Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Besame. And jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) wader, palantir, JML9999, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Man Oh Man, Doctor RJ, 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
Ukraine election: Comedian Zelensky wins presidency by landslide
Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has won a landslide victory in the country's presidential election, exit polls suggest.
The polls give the political newcomer, who dominated the first round of voting three weeks ago, more than 70% support.
Mr Zelensky, 41, challenged incumbent president Petro Poroshenko who has admitted defeat.
The apparent result is being seen as a huge blow to Mr Poroshenko and a rejection of Ukraine's establishment.
"I will never let you down," Mr Zelensky told celebrating supporters on Sunday.
"I'm not yet officially the president," he added. "But as a citizen of Ukraine I can say to all countries in the post-Soviet Union: Look at us. Anything is possible!”
BBC
Morocco protests: Thousands demand release of activists
Thousands of people have protested in Morocco's capital Rabat, demanding the release of 42 activists who had rallied against corruption and unemployment.
Sunday's "march of the Moroccan people" was organised by political and civil rights groups, as well as the families of detainees.
It comes weeks after a court upheld prison sentences for the activists, who held protests in 2016 and 2017.
Authorities accuse them of threatening the security of the country.
Protesters have been pictured with flags, banners and pictures of the jailed activists, who are members of Hirak Rif - or the "Rif Movement”. The demonstrations also called for the release of journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui, who is serving a three-year sentence for covering the protests in Morocco's northern Rif region.
The Guardian
Sri Lanka bombings: 13 suspects arrested over terror attacks, say police – live
Late Sunday night, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said a total of 13 suspects had now been arrested. A police source told AFP the 13 men were detained at two locations in and around Colombo, and that the suspects were all from the same radical group.
No group has yet claimed direct responsibility for the attacks. Previously, police said eight had been arrested.
In a statement, Gunasekara said police had seized a van and driver they suspected transported the suspects into Colombo and also raided a safe house used by the attackers. Three police officers were among the dead when the eighth suicide bomb blast went off during a police raid on a housing complex in Colombo during the hunt for the attackers.
290 people have been confirmed dead, according to police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera.
500 people are also wounded, according to the figures provided to both Reuters and AFR. On Sunday night, the death toll was at 207.
The Guardian
End of an era in Japan as emperor prepares to abdicate
The imperial palace grounds in central Tokyo are bathed in spring sunshine. Joggers completing circuits of the moat artfully dodge groups of foreign tourists. Office workers tuck into lunches of onigiri rice balls and tea.
On the other side of the moat, hidden behind lines of trees, the palace is preparing for a historical transition. Early in the evening of 30 April, Emperor Akihito will enter the building’s state room and, in the presence of the grand chamberlain, the prime minister and other senior politicians, become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in more than 200 years.
At the end of a ceremony lasting just 10 minutes and steeped in the rituals of Shintoism, Japan’s indigenous religion, the Heisei era, which began with Akihito’s succession in January 1989, will come to an abrupt end.
Reuters
U.S. to announce end to Iran sanctions waivers, oil prices spike
WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The United States is expected to announce on Monday that all buyers of Iranian oil will have to end their imports shortly or face sanctions, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, triggering about a 3 percent rise in crude prices.
The source confirmed a report by a Washington Post columnist that the administration will terminate the sanctions waivers it granted to some importers of Iranian oil late last year.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose by as much as 3.2 percent to $74.30 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 1, in early Asian trading on Monday in reaction to expectations of tightening supply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed as much as 2.9 percent to $65.87 a barrel, its highest since Oct. 30. [O/R]
U.S. President Donald Trump has been clear to his national security team over the last few weeks that he wants the waivers to end, and National Security Adviser John Bolton has been working the issue within the administration.
In November, the U.S. reimposed sanctions on exports of Iranian oil after President Trump unilaterally pulled out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers.
Reuters
Swedish teen climate activist joins London protest as arrests top 830
LONDON (Reuters) - Swedish teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Sunday urged hundreds of climate-change protesters in London to never give up their campaign to save the planet as police arrests over disruptions to the city’s landmarks rose above 830.
Climate group Extinction Rebellion has targeted sites such as Oxford Circus and Waterloo Bridge in a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience with the aim of stopping what it calls a global climate crisis.
Police said the number of arrests in connection with the protests rose to 831 on Sunday, and 40 people had been charged with offences such as obstructing a highway and obstructing the police.
Thunberg, a 16-year-old student, spoke to hundreds of activists at Marble Arch, one of a number of London landmarks that have been brought to a standstill over seven days of direct action. Police were allowing the protest to continue at the site.
Raw Story
‘Destitute’ Roger Stone schedules speaking engagement at strip club in desperate bid to pay legal fees
According to a report at the Daily Beast, Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone is deeply in debt due to legal fees he has incurred and is finding it harder and harder to raise cash now that a judge has restricted what he can say publically.
Stone, who is scheduled to appear in court on charges of lying and witness tampering in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into criminality in Trump’s campaign, has managed to book a speaking gig at a Richmond, Virginia strip club.
According to the Beast, Stone claims he is broke after being released on $250,000 bond, and that he is only trying to raise cash.
“He’s still talking, and still pulling in much-needed money from public appearances like his upcoming meet-and-greet at Paper Moon strip club in Richmond next month,” the Beast’s Kelly Weill reports. “Some local activists want to put an end to the appearance, citing a violent ultra-nationalist group that often acts as Stone’s security force, the Proud Boys.”
According to the booker who is bringing Stone to town, he and his guest are both on the receiving end of threats from locals.
NPR
Colombia's Salt Cathedral Is A Marvel Of Architecture And A Popular House Of Worship
The tunnel leading to Colombia's most famous church feels more like a byway into the bowels of the earth. It's dark and dank, with a faint smell of sulfur in the air. But after a few hundred yards, the shaft gradually widens to reveal Roman Catholic icons, like the Stations of the Cross and Archangel Gabriel.
And they're all carved out of salt.
Colombia's Salt Cathedral is located about 600 feet underground, in a former salt mine in Zipaquirá, just outside Bogotá. It's especially busy during Easter, with thousands attending services marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
But the cathedral is also an architectural wonder, built in the caverns and tunnels left behind by miners, who extracted millions of tons of rock salt starting two centuries ago.
At the bottom, the temple opens up to reveal three naves representing the birth, life and death of Christ. There is a basilica dome, chandeliers and an enormous, floor-to-ceiling cross illuminated with purple lights. The pews are jammed with the faithful and when a choir breaks into song ahead of Mass, the sound envelops the chamber.
N Y Times
The Lyrids Meteor Shower Will Peak in Night Skies
All year long as Earth revolves around the sun, it passes through streams of cosmic debris. The resulting meteor showers can light up night skies from dusk to dawn, and if you’re lucky you might be able to catch a glimpse.
The next shower you might be able to see is known as the Lyrids. Active between April 16 and 28, the show peaks around Sunday night into Monday morning, or April 21-22. The moon could interfere with viewing the peak this year.
There are records from ancient Chinese astronomers spotting these bursts of light more than 2,700 years ago. They blaze through the sky at about 107,000 miles per hour and explode about 55 miles up in the planet’s atmosphere. The Lyrids shower comes from Comet Thatcher, which journeys around the sun about every 415 years. Its last trip was in 1861 and its next rendezvous near the sun will be in 2276.