PACIFIC ISLAND BONES LIKELY THOSE OF AMELIA EARHART: STUDY

WASHINGTON: Bones found on a remote South Pacific island that were originally believed to be those of a man may in fact be those of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in the area in 1937, according to a new study. Richard Jantz, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Tennessee, used modern bone measurement analysis to determine the bones were likely those of Earhart, who went missing while on a pioneering round- the- world flight with navigator Fred Noonan. Earhart’s disappearance is one of the most tantalizing mysteries in aviation lore, fascinating historians for decades and spawning books, movies and theories galore.

CUBAN VOTE BEGINS END OF CASTRO ERA

HAVANA: Cuba on Sunday designates the 605 members of its National Assembly, an electoral process without surprise since there are as many candidates as seats. But one of them will succeed President Raul Castro in April, marking the first generational change of leadership under the island’s communist rule. For the first time in nearly 60 years, after the era of the Castro brothers, the presidency of Cuba will go to someone who did not fight in the revolution of 1959. His name will be known on April 19, the 57th anniversary of the failed CIA-backed invasion of the Bay of Pigs, known in Cuba as Playa Giron and considered on the island as “the first defeat of Yankee imperialism in Latin America.” Raul Castro, 86, officially became president in 2008 after two years as interim leader, and following his ailing brother Fidel who had governed since seizing power during the revolution. Fidel died in 2016.

KRILL COULD PROVE SECRET WEAPON IN OCEAN PLASTICS BATTLE

SYDNEY: They might be at the bottom of the food chain, but krill could prove to be a secret weapon in the fight against the growing threat of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. New research Friday showed the tiny zooplankton are capable of digesting microplastics -- under five millimetres (0.2 inches) -- before excreting them back into the environment in an even smaller form. Study author Amanda Dawson stumbled on the finding while working on a project involving microbeads -- polyethylene plastic often used in cosmetics such as face scrubs -- at the Australian Antarctic Division’s krill aquarium to check the toxic effects of pollution.