The former chief of a CIA unit based in Milan has been arrested in Panama.

Robert Seldon Lady was convicted in absentia by an Italian court for the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in 2003.

The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was then reportedly flown to Egypt and tortured.

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The Arab League has expressed its support for a plan to recommence peace talks between Palestine and Israel.

US Secretary of State John Kerry proposed his plan to the league in Jordan and said he was hopeful both countries "would soon be able to come and sit at the same table".

The Arab League issued a statement saying they "believe Kerry's ideas proposed to the committee today constitute a good ground and suitable environment for restarting the negotiations, especially the new and important political, economic and security elements".

The International Criminal Court has said that two witnesses have withdrawn from testifying at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s case over security concerns.

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told the BBC: "The prosecutor might seek to add other witnesses in the future if suitable replacements for these witnesses are forthcoming."

Kenyatta has been charged over election violence in 2007 which left over 1,000 people dead.

The ICC has previously accused Kenya of not doing enough to protect witnesses.

The International Criminal Court told Libya today, that it must hand over the son of Moammar Gadhafi so he can face charges of crimes against humanity.

President Juan Manuel Santos has met with members of the rebel ELN after they surrendered their arms. The second largest rebel force in the country has around 1,500 members and this is the largest ELN group to lay down their arms.

"This is what the [peace] process is about. So every member of the ELN and the Farc should fight for their ideals, but without violence nor arms,” Santos said during the meeting in the south-eastern region of Cauca.

The US burger chain McDonald’s, one of the largest and most instantly recognisable brands in the world, is due to open their first branch in Vietnam in 2014.

Henry Nguyễn, the son-in-law of the leader of the Communist Party Nguyễn Phú Trọng, was awarded the franchise and the branch will open in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, which was the main base of the US military during the war, before it fell to the VietCong.

Mr Nguyen said to the BBC:

The president of Panama Ricardo Martinelli has said that a ship, sailing under the North Korean flag, was found to be carrying military equipment when stopped on the Panama Canal.

The 35-member crew is reported to have resisted the boarding of the ship and the captain attempted to commit suicide.

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today rejected European Union guidelines that banned member states from funding projects in Jewish settlements.

The new EU guidelines will ensure that Israeli settlements beyond the 1967 Green Line have no access to funding or prizes.