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The isolated mountain hamlet of Chamois is proof that it's possible to get to another world in just five minutes. The Italian village on the steep slopes of the Aosta Valley in north-west Italy is the country's only town not accessible by car.

The US Supreme Court has stayed the execution of Texas inmate John Henry Ramirez, who requested the right to have his pastor hold him as he died. Ramirez argued a Texas policy of not allowing spiritual advisers to touch inmates during execution violated his right to practise religion.

Alarms have gone off on board the International Space Station after the crew reported smoke and the smell of burning plastic. The incident centred on the Russian-built Zvezda module which provides living quarters, Russian media report.

At around 1,100 years old, and almost 11m (36ft) in girth, the Big Belly Oak is the oldest tree in Savernake Forest in south-west England.

Almost 60% of oil and gas reserves and 90% of coal must remain in the ground to keep global warming below 1.5C, scientists say. The forecast is based on close analysis of global energy supply and demand.

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes "lied and cheated" for money and fame prosecutors alleged on the first day of the former Silicon Valley star's trial. Ms Holmes faces 12 fraud charges over her role at the now-defunct blood-testing firm which was once worth $9bn.

An imposing statue of an American Confederate general in Richmond, Virginia, has been taken down. Governor Ralph Northam announced it would come down amid national protests after the death of George Floyd.

When you hear the word "shapeshifting" you probably think of a sci-fi or horror film, and not the climate. But that's what scientists say is happening to some animals in response to climate change.

When Spanish bishop Xavier Novell resigned last month, the Roman Catholic Church cited strictly personal reasons without going into detail. It has now emerged in Spanish media that he fell in love with a woman who writes Satanic-tinged erotic fiction.

The Taliban have announced a new government from Kabul, 20 years after they were driven from power. For a generation that grew up with education, international investment and hope in a democratic future, reading that line must feel scarcely believable.

It was sweltering inside the nightclub where Alexander was DJing, in the US state of Virginia. Though it was more than 40°C outside, the club’s air conditioning was broken.

Six minor girls in central India were stripped and paraded naked as part of a village ritual to summon rains. The incident took place in a drought-parched village in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh state.

It was 1971 when Rick Doblin first took LSD. A Saturday afternoon in Florida, a few weeks into his freshman year.

"When you start coding, it makes you feel smart in itself, like you're in the Matrix [film]," says Janine Luk, a 26 year-old software engineer who works in London.Born in Hong Kong, she started her career in yacht marketing in the south of France but found it "a bit repetitive and superficial".

Jean-Paul Belmondo's battered face, laconic style and roguish smile captured the imagination of French 1960s youth. Belmondo, who has died at his Paris home aged 88, was the cool rebel of the new wave of French cinema typified in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film classic, A Bout de Souffle.

As coronavirus cases surged in the city of Austin, Texas, last June, beleaguered public health officials instructed anyone with symptoms to act as though they had Covid-19.

John Oliver discusses ransomware attacks, why they’re on the rise, and what can be done about them. Connect with Last Week Tonight online... Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel for more almost news as it almost happens: www.youtube.com/lastweektonight Find Last Week Tonight on

Tuna are starting to recover after being fished to the edge of extinction, scientists have revealed. Numbers are bouncing back following a decade of conservation efforts, according to the official tally of threatened species.

Two divers are presumed to have died after they failed to return to the surface while exploring a wreck off the Cornwall coast. The pair were diving around the HMS Scylla which was sunk in 2004 to create an offshore reef.

China's ban on cryptocurrency mining has forced bitcoin entrepreneurs to flee overseas. Many are heading to Texas, which is quickly becoming the next global cryptocurrency capital.

I'd always thought I was pretty good at keeping my personal data safe, but I was wrong. My personal files were backed up onto two HDD external hard drives, and in the space of 24 hours in July, both drives failed.

The Taliban have swept through Afghanistan with remarkable speed. But as they sit in Kabul planning their new government, there remains a large thorn in their side: a small valley of anti-Taliban resistance just north-east of the capital, refusing to give up despite being entirely surrounded.

Pop legends Abba have surprised and delighted fans by announcing their first studio album for 40 years. Abba Voyage will be released in November, before a "revolutionary" set of concerts where virtual avatars will play hits like Mamma Mia and Waterloo.

When I was three years old, my parents took me to see Abba: The Movie at Hampstead's Classic Cinema. At that age, I was already a rabid fan. I'd learned Nina, Pretty Ballerina on recorder (sorry, neighbours) and my nursery school teacher was concerned that I kept writing the letter B backwards.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it is investigating a deviation in the trajectory of Sir Richard Branson's recent spaceflight. The British billionaire fulfilled his life's dream on 11 July by riding his Virgin Galactic rocket plane, Unity, above 85km (52 miles) in altitude.