The Queen's Speech: Monarch attends first major public engagement since the death of Prince Philip
CBSN
Queen Elizabeth II carried out her first major public engagement since her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died last month. The queen attended the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday, which was scaled back due to the pandemic, to give the Queen's Speech, a significant address that sets out what laws the government wants to pass.
The Queen's Speech usually happens once a year, typically in the spring or after an election, as part of the State Opening of Parliament ceremony, according to BBC News. However, the last Queen's Speech took place in December 2019, two weeks after Boris Johnson was elected. The speech signified Johnson could set out his agenda for the next session of parliament, which ended in April 2021. Tuesday's speech was the queen's first engagement outside Windsor Castle since the death of her husband. She usually arrives in a carriage with a long procession. This time, she arrived in a Bentley limousine with 74 people, including herself, in the chamber as she read her speech from the throne in the House of Lords.Berlin — German authorities say they have arrested two people suspected of spying for Russia. The suspects, identified as German-Russian nationals, are accused of scouting targets for potential attacks, including U.S. military facilities in Germany, the Federal Public Prosecutor General for Karlsruhe said in a statement released Thursday.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, flooding portions of major highways, leaving vehicles abandoned on roadways across Dubai and grinding traffic at the city-state's huge international airport briefly to a complete halt. Meanwhile, the death toll from separate heavy flooding in neighboring Oman rose to 18, with others still missing as the sultanate prepared for the storm.
Paris — Five years have passed since Notre Dame cathedral in Paris was engulfed in flames. The iconic spire and timber roof were destroyed in the blaze. People around the world were shocked at the scale of the fire and the damage it caused, but work to restore the iconic landmark to its former glory continues.