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A far-right and little-known NATO critic has won the first round of Romania's presidential election after polls predicted he would win less than 10% of the vote.Calin Georgescu, an independent candidate, won with a 22.95% share, seeing off the incumbent prime minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who had been the clear favourite to win the first round. Mr Georgescu, 62, will face off against reformist Elena Lasconi of the centre-right Save Romania Union in a run-off on 8 December. She won 19.17% of the vote.It is the first time in Romania's 35-year post-communist history that the leftist PSD has not had a candidate in the second round of a presidential race. Image: Elena Lasconi, the Save Romania Union party candidate f...

More than 30 pilot whales that washed up on a beachfront in New Zealand have been safely returned to the ocean by hundreds of people who lifted them on sheets.The whales stranded themselves on Ruakaka Beach near the city of Whangarei in New Zealand's north on Sunday, before conservation workers and members of the public helped return them to the water. Four of the pilot whales died, New Zealand's conservation agency said.A Maori cultural ceremony for the three adult whales and one calf that died took place on Monday, while a rescue team continued to monitor the water for more of the marine mammals. Image: Rescuers rope off an area around a dead pilot whale. Pic: AP Image: Res...

More than a dozen people are missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, officials have said.The boat, Sea Story, was carrying 45 people, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 14 crew.Authorities are searching for 17 people who are still missing, the governor of the Red Sea region said on Monday, adding that 28 people had been rescued.The vessel was part of a diving trip when it went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam.Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.The boat had departed from Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.Some survivors had been rescued using a helicopter, officials said.It was not immediately clear what caused the fo...

Israel is said to be edging closer to a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to reports.Israeli media outlets Haaretz, Walla, Ynet, Kan and American news website Axios reported both parties are getting closer to reaching a deal amid signs of progress in the US-led ceasefire talks. It is suggested Israel has agreed to large parts of a ceasefire deal - but not all of it, yet.An agreement could see an end to fighting that has seen more than 3,500 Lebanese killed and more than 15,000 injured in over a year.Any potential agreement would also reportedly allow hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border to gradually return home, Axios reported. It follows more airstrikes over the weekend which saw Hezbollah fire heavy rocket barrages at Israel on Sunday.Israel'...

At least one person was killed when a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house in Lithuania this morning. One other person was taken to hospital after the aircraft smashed into a two-storey home near Vilnius Airport around 5.30am local time (3.30am UK time), Lithuania's public broadcaster said. All of the residents in the house survived. Image: Pic: AP Image: Pic: AP The cargo plane, which was operated by Madrid-based contractor Swiftair, was flying from Leipzig in Germany, the Lithuanian airport authority said.It posted on X that city services including a fire truck were on site and did not immediately offer a cause for the crash. Flight-tracking data from Fl...

A Russian plane carrying 95 people caught fire after landing at Antalya airport in Turkey on Sunday, but all passengers and crew were safely evacuated.The Sukhoi Superjet 100 type aircraft, run by Azimuth Airlines, had taken off from Sochi and was carrying 89 passengers and six crew members, Turkey's transportation ministry said in a statement. The pilot made an emergency call after the aircraft landed at 9.34pm local time and the engine caught fire. Image: Pic: Hava Sosyal Medya Airport rescue and firefighting crews quickly extinguished the fire and no one was hurt, according to the statement.The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Videos of the blaze show emergency vehicles rushing toward a burning plane.The tran...

Warning: This articles contains references to suicideScott picks up a rifle and walks to an open window that overlooks the fast-flowing river. He takes aim at an invisible target, rests the gun's barrel on the window sill and shakes his head. "I can't do this any more," he says, his voice faltering. The mop of shaggy, grey hair hints at Scott's age. In his 60s, he has a sturdy build and walks with a slight limp. When he was younger he spent his free time shooting, fishing and canoeing. But these days, Scott doesn't have the energy for outdoor pursuits. Instead, he lies on his sofa all day "paralysed with fear"."I'm tortured," he says. "It's a feeling that's always there."Scott's depression and anxiety spirals into suicidal thoughts several times a week. The panic attacks started in 1984, s...