TORONTO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Russia claimed a do-or-die 3-0 victory over Finland on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals of the World Cup of Hockey and set up a mouth-watering showdown with arch-rivals Canada.

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura described a meeting of the International Syria Support Group on Thursday as "long, painful and disappointing," adding that he wants to believe that Russia and the United States are serious about brokering peace.

Sept 22 (Gracenote) - Scores from the U.S. PGA Tour Tour Championship at the par-70 course on Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia

Sept 22 (Gracenote) - Latest leaderboard in the first round from the European Tour European Open at the par-71 course on Thursday in Bad Griesbach

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The United States and Russia failed to agree on how to revive a ceasefire in Syria on Thursday as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington cannot be the only one trying to hold open the door to peace and urged Russia and the Syrian government to do their part.

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - France demanded Syria ground its planes, the Netherlands said a new Syrian government offensive on Aleppo sends the wrong signal, and Russia said "nothing happened" after a meeting of the International Syria Support Group in New York.

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Deposed Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari on Thursday accused former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of orchestrating his removal from office, publicly exposing rifts within an increasingly unstable government.

ERBIL, Iraq, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants are expected to fight bitterly to hold onto their de-facto Iraqi capital, and the battle to retake Mosul will likely be a bloody one, a German major helping train local forces said on Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. investigation into a leak of hacking tools used by the National Security Agency is focusing on a theory that one of its operatives carelessly left them available on a remote computer and Russian hackers found them, four people with direct knowledge of the probe told Reuters.