S.sudan Asks Govt Officials To Return Stolen Money

First planned Palestinian city a symbol of pride RAWABI, West Bank (AP) — A state-of-the art Palestinian city with residential towers, a mall and a convention center is rapidly going up on once desolate West Bank hills and turning into a symbol of national pride. A giant Palestinian flag flies from the highest point of Rawabi, signaling to Israeli settlers living nearby that the first new Palestinian city being built since Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 isn't just about real estate. [] the West Bank's largest private investment project, totaling more than $1 billion, has also suffered costly delays because of wrangling with Israel over an access road that still lacks final approval, he said. The plan is meant to transform a sluggish Palestinian economy held back by Israeli constraints on access and movement, as Israelis and Palestinians negotiate the terms of Palestinian statehood. The city looks like the large urban Israeli settlements in the West Bank with neat rows of apartment buildings and will have amenities unheard of in Palestinian towns, at least in such a concentration. Next to the showroom, the giant flag, measuring 135 square meters (1,450 square feet), flew from a tall pole, in direct line of sight of the small Israeli settlement of Ateret on the next hill over. More than 90 percent of the city's 1,560 acres (631 hectares) is under full Palestinian control, but the access road runs through Area C for about three kilometers (two miles).

France's defense chief says military operations began overnight in Central African Republic, with patrols and a helicopter detachment arriving to quell violence in the streets of the capital.

Invoking the chance to remake the world, Vice President Joe Biden pledged Friday that the U. S. will play a leading role in creating a new century of prosperity and security in Asia. But he warned that without trust and common ground-rules, growing tensions in the region could threaten that collective goal.

As the news of Nelson Mandela's death spread across South Africa, residents of the black township of Soweto gathered in the streets near the house where he once lived, singing and dancing to mourn his death and celebrate his colossal life.

An American chemistry teacher shot to death while jogging in Benghazi was looking forward to his first Christmas in the United States with his wife and toddler son.

In a story Nov. 10 about Typhoon Haiyan, The Associated Press incorrectly reported that a tsunami in the south in 1976 killed 5,791 people. The actual number is 4,791 dead, according to a 1978 study by the Special Committee on Tsunami Warning System of the National Committee on Marine Sciences, National Science Development Board.