Author: Karlen Baghdasarian

Swiss authorities said on Thursday they had extradited to the United States an official detained in a U.S. corruption investigation into world soccer’s governing body FIFA, Reuters reports.

They did not name the official, but the news came six days after a source told Reuters that Jeffrey Webb – one of seven current and former FIFA employees arrested in Switzerland in May – had agreed not to fight his extradition.

The allegations under investigation by U.S. and Swiss authorities cover bribery, fraud and money laundering, including possible corruption in the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

They have rocked the administration of the world’s most popular sport, raised questions for the game’s powerful commercial sponsors, and forced FIFA President Sepp Blatter to announce he will step down.

A Swiss justice official said: “The first of the seven FIFA officials being held in custody in Switzerland was extradited to the U.S. on 15 July.

“He was handed over to a three-man U.S. police escort in Zurich who accompanied him on the flight to New York.”

Webb and the six others were arrested by Swiss police in a dawn raid on a luxury Zurich hotel two days before a FIFA Congress in May where Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term.

Volkswagen has disclosed that a robot has killed a contractor involved in its installation. The fatal accident happened at VW’s Baunatal plant, north of Frankfurt on Monday, reports. 

Human error was likely to have been to blame and not a problem with the robot, said VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig late on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old victim was a member of a team setting up the stationary robot. It grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said.

The man was resuscitated at the factory but died later in hospital, he said.

The Baunatal plant in Germany’s central state of Hesse produces mainly transmissions and electric motors and employs about 15,500 workers.

The contractor worked for a firm from Germany’s eastern state of Saxony.

The United States and Cuba are set to announce the restoration of diplomatic relations on Wednesday, the result of a two-year courtship between former Cold War rivals who severed ties in 1961, Reuters reports.

The chief of the U.S. interests section in Havana will report to Cuban Foreign Ministry to deliver a letter from U.S. President Barack Obama to Cuban President Raul Castro.

Obama will then speak from the White House’s ceremonial Rose Garden. It was unknown whether Castro would reciprocate with comments of his own.

Following 18 months of secret negotiations brokered by Pope Francis and Canada, the two leaders announced separately but simultaneously last December that they planned to reopen embassies in each other’s capitals and normalize relations.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected at a flag-raising ceremony in Havana later this month, when the so-called U.S. interests section will become a full embassy. Cuba’s mission in Washington will undergo a similar upgrade.

Russia hopes the UN General Assmebly will give an observe’s status to the Eurasian Economic Union at the 70th session, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after a meeting with his Belarussian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

“We hope that the Eurasian Economic Union will be granted observer’s status at the 70^th session of the General Assembly in September, Lavrov said. “We are working with our partners to promote such a resolution at the UN. Organizations such as CIS, SCTO, the Arab League, the European Union hold a similar status at the UN.

Lavrov said also that the EU is getting more interested in signals coming from the Eurasian Union.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Damascus on May 27 upon the invitation of Syria’s Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem.

Within the framework of the visit Edward Nalbandian will have meetings with high-ranking officials in Syria.

Minister Nalbandian will meet with representatives of the Syrian Armenian community.

Islamic State militants said they had taken full control of the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday in the biggest defeat for the Baghdad government since last summer, Reuters reports.

In a statement, the group said it had seized tanks and killed “dozens of apostates”, its description for members of the Iraqi security forces.

Ramadi is the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi signed off on the deployment of Shi’ite militias to attempt to seize back the area, a move he previously resisted for fear of provoking a sectarian backlash.

According to BBC, the Iraqi government is reported to be sending Iran-backed Shia militias to Ramadi to recapture the city seized by Islamic State (IS) militants on Sunday.

About 500 people are reported to have died when the Iraqi military abandoned positions in the city – only 112km west of Baghdad.

President Serzh Sargsyan has sent a letter of condolence to composer Rodion Shchedrin, People’s Artist of the USSR, on the death of his wife, Maya Plisetskaya, President’s Press Office reports. The letter reads:

“It was with deep sorrow and great grief that I learned of the death of Maya Plisetskaya, an inimitable and wonderful ballerina of worldwide fame.

Her unique images will forever live in the memories of spectators from all generations. The pain of loss is immense, and we share your grief.

I extend my deepest sympathy to you, your relatives, and friends, and to millions of fans of Maya Plisetskaya’s talent.”