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A crane works to lift the Sewol ferry Wednesday from the water off Jindo, South Korea, in this photograph provided by the South Korean Maritime Ministry.
A crane works to lift the Sewol ferry Wednesday from the water off Jindo, South Korea, in this photograph provided by the South Korean Maritime Ministry.

S. Korea ferry sunk in ’14 finally raised

SEOUL, South Korea — A 6,800-ton South Korean ferry emerged from the water this morning, nearly three years after it capsized and sank into violent seas off the country’s southwestern coast.

Workers on two barges began the salvage operation Wednesday night, rolling up 66 cables connected to a frame of metal beams divers spent months putting beneath the ferry, which had been lying on its left side about 130 feet down.

By 3:45 a.m., the Sewol’s stabilizer surfaced. About an hour later, the blue-and-white right side of the ferry, rusty and scratched and its name “SEWOL” no longer visible, emerged.

By about 7 a.m., the ferry had been raised enough for workers to climb on it and further fasten it to the barges.

Lee Cheoljo, an official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said workers will need until late afternoon or the evening to raise the ferry until its upper side is about 42 feet above the surface.

Salvage crews will then load the ferry onto a semisubmersible, heavy-lift vessel that will carry it to a port in the city of Mokpo, where workers will begin clearing the mud and debris and search for remains.

The bodies of 295 passengers were recovered after the sinking on April 16, 2014, but nine are still missing. Relatives hope that those remains will be found inside the ferry.

45,000 people flee west Mosul in week

BAGHDAD — The United Nations said about 45,000 people have fled the fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in western Mosul over the past week, a 22 percent increase from the previous week.

The U.N. humanitarian aid office said Wednesday that the latest wave raised the total number of people displaced from western Mosul to about 135,000. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says camp construction and site expansion “are accelerating to meet needs.”

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces opened an operation on Feb. 19 to drive the Islamic State from the western half of Iraq’s second-largest city after declaring eastern Mosul “fully liberated” the previous month.

The U.N. office says about 330,000 people have been displaced since the Mosul operation began in October. Of those, only 72,000 have returned.

Austria offers migrants $1,080 to leave

VIENNA — Austria’s interior minister had doubled the payment for some migrants who voluntarily return to their home countries to $1,080.

Wolfgang Sobotka said the added financial incentive is part of plans to repatriate 50,000 migrants by 2019 who do not qualify for at least temporary residence.

Other officials said Wednesday that about 10,700 migrants left Austria last year, including some 5,800 who did so voluntarily.

Eligible are those whose refugee status was still unclear as of March 15, with origins from African nations, Afghanistan, Iraq and other non-European countries who demonstrate financial need.

Turkey-coup suspects get Norway haven

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Some Turkish military officers based in Norway who had refused to return home after the failed July 15 coup attempt were granted political asylum Wednesday in the country.

“I can confirm they have gotten political asylum in Norway. We are talking about a number of officers, based in Norway and who had been ordered home after the coup,” lawyer Kjell Brygfjeld said.

Norwegian justice and immigration authorities declined to comment.

“They had been in Norway for a couple of years,” Brygfjeld said, declining to confirm media reports that there were five men involved.

Newspaper Verdens Gang said the group feared being arrested in Turkey. One of them, who was not identified, told the daily last month that he had been fired, his passport had been canceled and he feared torture if he returned.

“The news that appeared in Norway indicate that some coup-plotting officers were granted the right to asylum, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, speaking to reporters in Sinop, told state-run Anadolu Agency. “This is not an acceptable situation. Europe should not become a safe haven for coup plotters, for terrorists and murderers.”

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