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Last week, a British bomb disposal robot roamed the area near the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Fairford and 85 homes were evacuated as the threat of an attack appeared imminent.

Days later, the United States speedily sent B-1 bombers stationed there, which were used to strike Iran in its ongoing war, back home. About a dozen had been stationed at the air base.

The foiled incident resulted in no charges and the release of five suspects, and subsequently a separate British-Iranian suspect. But the US cited concerns about more potential attacks for its decision to withdraw its fleet. Tehran has denied any link to the alleged plot to target the base.

RAF Fairford was a pit stop for US bombers during the war – but more importantly, it allowed Washington to rapidly unleash intensive strikes on Iran, say analysts.

They added that their withdrawal reduces Washington’s ability to rapidly generate and sustain bombing missions, but it will not prevent the US from continuing to strike Iran.

“The United States has lost a convenient launchpad, not its underlying strike capability,” Dania Thafer, executive director of the Gulf International Forum and a lecturer at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera.

Long bombing campaigns made more demanding

The analysts were in agreement that the British base gave the US a faster and more efficient way to sustain strikes on Iran.

The bombers at the Fairford base were officially stationed there for defensive strikes – at the behest of the UK government – and likely had a modest targeting list, said Christoph Bergs, an analyst at the world’s oldest defence and security thinktank, the Royal United Services Institute.

“Their withdrawal reduces the capacity to quickly surge sorties against Iran, reducing the threat level somewhat,” Bergs told Al Jazeera.

Thafer explained that while the loss of the bombers does not remove the US’s ability to strike or escalate, “depending on where other assets are positioned, it could make a prolonged bombing campaign more demanding”.

The removal of B-1 bombers imposes a number of tactical costs, says Arun Dawson. He is a PhD candidate at King’s College London’s Freeman Air and Space Institute and a researcher with the UK Nuclear Deterrence Network.

Unlike the more modern B-2 stealth bomber designed to make enemy tracking difficult – which has also previously been stationed at RAF Fairford – “the B-1’s principal advantage is its conventional weapons payload – the largest of any aircraft in the US military”, Dawson told Al Jazeera. The B-1 carries at least 34 tonnes of ordnance, he said.

“This makes the B-1 particularly effective at delivering large volumes of precision-guided weapons against multiple targets during a prolonged air campaign,” said Dawson.

“In the Iran war, those targets may include air-defence infrastructure, ballistic missile sites and IRGC facilities,” he added, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

With the B-1s withdrawing, the US may now have to rely more heavily on longer-range missions from the US or other distant bases, increasing flight times, crew fatigue and the need for aerial refuelling, he explained.

Still, the US may have made the withdrawal decision based on an examination of risks, said Dawson.

“Their abrupt departure suggests that specific threats may have been directed at the aircraft, their crews or the base itself,” he said.

Washington may have also calculated that temporarily withdrawing the bombers could protect it for future operations, especially if the US does not expect the Iran war to intensify any time soon, said Dawson.

For David Des Roches, a professor at the Thayer Marshall Institute and a former Pentagon official, the B-1 withdrawal suggests that the risks outweighed the benefits of keeping the jets at the UK airbase.

The security incident last week “exposed a vulnerability” as the aircraft were “out in the open” and only about 300 yards (275 metres) from where the public could see them.

“So they were very vulnerable to, say, drone attacks or other kind[s] of mortar attacks,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Just a small drone or any kind of a drone with explosives on board could conceivably cause significant damage,” said Des Roches.

The former Pentagon official acknowledged that the deployment of the US bombers means “you lose a little bit of operational ability,” but said that given the threat seen at Fairford, “we should have had overhead cover for all of our aircraft, globally, years ago”.

Can the bombers go elsewhere?

The US has two potential options if the bombers are to be redeployed: to Diego Garcia, the remote coral atoll in the central Indian Ocean hosting both a US and UK military base; or to its many US bases in the Gulf.

Thafer pointed out that Diego Garcia offers greater protection from potential Iranian attacks, but requires longer flight distances.

Rerouting the bombers to Diego Garcia will also depend on how quickly additional aircraft can be folded into the local basing infrastructure, pointed out Bergs.

Stationing them in the Gulf closer to Iran would give them the advantage of shortened transit times, reduced tanker requirements and the ability to generate sorties more rapidly, said Dawson.

But basing in the Gulf region, the analysts agreed, will require more deliberate negotiations around risk mitigation, given that these countries have taken the brunt of Iranian counterstrikes throughout the war. They also want to avoid being seen as direct participants in a US campaign against Iran.

Fairford had therefore offered a “useful” middle ground between the two options, said Thafer.

But with Fairford no longer an option, Diego Garcia would be the more obvious choice, Dawson said, offering not only greater distance from Iran but also a more secure operating environment. It has infrastructure designed to support large-scale US air operations, he said.

US capabilities in the war ahead

For now, the withdrawal appears to blunt rather than eliminate US bombing capacity against Iran.

However, the practical impact on US military options will depend largely on whether the administration sees a need for such strikes now, or whether the threat posed by similar aircraft stationed at Diego Garcia is sufficient for the time being, said Bergs.

The expected arrival of the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the Makin Island Marine Expeditionary Force to the Middle East by November, meanwhile, will add significant US carrier-based air power in the region, said Dawson.

“Aircraft for aircraft, carrier fighters cannot substitute for the B-1’s enormous payload, but there are many more of them, giving commanders additional options for shorter-range strikes,” he said.

What this episode highlights, said the researcher, is the importance – and the vulnerability – of the US’ alliances and overseas basing.

Washington has long enjoyed access to a global network of military facilities – which has been key for its ability to project power rapidly and at scale, he said.

But if those bases face attacks or political restrictions – the implications would extend beyond the Iran war, warned Dawson.

They would affect “how the US military structures its forces, distributes its assets, generates combat power and sustains operations overseas”.

The BBC has made the decision to edit episodes of Horrible Histories, which featured sketches including child workers and slavery, after they failed to meet strict guidelines.

The BBC has edited and removed sketches from Horrible Histories. The broadcaster decided to edit the programme after it failed to meet guidelines for children’s programmes.

The broadcaster has also removed an entire episode of the show featuring slavery, Victorian child workers and chimney sweeps. Horrible Histories is based on the bestselling book series of the same name by Terry Deary, which was intended to pique children’s interest in history.

The show, produced for CBBC, debuted in 2009 and aired 11 series before ending in 2014. At least seven sketches or scenes have been removed from the show, including one showing Madame Tussaud making wax masks from severed heads, according to The Times.

Another sketch, no longer available on BBC iPlayer, depicted white actors using darker makeup to portray ancient Egyptians or Incas.

Actor Mathew Baynton, who played characters including William Shakespeare and Guy Fawkes on the programme, previously said it could be argued the show did “blackface” in its depiction of Egyptians.

Speaking to The Telegraph in 2022, he said: “We didn’t do blackface, for example, but you could argue that we did. Because I played Egyptians, you know, for example, where you’d get a spray tan, essentially, and stand in your pants.”

The episode, which has been removed, is said to have featured a sketch teaching children about slavery in ancient Rome by depicting a Roman galley as an airline flight, with enslaved rowers chained to their oars and told they will not be allowed to escape if the ship sinks.

Another sketch showcased how children in the Victorian era were sent into dangerous and narrow chimneys, with one young boy being sent into the chimney and being told: “Try not to die.”

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “The edits to Horrible Histories were made seven years ago, in consultation with the programme makers, to ensure the series meets our editorial guidelines for children’s programmes.”

The news comes after the BBC removed several sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look when the show aired on iPlayer, having decided that some of the material “no longer works today”.

The sketch comedy show, starring comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb, who wrote and starred in the programme, originally ran for four seasons between 2006 and 2010. It also took home a BAFTA in 2007.

To celebrate the sketch comedy programme’s 20th anniversary, the national broadcaster added four seasons of the smash-hit show onto iPlayer for fans to enjoy – but with a few notable omissions.

A total of 11 sketches had been edited out amid fears of racism and ethnic stereotyping. “That Mitchell and Webb Look has been made available on BBC iPlayer,” the broadcaster said in a statement. “This is a 20-year-old sketch show; in consultation with the programme makers, we have included the ones that still work today and not the ones that don’t.”

As per The Times, material removed from the programme included scenes featuring war re-enactors in blackface, a joke about Jimmy Savile, and an indigenous tribe living in a garden centre.

One now-deleted sketch shows Mitchell playing a woman in a burka in a scene that sends up reality TV programming. The sketch then cuts to the pair – as themselves – discussing whether or not the sketch itself is actually offensive.

The Mirror has approached Horrible Histories author Terry Deary for comment.

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MADRID: Carlos Espí scored in stoppage time after a nifty move by Jude Bellingham and an assist by Kylian Mbappé to help Real Madrid salvage a 3-2 win at Elche in the Spanish league after it relinquished a two-goal lead on Tuesday.

Bellingham used a neat long touch to get past an opponent near midfield and fed Mbappé in a breakaway into the area, and the France star quickly set up Espí’s close-range score to give Madrid the victory and move the Spanish powerhouse even on points with Barcelona. The defending champion can regain the lead when it hosts promoted Racing Santander on Wednesday.

“We went from having it easy to losing control,” Real Madrid coach José Mourinho said. “But in the difficulty of the moment, facing the pressure of losing points, the team reacted and won the match, which in the end is the most important thing. The good thing is that nobody gets bored when Real Madrid plays. The games are always fun.”

Madrid had taken the lead against Elche with an own-goal by goalkeeper Matías Dituro in the 25th after the ball ricocheted off him following a well-struck free kick taken by Arda Guler. Mbappé added to the lead by scoring from close range after an assist by Yan Diomande in the 33rd.

Abiel Osorio pulled the hosts closer with a header in the 71st and Fer Niño netted the equalizer in the 83rd.

There was a bit of a scare immediately after Mbappé scored as he stayed on the ground in visible pain, but he eventually returned to the field after being attended by Madrid doctors.

The goal moved him to seven goals in six league matches, one goal more than Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Sergio Camello and Roberto Fernández.

Mbappé had scored a brace in Madrid’s 4-1 win against Rayo Vallecano in the previous round.

He had a goal disallowed for offside just before halftime on Tuesday.

Bellingham came into the match by replacing Guler in the 68th.

Madrid’s only league setback this season was at Real Betis two rounds ago.

Mbappé and Vinícius avoid T-shirt

Players from both clubs wore t-shirts showing words of support for Ceuta as they came onto the field before the match. But Madrid players Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté wore the shirt only halfway down their chest, without pulling them down, and obscuring some of the words on it. Mbappé and Vinícius removed their shirts before they saluted the other players and the referees.

They had not immediately explained why they did that.

In July, tens of thousands of migrants breached the frontier between Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta and neighboring Morocco.

Valencia wins after shake-up

Valencia won 1-0 at Alaves to end a four-game losing streak and a winless start to the season.

The string of poor results had led to the firing of coach Carlos Corberán and soccer CEO Ron Gourlay this weekend. It then appointed Braulio Vázquez as its new sporting director and named B-team coach Óscar Sánchez as an interim manager.

Luis Rioja scored a 78th-minute winner for Valencia, which had been outscored 10-1 so far.

Valencia fans had been protesting and called players “mercenaries” after the 5-0 home loss to Barcelona. They have long called for the exit of owner Peter Lim.

Rayo Vallecano triumphs in Butarque again

Rayo Vallecano beat Espanyol 2-1 with first-half goals by Álvaro García and Adria Pedrosa in what may have been its last match before returning home to Vallecas Stadium.

It was Rayo’s third home game played at Butarque Stadium — which belongs to second-tier club Leganes — because of unsafe conditions at Vallecas. It also beat Racing Santander 3-2 and drew Alaves 1-1 at Butarque.

Roberto Fernández scored for Espanyol in the second half for his sixth goal in six matches.