Five foreign-aid workers seized by rebels in Sudan

Rebels in southern Sudan abducted five foreign-aid workers last week, including two Americans, diplomatic sources in Nairobi said. They said the kidnappers are from the Liberation Front of Southern Sudan, believed to be a black secessionist group struggling for independence from the predominantly Muslim northern part of the country. The sources said the kidnappers set a deadline of July 6 for meeting their demands, including payment of a $60,000 ransom.