Italian police in major 'skunk' haul Police have stopped a major haul of 'skunk' marijuana reaching the Italian streets.

A long-standing protest against the construction of a high-speed rail link through the Italian Alps continued on Wednesday after the presentation of a report backing the feasibility of the project.

Some 200 protesters gathered outside municipal offices in the northern city of Turin where European Commission official Loyola De Palacio was set to present the report.

(ANSA) - A dozen or so people were taken to hospital for treatment after police moved in during the night and used force to break up a protest by residents against the building of a high-speed train link through an Alpine valley.

(ANSA) - A 105-year-old American woman paraglided here in the western Italian Alps for close to a half an hour and was sorry when her experience ended.

(ANSA) - The latest edition of an annual festival that is helping revive interest in northern Italy's Celtic roots kicked off at the foot of Mt Blanc on Thursday.

From the 16th to the 22nd of May a series of events are taking place in Valle d'Aosta as part of the "Culture Week" initiative, which is in its seventh year.