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.

The Burmese president Thein Sein is due to visit the UK and will meet British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Thein Sein will discuss trade, aid, democracy and human rights with the PM, but human rights organisations have urged Cameron to raise concerns about continuing violence against Muslims and repressive laws.

The Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal today found, the former leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party, Ghulam Azam,  guilty of, planning, conspiracy, incitement and complicity to commit genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1971 conflict.

The Congolese town of Kamango has been attacked by members of the Ugandan rebel Allied Democratic Forces on Thursday.

Over 30,000 were forced to flee the border town after the attack. The Congolese army has now retaken the town from the rebels.

The sudden movement of a large number of refugees caught the authorities and aid agencies, with many having to sleep outside, with no food available.

Violent clashes between street protesters and police erupted ahead of a court verdict against a prominent Islamist, Ghulam Azam, for allegedly orchestrating atrocities during the 1971 war against Pakistan.

The head of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has called for more attacks on schools that teach “Western education”, in a video released this weekend supporting an attack that left 46 students dead earlier this month.

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram (roughly translated to ‘Western education is sin’), stated,

"We fully support the attack on this Western education school in Mamudo".