BBC News with Marion Marshall

In the past few minutes, an appeals court in Italy has upheld the conviction of an American citizen Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. They were found guilty of the murder of a British student Meredith Kercher who was found stabbed to death in Perugia in 2007.

United States Attorney General Eric Holder says he will seek the death penalty against the surviving suspect, accused of carrying out the Boston Marathon attacks if he is convicted. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is charged with planting bombs at the race finishing line last April, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. David Willis reports from Washington.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen was arrested after one of the biggest manhunts in US history. The other suspect in the attacks, his brother Tamerlan had been killed during a shootout with police the night before. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces 30 charges in connection with the bombings which involved two devices made out of pressure cookers, citing what he called the nature of the conduct and the resultant harm. Eric Holder said he will be seeking the death penalty should Dzhokhar Tsarnaev be found guilty.

The American Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says US is concerned that Syria is behind schedule in handing over its chemical weapons for destruction. US officials say that less than 5% of the chemicals have been removed. Anna Holligan reports.

A number of military sources have suggested that President Assad may be deliberately dragging his feet, using the chemical deal as a way of delaying discussions about more punitive international intervention. Speaking to reporters in Warsaw, Chuck Hagel questions Syria's motives for failing to stick to the deal. He said he wasn't sure if he would stand to incompetence but that the Syrian government needed to fix it.

Opposition leaders in Ukraine have expressed doubt about whether President Viktor Yanukovych is genuinely ill. Mr. Yanukovych has taken sick leave stating that he has acute respiratory illness and a high fever. From Kiev here's David Stern.

The sickness comes at a crucial point in Ukraine's two-month old political standoff. The protests have now become violent with police and demonstrators clashing in recent weeks in central Kiev. This week, parliament also repealed controversial laws that have restricted public demonstrations while passing legislation that would amnesty protesters. Mr. Yanukovych has not signed either law into force however and it is unclear if he would be able to do this if he is on sick leave. Opposition leaders have questioned whether Mr. Yanukovych's illness is real or it's a political maneuver.

United States has criticized China over its decision not to grant a visa to a New York Times-journalist, forcing him to leave the country. The White House said it was concerned about the current restrictions placed on foreign reporters' operating in China.

World News from the BBC.

Panama has released 32 crew members of a North Korean ship seized six months ago in the Panama Canal, with Cuban weapons and fighter jets found under sacks of sugar. The captain and two other crew members will remain in detention as they are facing weapons trafficking charges. Cuba said the Soviet-era planes and weapons were being taken to North Korea for repair, but the UN concluded there'd been a breach of international sanctions against North Korea.

The US Air Force says 92 nuclear missile launch officers have been investigated over allegations of cheating in a proficiency exam, a much higher number than previously implicated. Philip Herd reports.

The latest revelations mean that nearly 20% of the US Air Force's nuclear missle staff are now implicated in a cheating scandal. Almost three times as many as first thought. Earlier this month, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James disclosed that 32 officers have been suspended after cheating or covering up cheating on test as they are required to pass each month to prove they're capable of doing their highly sensitive jobs. Today, Secretary James revealed further inquiries now showed 92 officers out of a total force of 500 are believed to have shared information about the answers of the test or to have known that others had done so.

The UN Security Council has renewed sanctions against the Democratic Republic of Congo. The measures include an arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes. The UN's top official in the country said there were credible reports that the M23 rebels appeared to be regrouping two months after they were defeated by Congolese troops and UN peacekeepers.

One of the Oscar contenders for the Best Original Song award has been disqualified. The nomination of Alone Yet Not Alone from a little known Christian film of the same name came as a surprise to many. Then it was discovered that the song writer, Bruce Broughton, had violated Oscar rules by emailing members of the Academy's music branch during the voting period.

BBC News.