World briefs

CUBA

160 workers to aid Ebola fight

Cuba's health ministry said yesterday that it is sending more than 160 health workers to help stop the raging Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, providing a much-needed injection of medical expertise in a country where health workers are in short supply. World Health Organization chief Dr. Margaret Chan said the agency was extremely grateful for the help. "If we are going to go to war with Ebola, we need the resources to fight," she said. "This will make a significant difference in Sierra Leone." While millions of dollars have already been pledged and countries including Britain and the United States have volunteered to build treatment centers, Chan said "human resources are most important," noting a crucial need for experienced doctors and nurses across the region. Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda, Cuba's health minister, called on other countries to help. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the Cuban announcement and said the African Union "has begun to mobilize medical personnel for the response, and the Government of Ghana has agreed to use Accra as a key hub for flights into and out of Monrovia," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said yesterday.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

U.S. help sought with missing jet

The Dominican Republic has asked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for help in tracking down a small jet that never reached its destination. National Drug Control Agency Director Julio Cesar Souffront said yesterday that he is working with DEA officials to find the jet and determine whether it was used for drug trafficking. Officials also have asked authorities in Venezuela and Colombia for assistance. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the twin-engine Hawker Siddeley jet late Wednesday after it took off with a flight plan to Punta Cana. The plane had only two people on board and was registered to a company based in Dover, Delaware. Authorities have not found any wreckage.

VATICAN

Pope to marry 20 couples, some in sin

Pope Francis is making good on his insistence that the Catholic Church welcome all faithful -- not just those who obey church teaching perfectly. He'll marry 20 couples this weekend, including some who already live together and those with children, technically a sin in the eyes of the church. Tomorrow's mass wedding in St. Peter's Basilica was timed to coincide with the start of a major two-year study by the Vatican of a host of issues affecting family life, including premarital sex and divorce.