I’m in the process of purchasing a property and have had my offer accepted. I’ve also just had a building survey completed that has highlighted serious issues with the roof, which means that extensive work or replacement is required.

The property has been on the market for more than a year with a number of failed sales. At the time of putting in my offer, I asked why the sales fell through and if there was any major remedial work that was required, the estate agent cited various reasons, but none were due to the building condition. That contradicts what my surveyor told me which was that he’d previously done a valuation on the same property whereby he’d given a much lower valuation because of the condition of the roof. Based on my surveyor’s comments I feel the estate agent has either lied or been misleading about the condition of the property and about the reasons for the failure of previous sales. So far I’ve paid out for the survey and various conveyancing costs. Do I have any recourse against the estate agent to recover my costs?

Read more at The Guardian.

During my youth, I recall listening to “Top 40” radio, especially on weekends when Casey Kasem’s countdown would be on the air. I can still hear his theme song in my head - and his folksy, informed voice. Where would my favorite songs be on this week’s Billboard chart, I wondered? I loved the weekly drama, the anticipation of the rankings, and counting up with Casey from “number 40 all the way to the top.” I naturally found myself agreeing with the popularity presented. Oh, I see - that song’s better than the prior song. Imagine!

Quite charming and funny in hindsight.

Read more at Forbes.

The retail industry is a dangerous space for investors.

Read more at US News.

By the time Toby Willis arrived at Children's Hospital Los Angeles in March 2018 to receive a first-of-its-kind gene therapy treatment, he had lost most of his eyesight to the inherited eye disease retinitis pigmentosa. Willis, 44, a software engineer for Expedia in Seattle, could only see shapes and shadows. He'd given up driving 20 years earlier, and while he could get along on foot with a cane and his seeing-eye dog, his remaining eyesight was deteriorating.

Then Willis learned from a geneticist that his disease was caused by a rare mutation in the gene RPE65 and that it could be treated with a new gene therapy surgically delivered into each eye. The therapy, called Luxturna, involves inserting a functional copy of RPE65 that takes over for the faulty gene, producing a protein vital for proper vision. While he wouldn't regain all his sight, doctors told him he might recoup enough to significantly improve his quality of life. He signed up right away for the new therapy at Children's Hospital LA – one of the first hospitals equipped to provide it.

Read more at US News.

Sweden's complex place in the region and the world play a central role in its upcoming general election on Sunday, just as the outcome of it could have perilous implications internationally.

A recent spate of migrants and asylum seekers – more than 160,000 in 2015 alone – as well as the specter of a threat from Russia are playing central roles in the lead-up to the Sept. 9 election that will elect members to Sweden's Parliament, the Riksdag, who in turn will vote in the next prime minister. Political parties on the right and far right are gathering steam and causing international concern over how Stockholm might shift its focus.

Read more at US News.

It's Monday, it's a new week, and while we won't pretend we know everything that's going to happen over the next seven days, we have some sense of what is coming up.

Here's your briefing on some of the most important and interesting stories happening in the week ahead.

Read more at BBC News.

For the first time cameras enter the world of one of Kenya’s most controversial police officers, who became national news after mobile footage showed him gunning down two apparently unarmed men in broad daylight in 2017.

BBC Africa Eye joins Corporal Ahmed Rashid as he seeks to rid the streets of gangsters and criminals in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

Read more at BBC News.

Far-right and opposition anti-fascist crowds have taken part in protests in Köthen in eastern Germany, where a German man earlier died following an alleged fight with Afghan men.

Police were deployed to help prevent violent clashes and the city's mayor had advised residents to stay at home.

Read more at BBC News.

After a few months of steady humidity, some of us are already fantasizing about escaping to a place filled with ice.

Luckily, there is a land of ice and snow, with the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow. And it has never been more attainable.

Read more at Forbes.

Think of the words “population control” and disturbing events in human history come to mind. Given the precedents set by Nazi eugenicists and numerous ancient infanticidal cultures, capping the number of humans allowed to be alive at any time may seem like an egregious violation of human rights. But successful family planning initiatives show that there are humane ways to keep a growth rate in check, and some scientists have even made the case that we must do it in order for the human race as a whole to survive. As climate change continues to threaten the well-being of the entire planet, argue scientists in a recent opinion piece in Science, it’s time to take population control more seriously than ever.

Read more at Inverse.