BEIRUT (AP) — Syria on Thursday welcomed efforts by the United States and Russia to end the country's civil war, as warplanes pounded rebel targets in an offensive to reclaim territory from the opposition.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sgt. 1st Class Naida Hosan is not a Muslim — she's a Catholic. But her name sounded Islamic to fellow U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and they would taunt her, calling her "Sgt. Hussein" and asking what God she prayed to.

LYNN, Mass. (AP) — Commissioners at a Massachusetts cemetery have said no to profanity on headstones.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI agents did not tell Boston police they had receiving warnings from Russia's government in 2011 about suspected bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev and had performed a cursory investigation, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told Congress Thursday, in the first hearing into last month's terror attack on the Boston Marathon.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli security officials say they have asked Russia to cancel the imminent sale of an advanced air defense system to Syria.

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia said on Thursday police had arrested a Libyan "terrorist" trying to enter a southern port with explosives, as security forces wage a nationwide campaign against militants. "The anti-terrorism task force ... arrested on Wednesday a terrorist Libyan trying to enter with a quantity of explosives in Port of Ktef in Ben Guardan," the interior ministry said. ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A celebrated car customizer who painted James Dean's Porsche and made the "Monkeemobile" for "The Monkees" TV show has died. Dean Jeffries was 80.

LONDON (AP) — The Royal Bank of Scotland says it has named Bruce Van Saun chief executive of Citizens Bank, its U.S. business, ahead of its expected partial stock market flotation.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The foreign minister of Burkino Faso briefly passed out during a live televised news conference with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara.

MILAN (AP) — Ottavio Missoni, the patriarch of the iconic fashion brand of zigzag-patterned knitwear that has added a classy touch of color and style to countless well-dressed women, died Thursday in northern Italy. He was 92.

MADRID (AP) — Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova reached the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open on Thursday, with the two top-ranked players winning in straight sets.

By Jessica Donati and Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A daughter of Muammar Gaddafi's jailed former intelligence chief accused Libya on Thursday of denying him access to a lawyer, family visits and exercise and she likened his detention to "passive torture". Abdullah al-Senussi was one of the late strongman's most feared associates until his 42-year regime was toppled by rebels in 2011. He was handed over to Libya in September by Mauritania, where he had been arrested with a false Malian passport after arriving on a flight from Morocco. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a five-year low. Layoffs have returned to pre-recession levels, a trend that could lead to more hiring.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq on Thursday rejected a key element of an accord to bring an end to a long Kurdish uprising in Turkey — offering refuge to rebel fighters in country's north.

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian church officials say Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II has left for the Vatican, marking the first such visit in 40 years.