Honolul: Coast Guard: Tugboat crew rescued dog from tanker

A dog stranded for 24 days aboard an abandoned tanker was captured Friday by the crew of a tugboat, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The tug’s crew put the dog inside a portable kennel, Chief Petty Officer Tyler Johnson said.

“The dog was on the deck and they grabbed it,” Johnson said.

The Coast Guard had sent the tugboat to prepare to move the tanker away from Johnston Atoll out of concern that it would break open and spill its 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel near the island, which is U.S. territory.

Johnson said the female mixed-breed white terrier would be moved later Friday to the tugboat after the crew completed rigging operations aboard the tanker Insiko 1907.

The dog, named Forgea, had not been seen since Monday when she scampered below deck to evade fishermen from Honolulu trying to coax her off the ship.

A fire March 13 disabled the tanker and left it without communications. One crewman died. The rest of the ship’s crew was rescued April 2 by the luxury cruise ship Norwegian Star, but Forgea was left behind.

Beijing: N. Korean defectors appeal for asylum at U.S. Embassy

Two North Korean defectors jumped the wall Friday of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and appealed for asylum, the first time North Koreans have sought refuge inside the American compound, according to U.S. officials.

The two men, described as brothers and laborers in their 20s, spent the day holed up in the embassy compound as U.S. and Chinese officials negotiated an agreement allowing the brothers to leave for another country early today, rather than be returned to North Korea.

“They were accepted for resettlement,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. “We appreciate the Chinese government’s constructive response.”

The two men initially flew to another country, but are to end up in South Korea sometime this weekend, U.S. officials said. They would not reveal the intermediary country.

The American officials requested anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue.

The incident is the latest in a surge of such defections by North Koreans in the Chinese capital.

Philippines: Military: Journalist released

A journalist who has been missing for three months was freed early today by Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Arlyn de la Cruz, 32, obtained the first interviews of Wichita, Kan., missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, who are being held hostage by the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group, late last year, then vanished in late January while apparently seeking access to the captives again.

Col. Romeo Tolentino said de la Cruz was freed about 5:30 a.m. on Jolo island. She was taken to the airport at Zamboanga, on nearby Mindanao island, then was to be flown by private plane to the capital, Manila.

Smiling, she was wearing a Muslim headdress that she took off as she arrived at the airport.

“By the grace of God, I am finally home,” she told reporters before leaving. “This is an answered prayer.”