LONDON (CNN) -- The Thames became a sea of red, white and blue Sunday, as tens of thousands gathered to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II -- so perhaps it was only fitting that alongside all the Union Jacks, another great British tradition was very much in evidence: Gray skies and heavy rain.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Support for the war in Afghanistan has reached a new low, with only 27 percent of Americans saying they back the effort and about half of those who oppose the war saying the continued presence of American troops in Afghanistan is doing more harm than good, according to an AP-GfK poll.

TOKYO (CNN) -- As Japan began its workweek Monday morning, the trains ran exactly on time, the elevators in thousands of Tokyo high-rises efficiently moved between floors, and the lights turned on across cities with nary a glitch.

BEIJING (AP) -- Even if China makes a rare concession and allows legal activist Chen Guangcheng to leave the country with his family, other dissidents say they don't expect a broader easing of controls.

SAO PAULO (AP) -- Brazil's top court has backed sweeping affirmative action programs used in more than 1,000 universities across this nation, which has more blacks than any country outside Africa yet where a severe gap in education equality between races persists.

MADRID (AP) -- Banging drums and waving flags, hundreds of thousands of workers marked May Day in European cities Tuesday with a mix of anger and gloom over austerity measures imposed by leaders trying to contain the eurozone's intractable debt crisis.

LONDON (AP) -- Some London residents are getting troops and surface-to-air missiles on their rooftops for the Summer Olympics.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- One of Britain's most cherished maritime treasures will complete a miraculous rise from the ashes when it reopens to the public later this week.

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- In a historic ruling, an international court convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor on Thursday of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting notoriously brutal rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for "blood diamonds."

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) -- To the world's military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea lanes and a slew of potential conflicts.