EUROPE-MIGRANTS-SUMMIT

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders are discussing plans to double financial sources to save lives in the Mediterranean where hundreds of migrants have drowned in recent days, and to capture and destroy vessels which could be used for trafficking, according to a draft statement prepared for Thursday's summit.

EUROPE-MIGRANTS

VALLETTA, Malta — European officials honored the dead of the Mediterranean's worst-ever migrant disaster Thursday as more would-be refugees arrived in Italy and prosecutors questioned the suspected smugglers. Twenty-four caskets containing the only bodies recovered from the weekend capsizing that left an estimated 800 dead were laid out for an interfaith memorial service on the grounds of Malta's main hospital. 

WWI-TURKEY-GALLIPOLI

GALLIPOLI, Turkey — Whenever he leaves the house, Kenan Ersoz hides the bayonet his father used to defend the crumbling Ottoman Empire against the British-led invasion of Gallipoli a century ago. The father saw it as a friend that kept him alive. The son keeps it as his most prized possession. World leaders are gathering Thursday and Friday with the descendants of those who fought in one of the most harrowing campaigns of the 20th century. By Desmond Butler. 

GREECE-BAILOUT-SHIFTING DEADLINES

RIGA, Latvia — When is a deadline not really a deadline and a deal not really a deal? When it's to do with Greece's bailout, apparently. 

BRITAIN-NICOLA STURGEON'S MOMENT

LONDON — She's petite, favors fuchsia suits and isn't running in the British election. But make no mistake: Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, is the biggest thing in U.K. politics right now. 

RUSSIA-CHECHNYA

MOSCOW — The head of Chechnya has allowed local security forces to open fire on Russian federal troops if they operate in the region without his approval. Ramzan Kadyrov's Wednesday comments send a worrying sign about a potential rift between him and the Kremlin. 

FRANCE-ATTACK-THWARTED

PARIS — France's prime minister says investigators are searching for possible accomplices in the planned attack on a church uncovered when the suspect apparently shot himself by accident. 

GERMANY-ECONOMY

BERLIN — A closely watched survey shows German consumers remain optimistic but may be beginning to show signs of worry about the potential impact of Greece's fiscal woes. 

GERMANY-TRAIN STRIKE

BERLIN — German train drivers are on strike for a second day, causing scores of cancellations around the country. SENT: 130 words, photos.

RUSSIA-OPPOSITION

MOSCOW — A Moscow court has postponed a hearing to review a suspended sentence for opposition leader Alexei Navalny. SENT: 130 words, photos.

NETHERLANDS-UKRAINE-PLANE

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The police officer leading of a team of experts working to identify people killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was brought down in Ukraine has criticized an anthropologist for showing images of victims at a lecture for medical students. SENT: 130 words.

SWEDEN-EARNS-ERICSSON

HELSINKI — Sluggish broadband demand in North America is hurting Ericsson, the world's largest networks maker, which reported Thursday a 14 percent drop in first-quarter net profit to 1.5 billion kronor ($ 173 million) despite a rise in global sales. By Matti Huuhtanen. 

GERMANY-AUSCHWITZ TRIAL

BERLIN — A former Auschwitz guard being tried on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder has testified that it was clear to him Jews were not expected to leave the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland alive. "I couldn't imagine that" happening, former SS Sgt. Oskar Groening told the Lueneburg state court on Thursday during the third day of his trial, the dpa news agency reported. 

CZECH-ROMA-CHILDREN

PRAGUE — The Czech Republic has failed to comply with a European court order to stop placing healthy Gypsy children in schools for the mentally disabled, Amnesty International said Thursday. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2007 that the Czech Republic must stop the practice.