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Connecticut woman designs tiny cottage, brings three generations togetherPhoto credit: The Picket Fence Projects via Bussines Insider When interior designer Caitlin Swann spoke to Business Insider about her family’s living arrangement, she described it as “the best” and “a blessing”, and it’s easy to see why. In Fairfield, Connecticut, Swann and her husband live in their main house with their three children, while her retired parents, Patti and Gary Christie, now reside in a custom 725-square-foot cottage just a few steps away in the backyard. What began as a practical housing decision has turned into a warm multigenerational setup where babysitting is a stroll across the lawn and grandparents are part of daily life.A crossroads for Patti and GaryIn 2024, Patti and Gary, then in their mid-70s, found themselves at a turning point. They had lived in their New Jersey family home for over 40 years, raising their children there and building their routines and memories in that space. Once th..

Thalles Winner DeSouza with Terry Smily and Usama El-Sehrawey celebrating his acceptance into Yale A Wendy’s worker who survived a shooting in Brazil is heading to Yale University after his bosses helped him pay for college.Thalles Winner DeSouza, 23, had started working at a Wendy’s restaurant in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while he was still in high school. As per his Facebook post, his plans at the time were focused on earning money, and he had considered leaving Wendy’s for construction work.It was then when his bosses, Usama El-Sehrawey and the late Ernest Smily, encouraged him to stay and continue his education. They eventually helped fund his studies at Cape Cod Community College, an opportunity DeSouza says changed the direction of his life.Four years after receiving that support, DeSouza has been accepted into Yale University. He shared his journey in an online post on July 28, thanking the people who had supported him and saying their generosity had opened a door that changed hi..

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, shaking the South American nation and neighbouring Ecuador and prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings.
The epicentre was in San Jose Del Palmar, a municipality in the Choco region about 400km (250 miles) west of Colombia’s capital, Bogota, the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported.
The USGS said it struck at a depth of 107 km (66 miles).
Choco Governor Nubia Córdoba said on social media that in…

The China-India-Pakistan triangle has never been short on danger, but Islamabad’s new defensive alliance has added another variable to an already volatile situation.
Last week, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed a pact in Mecca in which they agreed to treat an armed attack on one as an attack on all. The three governments have described it as defensive and not directed at any particular state.
Analysts said its main significance for India lay less in whether it would be invoked, but in how…

Iran has promised to release footage of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in public and with military commanders Footage showing Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in public and meeting armed forces commanders will be released, a senior Basij official said on Sunday, as Iran seeks to push back against growing speculation over the health of their supreme leader.The footage will show Khamenei “among the people and out in the streets, as well as in meetings with the commanders of the armed forces,” Basij Organisation deputy Qasem Qoraishi was quoted as saying by judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency.Khamenei has not been seen publicly since he was appointed supreme leader in March, when he succeeded his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Iran.Iranian state media on Sunday also published an undated video purportedly showing Khamenei, although it was not immediately possible to establish when or where the footage was recorded.The moves come amid mounting que..

A similar vantage point pre-park construction and a similar vantage point post-park construction (Source: Kongjian Yu) In 2010, Shanghai transformed a polluted industrial brownfield into Houtan Park. Its wetlands now clean up to 634,000 gallons of river water each day. The 14-hectare linear park stretches along the Huangpu River and was once home to a steel factory, a shipyard, and a heavy industrial storage facility. For decades, the site was used as a dumping ground for industrial waste and leftover materials. Security walls separated it from the surrounding city, while polluted runoff flowed through the area.A detailed post-occupancy performance study by the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF), part of its Landscape Performance Series, shows how the design team, led by landscape architect Dr. Kongjian Yu and his firm Turenscape, completely reshaped the site. Instead of using energy-intensive chemical treatment plants or traditional concrete pipes, the team created a living biolo..

The European Union’s traditional August break was supposed to provide officials with some respite ahead of a potentially bruising autumn when it will try to set its fiery trade relationship with China on a new course.
Instead, a border crisis on its southern flank has created turmoil and division among its 27 members, raising questions over how prepared the bloc is for a dust-up with one of the world’s economic superpowers.
“We had a real-time test of what happens when one member state was under…

After years of strain, China-Australia ties have reached a “good enough” baseline for Canberra, though still short of Beijing’s broader ambitions, according to a former top Australian diplomat.
The relationship had taken a significant downturn since 2017, but was now on “a more realistic footing”, Graham Fletcher, a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank, wrote in a report released on Sunday.
Fletcher served as Australia’s ambassador to China from 2019 to 2023.
The…

Representative Image As dreaming adults in this world, no matter what you believe and how much you earn, one of the most important parts of everyone's bucket lists is owning a home. A place that reflects their identity and is just their own. But what happens when you finally have the abode, only to realise that you don't want it anymore?In 2020, Sia and Mikael Lilja bought a small piece of land about 15 minutes outside Malmö in Sweden. The couple who had been together for twelve years and married for four, decided to make it their dream home. They were planning for their long-term future, having kids and staying close to family.By the end of 2023, they moved in and while they were still renovating the home, they decided to give it time since it was the biggest project of their life. But soon, their plans began to change. They had joined a waiting list for IVF in 2021, but the process was delayed due to the pandemic. “We had a lot of hard conversations about the future we&#039..

Democrats plan to use hearings, subpoenas and document requests to investigate Trump-linked businesses, contracts and financial dealings. US House Democrats are reportedly preparing a broad investigative strategy targeting companies, contractors and financial firms linked to President Donald Trump and his administration if they regain control of the House of Representatives in November.Rather than making impeachment their first move, Democrats plan to use congressional investigations, hearings, subpoenas and document requests to examine the administration's decisions and whether Trump used his office to benefit himself, his allies or donors, as reported by Reuters citing sources.What Democrats have plannedDemocrats are expected to focus on companies and financial entities that have contracts with or regulatory dealings involving the Trump administration. The discussions have included Apple, Alphabet, Palantir, Blackstone, BlackRock and companies owned by Elon Musk, including Tesla..