What we know about the suspected U.K. terror plot. And, why the Gulf remains in limbo

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Police stand at a road block on the road to RAF Fairford after an incident, in Whelford, England, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, Ben Birchall/PA via AP hide caption

British authorities have arrested five men near RAF Fairford, a U.K. air base used by U.S. forces in the war against Iran. Three suspicious vehicles were stopped near the base, and investigators are examining several possible motives and connections.

President Trump says he rejected an Iranian offer for a seven-day pause in fighting and an immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had sought relief from the U.S. naval blockade on its oil exports and access to billions of dollars frozen abroad in exchange for reopening the waterway.

CNN is back in the White House TV pool after a dayslong dispute over press access. The pause meant major moments, including Trump's U.N. appearance and Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit, went without the usual pooled television coverage.

Mass shootings across South Africa have killed nearly 40 people in recent days . The attacks in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban struck a restaurant, tavern and house party, and police have not announced motives in the latest cases.

Artist Sliman Mansour at his home in Jerusalem on Nov. 18, 2025. Afif Amireh for NPR hide caption

Born in 1947, the year before Israel's creation, Sliman Mansour said he didn't always think of himself as Palestinian. "In the early 1970s, I started to discover I'm a Palestinian," he told NPR. "So my art took a 90-degree turn."