Portable “pop-up houses” are now available for purchase on American retailers Walmart and Amazon. The houses are manufactured in China and come in several sizes and price ranges.
The houses, which are built from containers, are called “expandable prefab houses” and are created by Chinese company Chery Industrial. They can be purchased in various sizes, ranging from a simple office with bathroom that costs approximately €14,000, to a larger house with bedroom, living room and dining room along with bathroom and kitchen that costs around €24,500.
The pop-up houses can be bought on Amazon and also at American discount retailer Walmart, but it’s likely cheapest to buy directly from the manufacturer, reports Fortune.
The house can be packed up and becomes “container-sized,” according to the company. Delivery to the buyer is included, but the buyer is responsible for moving the house from the truck. This requires a forklift strong enough to lift the container house, but for the larger houses it’s recommended to rent a crane. The house is delivered folded up and then you need help from friends to unfold it.
China is now building small, affordable homes, that you can buy at Walmarts in the USA.
Buy an acre of land with some friends and put a few of these on there.
Before purchasing, you need to have land to place the house on, but also plan for connecting water and electricity. Toilet and shower are included in most houses, but furniture you naturally choose yourself.
In recent years, so-called “tiny houses” have become a movement, particularly in the USA, where people advocate for more minimalism and simply living more simply with fewer possessions. Often the houses are portable, extremely small in size compared to regular houses, but also planned and well-thought-out in both structure and furnishing.
We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.
Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…
At a press conference on Monday, US President Donald Trump announced a massive operation to combat crime in Washington, DC.
As part of the measures, the city’s police will be placed under federal control, and hundreds of National Guard soldiers will patrol the streets to make the city safer. Trump simultaneously warned that New York could be next for similar measures.
— I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor – and worse. This is liberation day in DC and we’re going to take our capital back, Trump said during a press conference at the White House.
The president expressed frustration over what he described as the growing crime in the city.
— Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people, Trump said and continued: “And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it”.
Trump noted that the operations would begin quickly, in the same way as the measures taken at the southern border to stop illegal immigration. “We’re going to clean it up real quick, like we did on the southern border”, he clarified.
BREAKING: DC will now be under FEDERAL control, the National Guard will be deployed
“This is liberation day in D.C. and we’re gonna take our capitol back!” – President Trump pic.twitter.com/RbShJTQlkD
According to US legislation, the Home Rule Act of 1973, the president has the right to take control of Washington’s police force for up to 30 days, with the possibility for Congress to extend the measures. The Trump administration has sent documents formalizing the takeover to Congress, and later in the day, DC’s police chief and other federal officials met to discuss next steps.
— This will be an opportunity for us to come together and collaborate on being able to go out and execute warrants, said MPD Police Chief Pamela Smith.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clarified in an interview that the National Guard will not just be present but will act proactively in their operation.
— They will be strong, they will be tough and they will stand with their law enforcement partners., Hegseth said, adding: “If you take an action or a shot at them, there will be a consequence”.
“Doubled up on Baghdad”
Trump defended his decision and showed a chart during the press conference comparing murder statistics per capita in Washington, DC with the capitals of cocaine-exporting Colombia, Mexico and Iraq.
— We doubled up on Baghdad, he claimed, describing the situation as “completely unacceptable”.
— They’ll immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks to get them the hell off the street, Trump said. He also suggested that certain criminals, whom he claimed came to the US illegally, will be deported.
Photo: screenshot/Truth Social/Trump
— They come from Venezuela, they come from all over the world. We’re going to get them the hell out, he explained.
The National Guard will also assist in a larger operation to remove homeless camps from public places, including parks and underpasses.
— We’re getting rid of the slums, Trump promised and mentioned that beautifying the city’s public areas and repairing median strips and potholes are part of the operation.
“False numbers”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is a Democrat, confirmed that she will comply with the federal operations but expressed concern that Trump’s decision represents a major interference in local self-governance.
— I’m going to work every day to make sure it’s not a complete disaster, Bowser said, claiming to be particularly concerned about the presence of plainclothes law enforcement personnel.
— All law enforcement be identifiable by uniform, a badge, a jacket, so that people know that they are law enforcement.
Trump addressed the criticism and responded in his way.
— I know it’s not politically correct. We’re going to get them the hell out. They won’t be here long,
New York next?
Defense Secretary Hegseth also clarified that soldiers from other states will assist in the operation.
— They will be standing right alongside our federal agents, like they were in Los Angeles. They’re going to be proactive.
Trump also mentioned that he is looking at other cities that may need similar federal operations.
— You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem, Trump said, suggesting that more cities may receive federal support if the situation doesn’t improve.
The president also took the opportunity to express his long-term visions for the city.
— Washington, DC, should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world, and we’re going to make it that, Trump summarized and promised that he intends to “clean it up real quick”.
US Vice President J.D. Vance states that the country is moving toward ending its economic support to Ukraine in the war against Russia.
At the same time, he emphasizes that he has nothing against Europe continuing to deliver American weapons to Kiev – as long as they pay for this themselves.
— I think the President, and I certainly think that America, we’re done with the funding of the Ukraine war business. We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing. We want to stop the killing, Vance said in an interview with Fox News, which aired on Sunday.
He emphasized that public opinion in the US no longer supports continued economic aid to Kiev.
— But Americans, I think, are sick of continuing to send their money, their tax dollars, to this particular conflict, Vance continued.
“Got to step up”
JD VANCE: “THE U.S. IS DONE FUNDING THE UKRAINIAN WAR”
Senator JD Vance just dropped a political bombshell:
️ “If the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers, we’re okay with that — but we’re not going to fund it ourselves… pic.twitter.com/PXzTaGzhbH
The Vice President did, however, leave the door open for the US having nothing against continued European military support to Ukraine – even where American weapons are involved – as long as this happens without American financing.
— But if the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers. We’re okay with that, but we’re not going to fund it ourselves anymore, he added.
The interview was recorded before the official announcement of President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, but was aired in its entirety only on Sunday. Vance also repeated the Trump administration’s line that European countries must themselves bear greater responsibility for the war.
— What we said to the Europeans is simply: First of all, this is in your neck of the woods, this is in your back door. You guys got to step up and play a bigger role in this thing. And if you care so much about this conflict, you should be willing to play a more direct and a more substantial way in funding this war yourselves, Vance explained.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on August 15 to discuss the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the EU wants the US to increase pressure on Russia, and Ukrainian President Zelensky refuses to give up territory.
The meeting is marked by uncertainty, and a Russian negotiator warns of the risk that it could be sabotaged.
The summit in Alaska between the US’s Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin is one of the most talked-about diplomatic initiatives since the war in Ukraine began over three years ago.
On the agenda is the possibility of finding a path to peace – or at least a ceasefire – in a conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, destabilized European security, and drained the economies of many countries, especially in Europe.
So far, it is planned as a bilateral meeting, but the White House has expressed openness to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also participating in a trilateral discussion.
Zelensky himself has said clearly that he will never approve of Ukraine giving up territories to end the war. He emphasizes that a peace solution without Ukraine’s involvement would be meaningless.
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 08.08.25 06:03 PM EST
The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to…
— Fan Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) August 8, 2025
EU opposition and Russian skepticism
Several European leaders have given their clear support to Zelensky and demand that the US increase pressure on Russia to force real peace negotiations.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas recently said that the US holds the tools to bring Russia to the negotiating table and that all talks must involve both Ukraine and the EU to ensure the continent’s security.
Meanwhile, Russia expresses skepticism about the meeting’s possibilities. A prominent Russian negotiator has warned that the meeting risks being sabotaged by forces that do not want to see an end to the conflict.
“Certainly, several nations that have a vested interest in prolonging the conflict will take titanic efforts (provocations and disinformation) to torpedo the planned meeting”, warns Kirill Dmitriev.
The continued Russian military offensive in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of territories deepens the divisions and makes diplomatic efforts extremely complicated.
Volodymyr Zelensky thanks Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for all the economic support and all the weapons deliveries that Sweden has given to Ukraine. Photo: Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden
What can we expect from the meeting?
The meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin since the Russian invasion in 2022, and has attracted broad international attention. Critics argue that any real breakthroughs are difficult to expect, while there is some hope that diplomatic channels will be opened further.
Expectations are therefore cautious but still clear: Trump wants to pressure Putin into a ceasefire, while Russia has set high demands that the Ukrainian government and the Western world are unwilling to accept. Zelensky and European allies emphasize that peace must be built on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
How much this can be combined with Putin’s ambitions and Trump’s own negotiation tactics remains to be seen.
Anas and the other journalists "were killed because of their relentless reporting on the starvation and the famine and the malnutrition" in Gaza, according to a colleague.
Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was killed late Sunday evening along with four colleagues in an Israeli attack on a tent where journalists had gathered outside the main entrance to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
The attack was intentional and aimed, according to the media company, at silencing voices reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Israel, in turn, claims that the killed journalist was a Hamas leader.
A total of seven people lost their lives. Among the dead are also Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.
Shortly before he was killed, the 28-year-old reporter wrote on X that Israel had launched an intense bombardment against eastern and southern Gaza City. In his final video, powerful explosions can also be heard while the night sky is lit up by orange light.
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) August 10, 2025
Al-Sharif was a well-known correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic who had long reported from northern Gaza about the consequences of Israel’s invasion. In a final message, prepared to be published upon his death, he wrote:
“I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification – so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half”.
“Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance”, he concluded his message. Al-Sharif leaves behind his wife Bayan and children Salah and Sham.
This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my…
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) August 10, 2025
Israel: Led Hamas cell
The Israeli military has confirmed that the attack was intentional. However, they accuse al-Sharif of having led a Hamas cell and “driving rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and troops”, but have not publicly released any of the alleged evidence.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Irene Khan, and several human rights organizations argue that the Israeli accusations lack foundation.
— His entire daily routine was standing in front of a camera from morning to evening, notes Muhammed Shahada at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
Al Jazeera dismisses the claims as fabricated and describes the killing as “a desperate attempt to silence the voices” reporting on Israeli violations.
200 killed journalists
The attack has also drawn sharp reactions from press freedom organizations.
— Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom, comments Sara Qudah at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Anas and the other journalists “were killed because of their relentless reporting on the starvation and the famine and the malnutrition” that Palestinians in Gaza are subjected to, believes Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, who was a block away when the attack took place.
— (They were killed) because they’re bringing the truth of this crime to everyone.
According to AFP, over 200 reporters and media workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. Just as in the case of Anas al-Sharif, Israeli authorities routinely claim that many of the killed journalists were simultaneously members of Hamas or other armed groups.
