It appears to have taken a few weeks for current homeowners to realize mortgage rates had dropped dramatically. And when they did, they acted. Applications to refinance a home loan surged 35% last week, compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. They were up a…
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says he is optimistic about Boeing’s recovery after meeting with the manufacturer’s new chief executive. It’s an upbeat change of tune from the head of United, a top Boeing customer that has been among the most publicly frustrated about the plane maker’s problems, which have led to delayed deliveries of dozens of…
Trader Joe’s is recalling 653,000 scented candles because they pose an elevated fire hazard. In a release on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website posted Thursday, Trader Joe’s said the flame on its Mango Tangerine candles can spread from the wick to the wax, causing a larger than expected flame.…
A German military base near the western city of Cologne was temporarily closed on Wednesday as authorities investigated the possible sabotage of water supplies. The Cologne-Wahn barracks employs around 5,500 people, including 4,300 soldiers and 1,200 civilians, according to German newspaper Der Spiegel. A military spokesman, Ulrich Fonrobert, said that…
Toomaj Salehi, the Iranian dissident rapper who escaped the death penalty earlier this summer has been cleared entirely of the original charges by a lower court in Isfahan, central Iran. Salehi became a key voice of anti-government dissent in Iran during the 2022 ‘Woman, Life Freedom’ protests, with lyrics that galvanized protesters and…
People in Kiribati went to the polls on Wednesday for the first round of voting in a national election expected to serve as a referendum on rising living costs and the government’s stronger ties with China. A second round of voting is scheduled on Aug. 19 for all parliamentary seats…
As Kyiv’s forces advance farther into Russia following their surprise incursion last week, Ukrainians living near the border are watching with mixed feelings: a sense of justice combined with fear of what could come next. “We entered their territory not because we wanted to, but because they came to our home…
Conflict between elephants and humans is a growing, and potentially deadly, problem in some parts of India. Now, the state of Assam, a northeastern region famous for its rolling tea plantations, has launched a mobile app that alerts villagers of approaching herds in an effort to reduce the risk of…
Japanese railways and airlines are canceling services as Typhoon Ampil gathers strength in the western Pacific, with the storm expected to hit on Friday during the peak summer travel season. As of early Thursday local time, Typhoon Ampil was recording sustained winds of 140 kph (85 mph), according to the…
A US citizen has been sentenced to 15 days in a Russian prison on charges of “petty hooliganism” for attacking a police officer, according to Moscow court officials. The American man, identified as Joseph Tater, was on Wednesday given an “administrative penalty in the form of administrative arrest for a…