Cuba vote opens final chapter of Castro era A Cuban woman casts her vote at a polling station during an election of candidates for the national and provincial assemblies in Santa Clara, Cuba, on Sunday. The vote is a key step in a process leading to the election of a new president, the first in nearly 60 years from outside the Castro family. The successor to 86-year-old President Raul Castro will take power when he steps down next month.SD-Agencies Dozens killed in plane crash in Nepal A Bangladeshi airliner with 71 people on board crashed on Monday while coming in to land at the airport in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, killing at least 50 people, officials said. Airline spokesman Kamrul Islam said that of the passengers, 33 were Nepali, 32 were Bangladeshi, one was Chinese and one was from the Maldives. The plane, operated by U.S.-Bangla Airlines, was on a flight from Dhaka when it hit an airport fence and burst into flames, said Raj Kumar Chettri, general manager of the hill-ringed* airport. WWII aircraft carrier found in Coral Sea The wreckage* of a United States aircraft carrier, named USS Lexington that was sunk by the Japanese during World War II, was found on the floor of the Coral Sea more than 800 kilometers off the eastern coast of Australia. The carrier was discovered by a team of explorers led by billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the U.S. Navy has confirmed. The ship, which was part of the Battle of the Coral Sea from May 4-8, 1942, was found in a remarkably well-preserved condition. Abe’s political future in doubt A spiralling cronyism* scandal linked to the Japanese prime minister and his wife reached a fever pitch after the finance ministry admitted on Monday to tampering* with records to remove references to the first lady. The finance ministry admitted altering documents related to cronyism allegations* against Shinzo Abe and his wife. It also heaped* pressure on Finance Minister Taro Aso who insisted on Friday he had no plans to resign over the affair. White House top economic adviser resigns U.S. President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn is resigning, the White House has announced. Cohn, who had been rumored just weeks ago as a potential next chief of staff, will leave the White House in the wake of fierce disagreements with the president’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum* imports. Cohn is expected to leave in the coming weeks, the White House said. Poland’s Sunday trading ban takes effect A Polish law banning almost all trade on Sundays has taken effect, with large supermarkets and most other retailers closed for the first time since liberal shopping laws were introduced in the 1990s. The change is stirring up a range of emotions in a country where some feel workers are exploited but many others see consumer freedom as one of the most tangible benefits of the free market era. (SD-Agencies) | 