Israeli experts are nearing completion of an ambitious restoration of the five-century-old walls of Jerusalem, the holy city's dominant architectural feature and a unique record of its eventful and troubled history.

The $5 million undertaking, which began in 2007, is set to be complete by the end of this year. The first restoration of the walls in nearly a century, it has required decisions about which of the walls' many idiosyncrasies — the falcon nests, for example, the hundreds of machine-gun bullets, the botched restorations of years past — are flaws to be corrected, and which have earned a place in Jerusalem's story and are thus worth preserving.

Shares in Samsung jumped on Thursday and other competitors also benefited as Apple chief Steve Jobs stepped down, with analysts seeing a window of opportunity for rivals of the trailblazing U.S. firm.

The cancer-stricken Jobs -- the driving force behind iconic products such as the Mac computer, iPhone and iPad -- said Wednesday he would step down as chief executive and retreat to the back seat as chairman.

Eight Syrian soldiers, including an army officer, have been killed in separate attacks in the country's central province of Homs, the official SANA news agency reported Thursday.

"In an ambush Wednesday afternoon at (the town of) Talbisa, terrorists fired on a military bus killing one officer and two soldiers and wounding seven others," said a military official quoted by the agency.

Using tips from arrested suspects, police on Thursday safely recovered a U.S. development expert who was kidnapped almost two weeks ago in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, a senior police official said.

Police traced the whereabouts of Warren Weinstein, 70, to Khushab city, located some 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Lahore, and freed him during an early morning operation, said Lahore police chief Malik Ahmed Raza.

Twenty-six miners have been trapped for two days in a flooded coal mine in northeastern China.

The state-run China Daily newspaper said rescuers Thursday were rushing to pump water from the mine in Qitaihe, in Heilongjiang province, but hadn't yet made contact with the trapped miners.

Iraq and Kuwait, two countries that share a small border and big history of mutual suspicion and war, are at it again. This time they are arguing about Kuwaiti plans to build a mammoth port that Iraq claims interferes with its shipping lanes in the Gulf.

Although it seems unlikely the tiff could escalate into another conflict, the remarks are disturbingly reminiscent of the recriminations that preceded Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iraq in 1990 and point to the uneasy relationship that has persisted long after Saddam's ouster.

The indebted state developer behind Dubai's man-made islands says it has completed a long-awaited financial restructuring and will issue over $1 billion in Islamic bonds to some of its creditors.

Nakheel said Wednesday that the Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, would be issued on Thursday.

Rental car company Hertz Global Holdings says it plans to partner with General Electric in offering electric vehicles in China and expanding the charging networks needed to run them.

An agreement to be signed in Shanghai's "Auto City" of Anting on Wednesday calls for building 770 charging stations in major Chinese cities including Shanghai and Beijing, said Richard Broome, Hertz's senior vice president for corporate affairs.

Drunken revelers rejoice: Facebook will now let you decide whether your friends can attach your name to a photo before it is circulated.

Currently, your friends can add your name to a photo on Facebook without your consent or knowledge. You can remove it later, but only after lots of others may have seen the embarrassing shots. Now, you can insist on pre-approval.

Famed American trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis has shared memories of his childhood and played a few tunes in South Africa as a prelude to headlining Johannesburg's annual jazz festival.

Marsalis talked about his life Tuesday during a question-and-answer session at Johannesburg's Market Theatre. Later this week, he will perform at the city's Joy of Jazz festival.