A man charged with murdering a British soldier on a busy London street appeared in court for the first time on Monday, clutching what appeared to be a Koran in his right hand.

Britain's royal family gathered at Westminster Abbey Tuesday for a ceremony of pomp and prayer to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Volunteers piled up sandbags to keep a swollen river from overwhelming the Czech capital's historic centre on Monday after floods across central Europe forced factories to close, drove thousands from their homes and killed at least six people.

Hundreds of people were on Sunday occupying Istanbul's Taksim Square, the epicenter of the worst demonstrations in a decade against Turkey's Islamist-rooted government which have seen almost 1,000 people detained and scores wounded nationwide.

German police used pepper spray and batons against thousands of anti-capitalist demonstrators from the Blockupy movement on Saturday during a second day of protests in Frankfurt against Europe's austerity policies.

Dance lessons are one of Bank of England Governor Mervyn King's few clear plans for his retirement when he steps down later this month after 20 years at the Bank of England.

Three members of Britain's upper house of parliament were suspended from their parties on Sunday after media sting operations caught them apparently offering to use their influence for personal gain.

Protesters lit fires and scuffled with police in parts of Istanbul and Ankara early on Sunday, but the streets were generally quieter after two days of Turkey's fiercest anti-government demonstrations for years.

Greece received a qualified vote of confidence from the eurozone over progress in overhauling its stricken economy — and fresh injections of cash from its international creditors Friday.

Russia's ambitious smoking ban, which aims to cut the number of smokers in half and improve public health, went into effect Saturday amid doubts that its measures can be fully enforced.