North Korean ship to Cuba freed

A North Korean ship detained near the Panama Canal for smuggling Cuban weapons set sail back for the Caribbean island on Saturday with most of its crew on board after it paid a fine, the government said. The Chong Chon Gang ship was seized in July for smuggling Soviet-era arms, including two MiG-21 jet fighters, under thousands of tonnes of sugar. Thirty-two sailors in good health were on the ship when it left the country’s Colon port Saturday morning, Panama’s foreign ministry said in an emailed statement.