Massive protests in Spain, Russian warnings in Kyiv, and security developments in Britain

On Saturday, Madrid and other Spanish cities witnessed mass demonstrations against the backdrop of the housing crisis, the day after Parliament rejected measures proposed by the government to contain the crisis.

The authorities estimated the number of participants in the protest movement in Madrid at 70,000 people, while organizers said the number was approximately half a million.

These actions, which were called for before Friday's vote, come within the framework of the crisis that began about 10 days ago, with the eviction of an elderly woman from her home in the capital, becoming a symbol of the housing crisis that has been hitting Spain for years.

In a main square in Madrid, participants in the demonstrations marched behind a large banner that read: “Towards a general strike.”

Valisia Raco, a spokeswoman for the Tenants Union, which organizes the protest movement, said in a statement: “What can be felt in the streets is a new energy, an energy that we have not seen for a long time, an energy that shows that 8 days of people’s rule can do much more than 8 years of progressive rule,” in criticism of the government of socialist Pedro Sanchez.

She added: “Here the real politics begins, the politics that has always belonged to the people and that returns permanently to the streets... We want to restore the historical tool that has always been used by people working to change reality: the general strike.”

On Friday, Parliament dropped two draft laws submitted by the Sanchez government in an attempt to contain the housing crisis, dealing a setback to the Socialist Prime Minister and opening the door to escalation of the protests.

This came months before the general elections next year, which raised speculation about the possibility of moving forward the date of the elections scheduled to be held no later than the summer of 2027. But Sanchez has so far ruled out holding early elections.

Providing affordable housing represents one of the most prominent social problems in Spain in recent years, but the protests took on a broader dimension after elderly tenant Maricarmen Abascal was forced to leave an apartment in which she had spent nearly 70 years after a company took over the property and raised the rent by 275 percent.

Activists defending the right to housing took action, setting up protest camps in central Madrid and other cities, and making this 87-year-old woman a symbol of the housing crisis.

Spain, with a population of 50 million, suffers from a gap between demand and new housing. The Central Bank estimates the shortage at about 700,000 units.

On Saturday, Russia renewed its call for diplomats and foreigners present in Kiev to leave, warning that its forces would continue to launch “large-scale retaliatory strikes” on the Ukrainian capital, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it “reiterated” its warning to the diplomatic corps, calling on “foreign nationals and diplomats in Kiev to leave the city.”

“The responsibility for any negative consequences lies entirely with those who ignore this warning,” the ministry added, declaring that “Russian forces will continue to launch large-scale retaliatory strikes” against “military targets in Kiev and in other Ukrainian cities.”

The Ukrainian capital has been subjected to intense attacks in recent weeks. The Russian strikes notably targeted bridges.

On Friday, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the situation in the capital as “very tragic,” noting that Moscow is “tearing Kiev apart” by attacking its bridges and energy infrastructure.

With the arrival of winter, the Ukrainian authorities fear that Russia will launch strong blows to the country's energy infrastructure, as it did in 2025.

For its part, Ukraine regularly launches attacks on oil refineries and warehouses in Russia, which caused a fuel crisis this summer, in addition to targeting commercial warehouses, cargo ships, and infrastructure.

A man with dual British and Iranian citizenship has been released on bail after he was arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts in connection with an incident at the Royal Air Force's Fairford air base, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The 25-year-old man was arrested in the London borough of Westminster on Thursday, and searches of two properties in the same area have concluded.

It is noteworthy that a major state of emergency was declared and dozens of homes were evacuated, after the police received a report about 3 “suspicious vehicles” near the air base in Gloucestershire, last weekend.

Five other men in their twenties were also arrested and later released on conditional police bail. They are all British citizens from London.

The police reported that investigations into the circumstances of these events are still ongoing.

British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting had indicated that Iran was likely responsible for a failed attempt to target the Fairford air base used by the United States, after the police announced, on Thursday, the arrest of a person holding dual British and Iranian citizenship.

Police arrested another man, aged 27, in London on suspicion of preparing to carry out terrorist acts, bringing the number of detainees in connection with the incident to six, according to Bloomberg News.

Another man, a British national, was also subjected to interrogation after being warned that his statements might be used as evidence against him.

“We are looking with the police and our security services at a range of leads and possibilities, but as our Prime Minister said, Iran is likely to be responsible,” Streeting said, stressing that the UK has not yet officially attributed the attack to Iran.

He described what happened in the vicinity of the British Royal Air Force base in Fairford as an “extremely serious incident.”

The police did not find any explosives, but they seized a quantity of fuel at the site of the accident.

The five men were later released on bail, in a decision that sparked criticism from US President Donald Trump.

The United States uses the air base to launch strikes on Iran.