Tell It Like It Is News

Nearly 20 missing after monsoon rains trigger flash floods, sending torrents of volcanic material and mud down slopes of Mount Merapi volcanoHeavy rains triggered flash floods and caused torrents of cold lava and mud to flow down a volcano’s slopes on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 37 people and leaving more than a dozen others missing, officials have said.Monsoon rains and a major mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Marapi caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday. The floods swept away people and submerged more than 100 houses and buildings, national disaster management agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said on Sunday. Continue reading…

Russian president says successor to Shoigu, who has been defence minister for years, will be Andrei Belousov, an economistVladimir Putin has removed his longtime ally Sergei Shoigu as defence minister in the most significant reshuffle to the military command since Russian troops invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.In a surprise announcement, the Kremlin said Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister who specialises in economics, will replace Shoigu. Continue reading…

Former pensions minister says data shows buyers increasingly forced to accept terms that stretch into state pension ageHomebuyers are increasingly being forced to “gamble” with their retirement prospects to get on the housing ladder by taking on ultra-long mortgages lasting beyond the end of their working life, it has been claimed.More than a million mortgages that stretch beyond the borrower’s state pension age have been arranged in the last three years, figures show. Continue reading…

Trial for New Jersey senator will start Monday as he insists he’s innocent of 16 felony charges, including bribery and extortionThe criminal corruption trial of Democratic US senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey is scheduled to get under way in a Manhattan federal court Monday, with prosecutors preparing a colorful tale of a greedy politician with a fondness for gold bullion, fast cars, and almost half a million dollars in cash found hidden around his home.Menendez, 70, insists he is innocent of the 16 felony charges brought against him by the US attorney’s office of the southern district of New York, including bribery, extortion, obstruction, and acting as a foreign agent. Continue reading…

Socialist party PSC looks like the clear winner in Sunday’s vote, although it will fall some way short of achieving a majoritySeparatist parties are in danger of losing their decade-long hold of power in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region, with the pro-union Socialist party poised to win the most votes in Sunday’s election, according to a near-complete count of the ballots.The four pro-independence parties, led by the Together party of former regional president Carles Puigdemont, were set to get a total of 61 seats, short of the key figure of 68 seats needed for a majority in the chamber. Continue reading…