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BARBERINO VAL D’ELSA, TUSCANY— As a kid, I dreamed of traveling. My parents purchased a set of World Book encyclopedias when I was about 4 years old, and for more than a decade that was my conduit to other parts of the globe. I dreamed of far-off exotic lands and what they must be like: the people, the animals, the food. In …

The marks on the ground in the Namib desert resemble a vast sheet of polka dots, or to the less romantic observer, perhaps a bad case of chickenpox. In local myths, the bare, red circles fringed with grass are footprints of the gods, or patches of land once poisoned by the breath of a subterranean dragon. But even among scientists, …

Private messages that can disappear are being trialled by Facebook as it experiments with a new option for those using its Messenger app. They become hidden after a certain period of time chosen by the author, the firm said. It is part of a new “secret message” service having a limited trial, Facebook announced. Senders must choose one device to …