The Context

President Trump said the withdrawal of all US bombers from RAF Fairford in England was prompted by a security threat. B-1 bombers were seen taking off from the Gloucestershire base on Sunday, and the Pentagon said they had been redeployed to home stations in the US. A week earlier, police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the base, and six men were arrested and bailed. Marco Rubio was reluctant to link that incident to the move, while Trump said it was a factor. A former British Army officer, Justin Crump, said the withdrawal also reflected a wider US pause in operations against Iran and that, while strategic bombers are exposed in the UK, the threat may have been overblown. Michael Gordon of the Wall Street Journal said the US had intelligence indicating Iran was plotting against the base, that all 12 bombers were removed unexpectedly, and that RAF Fairford remained an important US power-projection base with US personnel still stationed there. He noted divergent messages from Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said the move suggested the administration still saw Iran as a threat despite Trump saying Iran was largely defeated. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police over the search warrants used when detectives searched his homes and seized documents around the time of his arrest in February. He is seeking a judicial review of the warrants' legality and challenging the Chief Constable. Buckingham Palace sources said none of the King's private funds should be used for the legal action, although the King still provides some private funds to his brother. He was held on suspicion of misconduct in public office after information emerged from the Epstein files and has denied wrongdoing. The report said that if the warrants were found unlawful, it could affect the police investigation and any evidence obtained, and that police still want original Epstein documents from US authorities.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election after parliament rejected measures to tackle the housing crisis, as housing protests continued in Barcelona and two unions called a general strike. A report focused on an 87-year-old Madrid tenant evicted after a rent increase and said her case became emblematic of wider anger over unaffordable rents and a lack of housing; protests grew after Congress blocked tenant-protection legislation. Sanchez said he wanted a broader progressive coalition to pass reforms, while a former Socialist MEP described the vote as a referendum on housing and a smart attempt to change the political conversation. Separately, two people died and another was missing in north-east Spain after heavy rain and flooding, with Barcelona badly hit and firefighters in Catalonia responding to more than 2,000 calls.

Brazil's presidential election will go to a run-off after right-wing Flavio Bolsonaro won the first round but fell short of a majority, with incumbent Lula da Silva close behind. A correspondent said a Bolsonaro victory could have significant regional implications, including for US-aligned military operations and access to rare earth minerals, while Lula has claimed international interference in the campaign and Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court said there was no evidence of direct foreign interference. In northern France, a 15-year-old student lost his hand during a protest against education standards; a local official said he picked up a police stun grenade, while other protesters said it was thrown at him. Hundreds of schools were fully or partially closed amid student demonstrations over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings, with nationwide protests planned.