Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Doctor RJ, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Man Oh Man. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) wader, planter, JML9999, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
BBC
Colombia landslide: Dozens of children among the dead
Dozens of children are among those killed in devastating mudslides in south-west Colombia, according to President Juan Manuel Santos.
The total death toll has surpassed 200, with hundreds also injured.
Heavy rain flooded the town of Mocoa in the country's south-west, with mud and rocks burying whole neighbourhoods and forcing residents to flee their homes.
More than 1,000 soldiers and police are involved in the relief effort in Putumayo province.
"Until we have the last person identified we are not going to stop," said President Santos, who flew to the area on Saturday after the landslide struck.
The relief efforts continued throughout the weekend.
He said the current death toll was 207, out of which 170 had been identified, including 44 children.
BBC
Second Moscow opposition protest leads to arrests
At least 31 people have been arrested during opposition protests in Moscow, the second Sunday in succession to see such demonstrations.
Last week, at least 1,000 people were held during protests in Moscow, reportedly the largest in five years.
The opposition has called for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations.
A smaller group of about 100 people began marching through Moscow on Sunday, but were blocked by police.
While police said 31 people had been detained for "breaches of public order", OVD-Info, a website monitoring detentions, said 56 people including four minors were arrested.
Those who organised the protest via social media are now facing an investigation.
The Guardian
Ecuador presidential election: conflicting exit polls signal tight finish
Ecuador looked set for a tense presidential vote count on Sunday night as exit polls gave conflicting forecasts of a closely fought election that could decide the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The ruling party’s Lenin Moreno was narrowly ahead of his right wing rival Guillermo Lasso, according to a survey by Perfiles y Opinion which gave the left-wing candidate 52.2% compared to 47.8% for his opponent. However, a different polling firm, Cedatos, switched their positions, putting Lasso ahead on 53% with Moreno trailing on 47%.
The uncertainty looked set to linger through the night as votes were counted in polling stations from the Amazon and the Andes to the Pacific coast and the Galapagos Islands.
For the country’s 15 million inhabitants, what is at stake is whether to continue the redistributive policies of the ruling party, which won the previous three elections under Rafael Correa, reduced poverty and improved access to education and healthcare, but has also been criticised for media censorship, corruption and abandoning many of its environmental promises.
The Guardian
US will act alone on North Korea if China fails to help, trump says
Donald Trump has issued China with an ultimatum that if it fails to put pressure on North Korea to disable its nuclear programme, then the US is prepared to take action against Pyongyang on its own.
“Well, if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will,” the president said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday.
Asked how he would tackle North Korea, Trump said: “I’m not going to tell you. You know, I am not the United States of the past where we tell you where we are going to hit in the Middle East.”
Trump will host the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, this Thursday and Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where the two leaders are expected to discuss North Korea, China’s ambitions in the South China Sea and trade.
Trump said he had “great respect” for Xi and “great respect for China”, adding: “I would not be at all surprised if we did something that would be very dramatic and good for both countries and I hope so.”
Al Jazeera
Israel unveils latest missile defence system
A joint US-Israeli missile interceptor meant to counter medium-range missiles has become operational, completing Israel's multi-layer defence system amid tensions on its frontiers with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Syria and the ruling group of the Gaza Strip Hamas.
The medium-range interceptor, which became active on Sunday, was developed with US backing and is designed to fill the gap between the longer-range Arrow missile defence system and the shorter-range Iron Dome interceptor.
David's Sling was developed by Israeli defence firm Rafael with American defence giant Raytheon.
Israel lists several aerial threats, some on its borders and others, such as Iran, far beyond.
One is Lebanon's Hezbollah, with which it fought a devastating 2006 war.
The Israeli military believes Hezbollah today has between 100,000 and 120,000 short- and medium-range missiles and rockets, as well as several hundred long-range missiles, with the medium-range missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv
The Guardian
Bangladesh: Supreme court orders closure of tanning factories
Bangladesh's leather tanneries are a billion-dollar industry and a major employer in the country.
But they're among the most polluted places on earth.
After years of delays, the Bangladeshi Supreme Court has now ordered the closure of 155 factories
We toured one of these when we were in Morocco. It smelled so bad we were given some sort of herb to hold up to our nose to even be able to stand it.
Reuters
Trump presses China on North Korea ahead of Xi talks
U.S. President Donald Trump held out the possibility on Sunday of using trade as a lever to secure Chinese cooperation against North Korea and suggested Washington might deal with Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs on its own if need be.
The comments, in an interview published on Sunday by the Financial Times, appeared designed to pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this week.
"China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don’t it won’t be good for anyone," Trump was quoted as saying, according to an edited transcript published by the newspaper.
Asked what incentive the United States had to offer China, Trump replied: "Trade is the incentive. It is all about trade."
Asked if he would consider a "grand bargain" in which China pressured Pyongyang in return for a guarantee the United States would later remove troops from the Korean peninsula, the newspaper quoted Trump as saying: "Well if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will. That is all I am telling you.”
Raw Story
‘That’s what happens with an unpopular president’: GOP allies flee Trump as his poll numbers take a nosedive
Faced with historic low poll numbers after only slightly more than 70 days in office, President Donald Trump is becoming more isolated as fellow Republicans distance themselves from the chief executive after a string of policy failures.
According to the Washington Post, Trump’s unorthodox governing style along with his unfamiliarity about how bills get passed has lawmakers from his own party moving away from him, with a former White House official stating, “That’s what happens when you have an unpopular president.”
Following the failure of Trumpcare to even reach the floor of the House for a vote due to pushback from the hardline Republican Freedom Caucus, the president has launched attacks on the members — including having his social media director call for one member to be defeated at the polls.
With Trump making no effort to reach out to Democrats, and the president surrounding himself with family members including his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump seems to be making more enemies than friends in Washington D.C.
“He seems both politically and personally isolated these days,” explained former White House adviser David Gergen. “He’s flailing because he doesn’t know where to find his natural allies.”
Natural allies are in Russia, perhaps?
Buzzfeed
These Europeans Are Already Leaving The UK Because Of Brexit
For Spanish teacher Vanessa, the decision to leave Britain was simple. As she puts it: “Why would I want to invest more years of my life in a country that’s going down the loo?”
Vanessa, 33, came to Britain from Spain 10 years ago and until recently had been happily settled, teaching and living in a small Somerset village with her British husband Simon and their 2-year-old daughter Nuria.
Then the European Union referendum happened.
“We don’t see a future in the UK now,” Vanessa says. “During the referendum campaign my husband was supporting Remain and someone stood up in the pub and said that if he wasn’t willing to support patriotism in the UK he should fuck off back to Spain… People in the village would talk about immigration like I wasn’t there.”
This summer the family will pack up their things and start a new life in Spain.
Vanessa is one of thousands of Europeans saying goodbye to Britain long before it formally exits the EU.
N Y Times
Even Bold Foreign Investors Tiptoe in Iran
LONDON — In recent weeks, Total, the French energy giant, has been sending small amounts of euros from banks in Europe to Tehran.
It was the corporate equivalent of setting up a direct deposit. Total wanted to test the banking system and learn how difficult it was to make day-to-day transactions in Iran.
As it considers investing in Iran, the company is moving cautiously. It has assigned a full-time compliance officer to the country to ensure it doesn’t run afoul of any rules: It can’t allow any Americans to work on its projects there, and has to be careful to avoid sanctioned Iranians.
Like many international oil players, Total has been lured by the promise of a large and lucrative market with vast energy reserves. But the changing geopolitical landscape has made companies wary of the sanctions and restrictions tied to working there.
[snip]
Some major global companies have made the leap anyway. Boeing and Airbus have reached agreements to sell a combined 180 aircraft to Iran. The French automaker PSA has committed 300 million euros, or $320 million, to make Citroëns in the country, and hotel groups like Accor and Rotana have struck tourism deals.
Energy companies, in particular, have been eyeing Iran.
The country has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and the second-largest trove of oil in the Persian Gulf, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. And after Iran reached a deal with world powers nearly two years ago to lift sanctions tied to its nuclear program, the hope was that international investment would follow.
Reuters
Tesla delivers quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles in first quarter
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), the U.S. luxury electric car maker, said on Sunday first-quarter vehicle deliveries jumped 69 percent from a year ago to a quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles, bouncing back from delays in the previous quarter.
The company said of the total vehicles delivered, about 13,450 were Model S sedan and about 11,550 were Model X sports utility vehicle.
Tesla has said it expects to deliver 47,000 to 50,000 Model S and Model X vehicles combined in the first half of 2017.
In the fourth quarter, deliveries had fallen 9.4 percent due to short-term production hurdles from the transition to a new autopilot hardware.
Tesla had said production challenges, which started at the end of October and lasted through early December, shifted vehicle production towards the end of the fourth quarter, resulting in delayed deliveries.
Ultimately, about 2,750 vehicles were missed being counted as deliveries in the fourth quarter either due to last-minute delays in transport or because the customer was unable to physically take delivery.
In addition to the first quarter deliveries, about 4,650 vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the quarter and will be counted as deliveries in the second quarter, Tesla said in a statement on Sunday.
C/Net (Autoplay)
Elon Musk to aliens: 'Damn you'
This is what happens when you recycle a rocket and it comes back to Earth safely.
You start wondering about how small you are. You start dreaming about the great beyond and the far smarter beings out there.
Conveniently for Elon Musk, it's April Fool's Day, so no one will take you seriously.
In a couple of tweets launched on Saturday, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO mused about potential celestial truths.
"Technology breakthrough: turns out chemtrails are actually a message from time-traveling aliens describing the secret of teleportation," he tweeted.
The legend of chemtrails is that they reveal a government or corporate (or both) chemical spraying program of vast proportions. Most scientists believe this isn't the case. Musk's posit offers far more optimism.