
After a record 70-year reign, not all of it easy, Queen Elizabeth II renews her vow to keep calm and carry on
CBSN
London — There is no user manual on how to be queen. There are of course set piece, choreographed, ceremonial events that give the role a framework, and the prancing horses, gilded carriages and lots of jewellery count for a lot.
But if Queen Elizabeth II — now officially the longest reigning British monarch in history — were to write her own instruction manual, it could be quite simple: Wear bright colours, a big hat, and a smile.
Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of the queen's ascension to the throne. She was called back from a foreign trip on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI, died. There could be no delay, as in a monarchy, there must always be a monarch. The actual coronation ceremony took place the following year.

Felix Baumgartner, the daredevil who made a record-breaking parachute jump from the stratosphere in 2012, died Thursday in a paragliding accident in Italy, a local mayor confirmed. Firefighters who responded to the scene said they found a paraglider that had crashed into the side of a swimming pool in the city of Porto Sant Elpidio, on central Italy's eastern coast.

Baghdad — A fire at a newly opened mall in eastern Iraq's Wasit province killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. The nation's Interior Ministry said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them from suffocation, in the blaze that broke out late Wednesday in the city of al-Kut.

Moscow — An American who spied on Ukrainian troops to help Moscow's military offensive in the country has been granted Russian citizenship, Moscow-installed authorities said Tuesday. Daniel Martindale spent two years in Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, transmitting coordinates of military facilities to Russia's secret services, according to reports in Russian state media.