The United States has expressed deep concern on the Syrian civil war’s spill over into Lebanon and called on all sides to exercise restraint following a string of kidnappings.

“We are deeply concerned about spillover from the Syrian crisis that could impact on the stability, on the sovereignty of Lebanon, and we firmly condemn kidnapping as a tactic,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Thursday.

Beginning Thursday, Facebook's early investors and a few directors will be able to sell stock they own in the company as a lock-up period barring them from doing so begins to expire.

Thursday marks 90 days after Facebook's initial public offering. That's when early investors who were selling stockholders in the IPO get to sell their shares, according to regulatory filings. Other shareholders, such as many Facebook employees, will be able to sell beginning in October. The last lockup deadline expires next May, a year after Facebook's IPO.

Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam count will stay stuck at 11 for now, sidetracked by another knee problem.

The third-ranked Spaniard withdrew from the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Tendinitis has kept him out of action since his stunning loss at Wimbledon in late June.

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer won their opening matches at the Western and Southern Open near Cincinnati in straight sets Wednesday, getting accustomed to the heat after spending the last two weeks in London and Canada.

Djokovic got the bronze medal at the Olympics in London, then won the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Sunday night. He was a little off in his opening set on a court baked in sunshine and 86-degree heat, before pulling away from Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (4), 6-2.

After Manchester City secured its first Premier League title in a dramatic finale last season, it was widely believed manager Robert Mancini would again spend big to usher in an era of domination in English football.

But the lack of action speaks volumes - City has only signed midfielder Jack Rodwell from Everton during the summer.

Air France said Thursday it will resume its flight to Lebanon, a day after it was forced to land briefly in Syria and then head to Cyprus after protesters blocked the road leading to the Beirut airport.

A spokeswoman said the plane took off Wednesday from Paris, but was diverted when it was an hour from Beirut because of concerns passengers would be trapped if it landed.

Families of victims of a deadly 1983 bombing of U.S. Marines in Lebanon filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to hold Standard Chartered Bank and its New York branch accountable.

They claim in the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that the bank conspired with Iran and its agents to hide Iran's assets from them. They're seeking to trace assets as they try to enforce a $2.6 billion judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba retired from football Wednesday after suffering an on-field cardiac arrest in March during an FA Cup quarterfinal against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Muamba travelled to Belgium last week to seek further medical advice from a cardiologist after consultations in Britain and Europe, and has been advised to retire from playing at the professional level.

After deposing Barcelona and sending its coach Pep Guardiola into early retirement, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid now faces the challenge of defending its Spanish league crown while seeking that elusive 10th European Cup.

Mourinho was give two objectives when he joined Madrid: break Barcelona's domestic hegemony and return Madrid to the heights of European football with a first Champions League trophy since 2001.

The United States Air Force planned a key test Tuesday of an experimental aircraft designed to fly at six times the speed of sound, which is about 3,600 mph (6,000 kph).

The unmanned X-51 WaveRider was expected to reach Mach 6 after being dropped by a B-52 bomber and taking flight off the Southern California coast near Point Mugu. Engineers hoped the X-51 would sustain its top speed for five minutes, twice as long as it's gone before, NBC reported.