Latest from Romania

Escape the tourist traps and malaise of Europe and head East. You'll thank us.

'I thank God I am alive. I have energy to play with my boys,' says Sione Vaiomoʻunga.

Court refuses to overturn a man's death certificate, even though he appeared in person.

Ailing Tongan player Sione Vaiomounga is set to be given the gift of life.

These chilling photographs reveal what was once a glamorous establishment fit for a king.

Amir Khalil puts his life on the line to rescue animals in need as director of Four Paws.

New Zealand's 10 medals at the Invictus Games has already surpassed our previous record.

Globe-trotting gang locked up after living the high life on $100,000 withdrawn with stolen ATM cards.

A Romanian weather girl caused quite a stir by almost slipping out of her dress on live TV, as this cheeky video shows.

Instead of getting down on one knee a man in Romania delivered a shock proposal to his bewildered girlfriend using masked hijackers.

It's got hints of Hobbiton, but this whimsical hotel's a long way from Matamata.

If you're looking for a holiday home with a spooky twist, this could be the property of your dreams - or maybe nightmares.

A 44-year-old kiwi tourist has drowned in the Black Sea, in a coastal town in south-east Romania.

Justin Capra claimed to have beaten the Americans to make the world's first jetpack and went on to design dozens of vehicles.

Even bloodthirsty Count Dracula likes a sundowner now and then, learns Kevin Pilley.

"I placed the suitcase containing the paintings in the stove." The mum of an art heist suspect says she "destroyed any evidence" - quite permanently.

Bucharest was founded by a shepherd, according to local legend, and was later nicknamed the Paris of the East.

The Romanian capital is home to two million people, with a cityscape that ranges from rundown grandeur to communist monstrosities and sleek modernism. It hums with a cosy, vibrant and seductive Byzantine charm

A group of Romanians have been prevented from entering New Zealand amid suspicions they were planning a crime spree down Auckland's Queen St.

Romania's fascinating capital city is a contradictory cityscape with ancient churches next to crumbling Communist-era flats; deserted shopfronts with broken windows next to vibrant cafes; sophisticated hipsters texting on iPhones and sharing the footpath with packs of feral dogs.

Bucharest is a fascinating city of old and new, writes Laurie Hertzel.