In Italy, demonstrators clashed with police in Roma today as tens of thousands of mostly young people march to protest all-time high jobless rates, welfare cuts, and a shortage in low income housing. More than 4,000 riot police were deployed in the streets. 15 people were arrested. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli has more from Roma. 

 

Many shops close down as young demonstrators march through the streets holding banners against a record high 40% rate in youth unemployment. They also protest against government cuts to welfare programs like affordable housing and high speed train linked to France, they say as draining money from social services. Who did protesters infiltrated the mostly peaceful march, turning over trash cans in front of the economy ministry and setting some on fire. They threw smoke bombs, eggs and bottles at the ministry. Police defused a large firework with a bullet inside and said two officers were injured in the clashes. Sylvia Poggioli NPR NEws, Roma. 

 

Northeast of San Francisco, two transit workers were struck and killed by an auto service commuter train. The bay area rapid transit agency says the workers were performing track inspections and the BART train was on a routine maintenance run under automatic computerized control. The accident comes on the second day of a BART strike, that brought no sign of a bargain today. The union wants unsolved issues to go to arbitration. Management says they only go to an arbitrator to deal with the entire contract. 

 

Emergency crews in  Alberta, Canada are containing a dangerous train derailment and fire. The train was hauling liquified natural gas and crude oil. As Dan Karpenchuk reports a small community west of Edmonton has been evacuated. 

 

Officials in Alberta have declared a state of emergency after 13 cars of a CN freight train derailed overnight near the umland of Gainford, about 50 miles west of Edmonton. There was at least one explosion before cars carrying gas and oil ignited. Transportation safety board officials are around site and an investigation is underway. The accident comes just four months after another train hauling crude oil derailed in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic. The explosions and fire destroyed the downtown and killed nearly 50 people. That sparkled the countrywide political debate about whether regulations covering the transportation of hazard goods such as oil and gas go far enough. For NPR NEws, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto. 

 

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Firefighting helicopters in New South Wales, Australia, from the sky and the ground, crews are battling more than 80 destructive wildfires in the state. Hundreds of home are damaged or destroyed. Authorities are trying to determine whether one of the fires was started during a military training exercise. 

 

In Belgium a small plane crashed today killing all 11 peole on board. From Brussels, Teri Schultz reports the passengers were skydiving students and instructors. 

 

A witness reports it seems some of the passengers trying to open their parachutes as the single-engine plane struggled to stay aloft, but none succeeded. All ten skydivers and their pilot were killed when the plane plumped to the ground in  Namur, about 45 miles southeast of Brussels. Investigators have released any suspected cause of the accident, bystanders say it appears a wing tip came off and there wasn't explosion. Air field authorities say the plane had been capped well tune and passed on maintenance checks. King Phillipe arrived the scene early evening, during the Belgium prime minister and their luminaries along with families and friends of the victims. For NPR NEws, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels. 

 

An anonymous buyer at a British auction house, has purchased an unplayable violin for more than 1.5 million dollars. The instrument is believed to have been played by the bandmaster of the Titanic to calm passengers, as the ship sank in freezing waters 101 years ago. The bandmaster, Wallace Hartley was among those who drowned, but the violin apparently survived in a leather case strapped to his body. The winning bid is the most ever paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia.