New York City, An exotic dancer called The Punisher discovered his client’s identity when he turned on a hotel suite television before an encounter and the screen

Hugh Schofield Paris correspondent FRENCH PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE The contraband phones are the size of a cigarette lighter French authorities have launched a nationwide hunt for thousands of tiny Chinese-made telephones used by convicts to continue criminal activities from inside prison. The telephones, no bigger than a cigarette-lighter, are almost entirely plastic, and have a reputation

Getty Images Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Canary Islands complaining of over-tourism The Spanish government has called for the removal of the listings of nearly 66,000 properties on rental platform Airbnb on the grounds that they breach regulations for tourist accommodation. The clampdown comes as protests against over-tourism have begun ahead

Sarah Rainsford BBC Rome correspondent Ukrainian presidency handout Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky met Pope Leo at the Vatican earlier this week Italy has backed President Donald Trump’s suggestion the Vatican might mediate talks on negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine, while he appears keen to step back from the process himself. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said

UK-Israeli relations have plunged to their worst state for decades after the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, suspended negotiations over a new free trade deal, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellant, monstrous and extremist. He also said wider talks about a future bilateral strategic roadmap with Israel were

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US The suspect in the fatal car bomb attack on a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, posted a string

D-Wave Quantum (QBTS 30.49%) stock was soaring Tuesday morning, up by 27.6% through 10:46 a.m. ET, after the company announced the “general availability” of its new Advantage2 quantum computer. The company’s sixth generation of its “annealing quantum computer,” D-Wave says, “is production-ready” and delivers “significant performance gains over the previous D-Wave Advantage system.” Image source: