UZBEKISTAN-MASSACRE FORGOTTEN
KIEV, Ukraine — Thousands of protesters jammed into Babur square in the city of Andijan, relishing a rare burst of defiance as one speaker after another condemned hardship under Uzbekistan's despotic government. Hours later, a decade ago Wednesday, hundreds lay dead in torrents of blood.
EUROPE-ECONOMY
LONDON — The eurozone economy is growing faster than the U.S. and at its highest tick in nearly two years despite a disappointing slowdown in Germany and recession's return in Greece. The economy of the 19 countries that use the euro grew by a quarterly rate of 0.4 percent in the first three months ahead, Eurostat, the European Union's statistical agency, said Wednesday. That was up from the 0.3 percent recorded in the previous three-month period and was in line with most expectations in the financial markets.
With: GERMANY-ECONOMY, BRITAIN-ECONOMY
EUROPE-MIGRANTS-AGENDA
BRUSSELS — The European Union will on Wednesday unveil its plan to confront the challenge posed by a massive influx of migrants fleeing war and poverty in Syria, Eritrea and elsewhere. EU border guards are struggling to deal with a boat-borne exodus that has seen more than 10,000 people plucked from the Mediterranean off Libya in the last month. No one knows exactly how many have drowned, but around 1,700 are feared dead.
ROMANIA-UKRAINE-CYBER WARFARE
BUCHAREST, Romania — Ukraine is turning to an unlikely partner in its struggle to defend itself against Russian cyber warfare: Romania. The reason: the country's own battle against Internet renegades and a legacy of computing excellence stemming from Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's regime.
BRITAIN-PRINCE CHARLES
LONDON — Prince Charles' secret letters to government officials are released to the public after a long court battle. The 27 contested letters have been called the "black spider" memos because of Charles' handwriting style.
TURKEY-NATO
ANTALYA, Turkey — A day after lengthy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was filling in allies during a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in the southern Turkish town of Antalya. Turkey. The ministers have gathered here to plot strategy amid the continued crisis in Ukraine and instability throughout the Middle East, including in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Kerry was also meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
NETHERLANDS-EARNS-ABN-AMRO
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Nationalized Dutch bank ABN Amro says underlying net profit rose 44 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 543 million euros ($611 million), its best quarter in four years. The bank, which is gearing up to be re-privatized, announced Wednesday its operating income rose 9 percent compared with 2014's first quarter, to 2.17 billion euros ($2.44 billion).
DENMARK-EARNS-MOLLER-MAERSK
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk says it saw its first-quarter underlying profit increase by 18 percent to $1.3 billion, impacted by an after-tax gain from the sale of shares in Denmark's largest bank, but revenues dropped due to low oil prices and low economic growth. The Copenhagen-based group said Wednesday that revenue in the three-month period decreased by 10 percent or $1.2 billion, and came in at $10.5 billion. SENT: 140 words.