Cholera suspected in 680 deaths

More than 680 people have died in a suspected cholera outbreak in Ethiopia that has also affected neighboring countries, officials said Wednesday.

Some 60,000 people have been infected, but the country’s Health Ministry is resisting pressure to declare an emergency despite a U.N. warning that the disease is an epidemic.

The U.N. has not officially declared the outbreak, which began nearly a year ago, to be cholera.

But U.N. officials speaking privately because of the sensitivity of the issue are saying it is cholera, something local officials continue to deny.

Eight of Ethiopia’s 11 regions have already been affected, according to Ethiopia’s Health Ministry and the U.N.

The remote eastern region of Afar has recorded more than 1,000 new cases in the past week alone.

LAGOS, Nigeria

Kidnappers free four missionaries

Four Mormon missionaries were released unharmed Wednesday after being held hostage for more than three days by kidnappers in Nigeria’s oil region, church officials said.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leaders in Nigeria worked with local and tribal leaders to end the kidnapping, said M. Russell Ballard, one of the church’s governing leaders.

The church gave the kidnappers $810 to cover the expenses of caring for the men during their capture, Ballard said. He did not characterize the payment as ransom for their release.

The men, all Nigerian nationals in their 20s, were kidnapped from their apartment near Port Harcourt on Saturday night.

On Wednesday, they were at the home of their church bishop in Port Harcourt, Ballard said.

The church has 74,055 members in Nigeria and 352 young missionaries serving there, church officials have said.

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Fire on ferry kills at least 7 people

A fire broke out on a ferry carrying 350 passengers today, killing at least seven people and prompting a massive rescue operation, the navy said.

The ship, Levina 1, was heading from the capital, Jakarta, to Bangka island near Sumatra, a nearly daylong journey, when the blaze started before dawn, a navy statement said.

Two children were among the dead, it said.

At least 210 passengers were rescued, Lt. Col. Hendra Pakan told el-Shinta radio, but it was unclear how many were still onboard.

Authorities were trying to determine the cause of the fire as two warships, three helicopters, a tugboat and nine cargo ships were dispatched to the scene, about 50 miles north of Jakarta’s port.

Port spokesman Hambar Wiyadi said the ferry’s log indicated it was carrying 228 passengers but tallies are often incomplete and boats overloaded.