The Latest: May Day protesters detained in Istanbul

BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on May Day events and rallies around the world (all times local):

11:45 a.m.

Turkish police detained May Day demonstrators who tried to march toward Istanbul's symbolic main square in defiance of a ban.

Turkey declared Taksim Square off-limits to May Day celebrations citing security concerns. Roads leading to the square were blocked Wednesday and police allowed only small groups of labor union representatives to lay wreaths at a monument.

Still, small groups chanting "May Day is Taksim and it cannot be banned," attempted to break the blockade. The official Anadolu news agency said more than two dozen were detained.

Trade unions and political parties will mark the day with rallies at government-designated areas in Istanbul and the capital, Ankara.

Taksim holds symbolic value for Turkey's labor movement. In 1977, 34 people were killed there during a May Day event when shots were fired into the crowd from a nearby building.

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11 a.m.

Ahead of a May Day rally in over a dozen German cities, Germany's biggest trade unions are urging voters to participate in this month's European elections and reject nationalism and right-wing populism.

The DGB, a confederation of unions with almost 6 million members, said Wednesday that the European Union has helped ensure peace on the continent for decades and brought significant benefits to millions, from paid holidays to maternity protection.

The unions called for ambitious EU-wide investments to boost employment and growth, saying "people must feel that the EU improves their lives in a lasting and tangible way."

The unions warned that the political and economic turmoil in Britain following its vote to leave the European Union nationalism "shows what happens if those who stoke fear but have no plan for the...