3 skiers killed, 5 hurt in avalanche in Italian Alps

Italian alpine rescuers say three skiers have been killed in avalanche in the northern Italian Alps near the French border that injured another five people.

Milan Walter of the national alpine rescue corps says the group was back-country skiing when the avalanche was triggered at Plan de la Gabba, 5 kilometers (3 miles) southwest of Courmayeur, around midday. The dead included an Italian, a German and a Belgian, according to police.

Swiss inaugurate $12 billion rail tunnel, world's longest

Just like Hannibal in ancient times, Swiss engineers have conquered the Alps.

More than 2,200 years after the commander from the ancient North African civilization of Carthage led his army of elephants and troops over Europe's highest mountain chain, the Swiss have completed another gargantuan task: Burrowing the world's longest railway tunnel under the Swiss Alps to improve European trade and travel.