Sales of the UK's most expensive homes plummeted in October, according to new data, with affluent buyers appearing to be put off by the prospect of a so-called mansion tax in Labour's upcoming budget. Property website Rightmove said Monday that agreed sales of homes worth at least £2 million ($2.6 million) were down 13% compared with 12 months earlier, the largest fall recorded this year.

London

Sales of UK homes priced at £2 million or more declined by 13% year-on-year in October, marking the steepest drop in 2025, according to Rightmove. This downturn comes as speculation intensifies about the potential introduction of a mansion tax on high-value properties in the forthcoming UK budget.

The slowdown is most pronounced in London but is also evident across the broader market, with factors such as higher stamp duty, the cost of living crisis, and uncertainty over future taxes and interest rates contributing to widespread caution. Both buyers and sellers are hesitating as they await clarity from the upcoming budget and potential policy changes.

UK luxury home sales slump ahead of expected mansion tax

Now to the UK, where sales of UK homes worth at least £2 million plunged 13.13%, 13% in October year-on-year. It's the sharpest drop in 2025, this according to data from property website Rightmove. The moves and the numbers come as speculation builds, of course, about the introduction of a mansion tax, a so-called mansion tax, on high-value properties in next week's budget. Let's bring in Bloomberg's Kit Rees then for the details on this. So Kit, just put us into context. 13% drop in terms of the monthly numbers out of Rightmove. How significant, how much pain are we seeing at the top end of the housing market in the UK? Well, we're seeing quite a lot of pain to be honest. There's a lot of caution in the market and this is especially true in London, given in the capital there's a high amount of very expensive homes and it also adds to growing evidence of a sort of cooling. So our colleagues have previously reported as an example that one luxury apartment was sold at a 50% discount. Wow. So, yeah, there's a lot of pain, there's a lot of caution. So as we saw last week, it's very important for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to keep MPs on side and that's what we saw with the U-turn on the planned increase in income tax hikes. So it's politically more palatable to tax wealthier individuals. So this is what we're seeing with the mansion house tax that's been reported as one of the measures that she is considering. Also, another measure is a charge on wealthy individuals exiting the UK. So taken all together, this isn't surprising that there's a lot of pain at the top end of the market especially. But it's also been widespread and it's something that we've seen all year. But with a budget just next week, it's looking particularly sort of nervy. Okay, so the budget is a major factor in this story. And you talked about the broader market. This is not isolated just to the tippy top of the UK market. This is a broader phenomenon as well in terms of lower prices. Yes, definitely. So the Rightmove data also showed that there's been a broader slowdown. And it's something that we've seen all year. We had higher stamp duty charges which have hit buyers. They're dealing with a cost of living crisis which squeezes affordability. And of course, with the budget, there's lots of nerves over what taxes could be introduced, going to get higher taxes. So it's kind of keeping sellers, you know, they're not sure whether to sell now, sell later. Buyers also not really sure whether to, you know, go now or go later too. So overall, there's just a lot of caution. There's caution over interest rates as well. We don't know what's going to happen with the Bank of England. And interest rates are quite high in the UK compared with other places. So overall, it shows that there's a lot of caution, there's a lot of uncertainty and this is being played out in the UK housing market.

Some 3,000 federal agents are still in the Twin Cities area as President Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act over continued protests against immigration operations there. Ian Lee reports.

Minnesota

ICE operations, protests continue in Twin Cities as Trump threatens

President Trump continued his push for the U.S. to take over Greenland, telling the prime minister of Norway his perceived snub for the Nobel Peace Prize meant he no longer feels obligated to "think only of peace." The prize is awarded by the private Nobel Institute, not the Norwegian government. Ed O'Keefe has more, and then Holly Williams joins with analysis.

Washington

Greenland Stand-Off

Trump ties Greenland threat to perceived Nobel Peace Prize snub

Valentino Garavani, founder and namesake of the luxury fashion empire Valentino, has died at 93. Garavani was known for a trademarked shade of red, a staple at his fashion shows for nearly half a century.

Rome

Iconic fashion designer Valentino Garavani dead at 93

Experts studying the cause of the derailment of a high-speed train in Spain - which killed dozens of people - found a broken joint on the rails, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Adamuz

Investigators find broken joint on track at Spanish rail crash site

Prince Harry is back in a London court, along with a slew of other high-profile figures, fighting the publisher of the Daily Mail over invasion of privacy and illegal information gathering tactics.

Prince Harry back in London court fighting British tabloids

U.S. President Donald Trump has told Norway's prime minister in a letter that he no longer feels obligated "to think purely of Peace" because he had not been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and he repeated his demand for control of Greenland.

Trump tells Norway he no longer feels obligated to think only of peace

Billionaire wealth surged at three times ‍its recent pace ​last year to reach its highest level on record, deepening economic and political divides that threaten democratic ⁠stability, anti-poverty group Oxfam said.

World billionaire wealth hits new peak amid rising poverty, Oxfam says

A high-speed train collision that caused a derailment in southern Spain has killed at least 39 people, officials say. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash.

High-speed train crash in Spain kills dozens

Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending Canadian Forces personnel to Greenland for military exercises with NATO allies in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats on European nations who block his efforts to acquire the island, two senior Canadian officials told CBC News.

Ottawa

Carney considering sending troops to Greenland for NATO exercises

The deal followed hours after the Syrian army seized oil and gas fields and two major northeastern towns in clashes with the SDF. Fighting earlier this month has displaced tens of thousands.

Aleppo

Syrian government agrees to ceasefire with Kurdish-led SDF

European countries held an emergency meeting in Brussels Sunday in response to President Trump's post threatening tariffs against countries that have sent military forces into Greenland amid his push to annex the Arctic island.

Brussels

European leaders denounce Trump's tariff threat over Greenland

After 25 years of talks, the EU signed the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Saturday, creating a 700 million-person free-trade area. Ratification is still pending, however, with the European Parliament set for a heated debate.

Asunción

EU seals contentious trade deal with Mercosur countries

European governments blasted U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that eight countries will face 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland beginning next month.

Nuuk

European governments condemn Trump's tariff threats over Greenland

Palestinians in Gaza expressed both concern and hope after the White House announced some members of a so-called "Board of Peace" that will supervise the temporary governance of the war-torn enclave, which has been under a fragile ceasefire since October.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Gazans wary as U.S. names 'Board of Peace' under Trump's plan

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on eight European countries until they allow the U.S. to buy the autonomous Danish territory.

Trump escalates pressure on Europe over Greenland control

Protesters who support the surge of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis have clashed with counter-protesters, while state officials announced that the Minnesota National Guard had been mobilized. Adding to the mayhem was the freezing January weather.

Minneapolis

Pro and anti-ICE protesters clash in Minneapolis

Iran's supreme leader blamed the U.S. for the protests against his regime that resulted in a violent crackdown. Willie James Inman has President Trump's response.

Tehran

Iran blames U.S. for protests, Trump punches back

President Trump announced that he would institute 10% tariffs on eight European countries who oppose his plan to put Greenland under U.S. control. The announcement came after a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers flew to Denmark to express support for keeping Greenland under Danish control.

Trump announces new tariffs on European countries who backed Greenland

Large crowds of demonstrators marched through Copenhagen and other Danish cities on Saturday in support of Greenland's sovereignty amid tensions with the US.

Copenhagen

Thousands take part in 'Hands off Greenland' protests in Denmark

The United States will impose increasing tariffs on several European countries until the U.S. is able to purchase Greenland, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff.

Global Tariffs

Trump threatens tariffs against European nations over Greenland support

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni won his seventh term with 71.65% of votes, according to official results Saturday, defeating the youthful challenger who campaigned for change after four decades of the same government.

Kampala

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni wins seventh term

There will be no territorial concessions in Ukraine, the Ukrainian president said, answering Euronews' question on whether Kyiv is now being pressured into territorial concessions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine will not cede any of its territory, Zelenskyy says

The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran's deadly crackdown on demonstrations.

U.S. claims Iran halts executions of protesters amid crackdown

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House. She presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal, which was seen as a peace offering to win his support.

Venezuela Strikes

Venezuelan opposition leader presents Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize

A U.S. Senate delegation is meeting with Danish officials on Friday to defuse the standoff between President Donald Trump and Denmark over Greenland. Denmark sent soldiers to Greenland and they will be joined by military units from various NATO allies.

NATO troops head to Greenland amid Trump's threats

NASA says it could be just weeks away from launching astronauts on a flight around the moon for the first time in more than half a century. Final preparations are underway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the Artemis II moon rocket is expected to roll out to the launch pad on Saturday.

Cape Canaveral

Final preparations for Artemis II launch underway

A South Korean court on Friday (January 16) sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison on charges that included obstructing attempts by authorities to arrest him following his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.

Seoul

Five years' jail for South Korea's Yoon in first martial law penalty

US President Donald Trump is threatening to use military force against Americans after clashes between protestors and law enforcement in Minneapolis. The city has been on edge since the fatal shooting of a protester, Renee Good, by an ICE officer.

Trump threatens to use military against Minneapolis protests

The U.S. and Taiwan clinched a trade deal that cuts tariffs on many of the semiconductor powerhouse's exports, directs new investments in the U.S. technology industry and risks infuriating China.

U.S., Taiwan strike deal on tech tariffs risking China's ire

The United Nations Security Council has held an emergency meeting to discuss the deadly anti-establishment protests in Iran at the request of the United States. President Donald Trump has refused to rule out military action on Iran over the killing of protesters. Tehran has vowed to retaliate if that happens.

Breakdown