Millions across Europe are being priced out of housing, with Spain at the heart of the crisis. Skyrocketing rents and property speculation are pushing residents to the brink.

Barcelona

Spain is experiencing a significant housing crisis, with rents and property prices rising sharply, especially in cities like Barcelona. The crisis is attributed to factors such as over-investment, real estate speculation, and the proliferation of short-term rentals, which have reduced the availability of affordable housing for residents. In response, the Spanish government is taking measures including the removal of thousands of short-term rental listings and increasing taxes on property purchases by non-European buyers. Efforts are also underway to regulate rental prices and return residential properties to the market.

Local tenant unions are mobilizing to defend residents' rights and push for stronger protections, while city authorities are collaborating with other European cities to advocate for EU-level action. The European Union has recognized the issue, with the appointment of a housing commissioner and the formation of a parliamentary commission to develop a plan for affordable housing. The situation has led to frequent demonstrations and heightened calls for urgent public intervention to address housing insecurity and speculation.

Spain’s housing crisis pushing residents to the brink

The rents are going up, real estate prices are exploding, housing is at an affordable price and in decent conditions has become a game for millions of Europeans. A crisis that hits Spain hard, like here in Barcelona. Over-investment, short-term rentals and speculation deprive more and more people of housing. A question that the Spanish authorities have seized and which is also on the agenda of the European Union. Access to housing is a major challenge for many Europeans. Since 2010, housing prices have soared by an average of more than 50% in the European Union and rents of 26%. A flambé due to insufficient supply and high prices in the construction sector but also to the explosion of short-term rentals. Real estate speculation, especially foreign investors, only aggravates the shortage of housing. Spain is one of the most affected countries. Rents have increased by an average of nearly 80% in 10 years. To mitigate the phenomenon, the government wants to remove 65,000 Airbnb ads and increase taxes on real estate purchases from non-European exporters. It is also struggling to apply a law that flattens rental prices. Although housing is a national skill, European institutions want to react. A European housing commissioner has been appointed and the European Parliament has a commission on the matter. The aim is to launch a European plan for affordable housing. An emergency, while anger rises across Europe. In Barcelona, demonstrations like the one behind me are very frequent. The capital of Catalonia is one of the most troubled destinations for tourists but also for real estate speculators. As a result, more and more people have moved out of their homes and no one is listening to them. Barcelona is becoming a city full of tourism. Rentals are absolutely overflowing. Rosario is part of a network of tenants' unions who are mobilising all over the country to claim their right to housing. Rosario welcomes us to her home the next day, in this building bought four years ago by the Vendor Group, a subsidiary of a British investment fund, Patron Capital. Come in, come in. This is my house. I've been living here for 26 years. This is my daughter, with her dog. Hello! We have a small brand called Pinkonokuma, for dresses. It identifies a lot with who I am and the love I have for this house. Vendor wants to take this away from me, my house and everything I do here. All the former tenants of the building have been forced to leave at the end of their rental contract. The apartments are now occupied by foreign students. There are five floors. Each floor has two apartments. They are being used as co-living. Rosario's rental contract expired a year and a half ago, but she refuses to leave. The owner insisted and tried to convince me to leave. They offered to give me a small compensation, and I saw how the market was. The apartments were few and very expensive. I was totally overwhelmed. In court with the company, to which she continues to pay her rent, Rosario is threatened with expulsion. But she wants to keep fighting. They have to stop. They have to buy the buildings massively, as if they were buying a box of cookies. Now they are getting very rich, at the expense of throwing people out. This is an absolute watchmaking bomb. A lot of people are going to the streets, and the only thing we can do is the union. Supported by the Barcelona tenants' union, the resistance organizes itself. Every week, Rosario takes part in meetings held by the tenants of other buildings bought by the investment fund. The objective is to avoid expulsion and to push the public authorities to act. There is an absolute lack of protection for the right to housing. The anxiety accompanies us at all times, because we don't know how long we will be able to live here, where we will go in the future. We will collectively organize to defend this and to demand that the institutions protect us from this massive speculation. Bandor is a great company, but we are also a company in our own way. Fundamentally, it is about joining forces and being stronger against this. What can the national and European public authorities do to curb the housing crisis? I asked the mayor of Barcelona, who is the initiator of a project in this direction, bringing together 15 major cities in Europe. What we have started to do in Spain and the cities that we have wanted to accommodate to this measure is regulation to put an end to the rise in rental prices. In the city of Barcelona, at the moment, there has been a drop of 8% in prices. And a great second measure is the decision to remove AirBnB apartments from November 2028. This means 10,000 homes that will again have residential use in the city of Barcelona. Temporary apartments are about to be regulated in Catalonia so that they also have the same regulation of the rise in prices. And this has a first consequence for investors, which is that the profitability drops. This is a disincentive. You are leading an initiative by several European mayors and asking the EU for help. Housing is a national competence, so what can you expect from Europe? It is a European problem. The European Commission has to intervene. The cities of Mayors for Housing, we are saying, put resources at the disposal of the cities urgently so that we can invest in affordable housing. Housing has to be a key policy of EU cohesion in this new period. They should be outside the limits of the rule of law of the EU because it is an emergency. If European citizens see that a problem of this magnitude is not addressed by European institutions, it can lead to a crisis of legitimacy. So it is not only a social measure, it is also a measure to defend democracy and the European project.

As Sean "Diddy" Combs awaits his sentencing, his lead attorney Marc Agnifilo says he has not talked to anyone at the White House about a possible pardon.

New York

Sean "Diddy" Combs' attorney says he hasn't had talks about a pardon

An agreement has been reached between the U.S. and Russia for President Trump to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the coming days," the Kremlin said. In recent weeks, Trump has voiced frustration as the U.S. tries to broker a peace deal over the war in Ukraine.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Trump to meet with Putin "in the coming days," Kremlin says

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, blamed Hamas when asked about starvation in Gaza, saying, "Hamas has not allowed the food to get to the people who are hungry." Huckabee also addressed questions over the controversial aid sites.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

U.S. Ambassador to Israel faces questions over starvation in Gaza

On "T-Day," the US began enforcing Trump's new tariffs, raising average rates from 2% to 15% after a 90-day pause allowed some countries to negotiate reduced deals while others, like India and Brazil, faced hikes. These tariffs have generated over $150 billion in revenue by July, impacting various sectors and aiming to address trade imbalances.

Washington

Global Tariffs

U.S. begins collecting Trump's new global tariffs

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he plans to call the leaders of China and India, to discuss a joint response to new US tariffs. The announcement came as Brazil and India were hit with 50 percent levies - the highest imposed by President Donald Trump.

State of Rio de Janeiro

Brazil halts U.S. trade talks as Lula condemns new tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations after trade talks reached a deadlock.

Trump imposes extra 25% tariff on India over Russian oil imports

President Trump has been briefed about the shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia, the White House press secretary says. At least five soldiers were shot before a suspect was apprehended, officials say.

Fort Stewart

Five soldiers shot at Fort Stewart in Georgia; suspect apprehended

A Russian official said President Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had a "useful and constructive" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.

Witkoff, Putin had 'useful and constructive conversation'

The U.S. aims to deploy nuclear power reactors on the Moon and Mars, targeting the first launch by decade’s end. A new NASA directive, revealed by Politico and AFP, calls for appointing a nuclear power czar to choose two commercial proposals within six months, aiming to outpace a Chinese-Russian collaboration.

NASA races to put nuclear reactors on Moon and Mars

Japan held a memorial service and ceremony for victims and the remaining survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, marking its 80th anniversary and renewing pledges of working towards a world without nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima marks 80th anniversary since U.S. atomic bombing

The U.S. is warning travelers as cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne illness, spreads in China. Health officials in China have ordered mass disinfection measures. The region near Hong Kong reported more than 7,000 cases in recent weeks.

Beijing

U.S. warns travelers as cases of chikungunya increase in China

Japan has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing during World War II. Ceremonies at Peace Memorial Park honoured the victims of the 1945 nuclear attack by US forces.

Japan’s Hiroshima marks 80 years since U.S. atomic bombing

Multiple media outlets in Israel have reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a complete military takeover of Gaza, while almost 600 former Israeli military and security officials are petitioning Washington to stop the fighting.

Netanyahu reportedly wants complete Gaza takeover

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he had a productive talk with President Trump focused on ending the war with Russia. CBS News national security contributor Samantha Vinograd has more.

Kyiv

Zelenskyy holds 'productive talks' with Trump about war

Family members of two of the victims from the 2023 implosion are demanding tougher regulations following the damning report released on Tuesday. Five people died when the submersible imploded off the coast of Newfoundland.

Deadly Titan submersible disaster was preventable, Coast Guard says

The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed multiple people over the Jeffrey Epstein files, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. CBS News' Jake Rosen has more details.

House committee subpoenas Clintons, others over Epstein files

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents have been directed through a federal court order to stop deportations under President Trump's asylum ban, sources say. CBS News' Camilo Montoya-Galvez has more details.

Court blocks deportations under Trump's asylum ban, sources say

A man suspected of murdering four family members in Tennessee has been captured after a four-day manhunt, authorities said. CBS News' Nicole Valdes has more.

Jackson

Suspect arrested in murders of 4 Tennessee family members

The ruling comes a month after Brazil’s top court ordered the former president to wear an ankle monitor, submit to a curfew and abide by limitations on his activity as legal proceedings investigating an alleged coup plot continue.

Brazil's Supreme Court orders house arrest of Bolsonaro

The US and Lebanon have been holding talks on a roadmap to fully disarm Hezbollah. Lebanon's new leadership has pledged to extend its authority across all its territory but has so far avoided acting against Hezbollah.

Beirut

Lebanon faces renewed pressure to disarm Hezbollah

CBC News had exclusive access to a Canadian Armed Forces plane that dropped about 10,000 kilograms of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the first time Canada joined the airdrop operations. Several countries airdropped food on Monday, but aid organizations agree they are more symbolic than effective.

Ottawa

Canadian military makes aid drop into Gaza

The Prime Minister's Office said to the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir that, "If this does not suit him, you should resign."

Israel's Netanyahu says decision made for full occupation of Gaza

Delegates are gathering this week at the United Nations in Geneva, attempting to negotiate a global treaty to curb plastic pollution. But diplomats and climate advocates warn that efforts by the European Union and small island states to cap virgin plastic production are threatened by opposition.

Geneva

Strong UN treaty on plastic pollution in doubt as talks resume

President Trump announced Friday on social media that he ordered two nuclear submarines to move into more strategic positions near Russia. On Monday, Russian officials downplayed the comments and warned about the risk of nuclear rhetoric.

Russia downplays Trump's announcement about nuclear submarines

U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer told "Face the Nation" that tariff rates are "pretty much set" ahead of President Trump's Aug. 7 deadline. CBS News MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady has the latest.

White House holds firm on tariff rates ahead on Aug. 7 deadline

Donald Trump confirmed his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia, ahead of a deadline the U.S. president has set for Russia to agree to end the Ukraine war or face new sanctions. Witkoff is expected in Moscow in the middle of this week.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff expected to visit Russia

New images of emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza have horrified Israelis and added pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas, even as his government considers another expansion of the nearly 22-month war.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Videos of hostages increase pressure on Netanyahu for ceasefire

Pope Leo XIV wrapped up a weekend jubilee for more than 1 million young Catholics at a Rome suburb. As a new generation from around the globe celebrated, the pope drew attention to their peers in Ukraine and Gaza who cannot.

Rome

Pope Leo XIV addresses Gaza, Ukraine at youth festival

A shipwreck off Yemen has killed at least 68 people, the UN's migration agency said, with dozens still missing after the boat carrying mostly Ethiopians sank.

Sana'a

Migrant boat sinks off Yemen, killing at least 68

After two unverified videos of Israeli hostages were released, Hamas said the hunger crisis in the region puts them at risk. The militant group said it would deliver food from the Red Cross to the hostages under a couple of conditions, including permanent humanitarian corridors.

Breakdown