
Argentina's foreign ministry confirmed late Wednesday that United States had officially requested the extradition of three Argentine citizens allegedly involved in the US Justice Department investigation into FIFA corrupt dealings.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced this month the bipartisan Icebreaker Recapitalization Act with Washington Senator Maria Cantwell that would authorize the U.S. Navy to construct up to 6 heavy icebreakers. The new icebreakers would be designed and operated by the Coast Guard, since under US law it is the sole service responsible for icebreaking missions.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made it clear on Friday that the central bank was poised to raise interest rates this year, as the US economy was set to bounce back from an early-year slump and as headwinds at home and abroad waned. The announcement was made in a speech to a business group in Rhode Island.

Five of the world's largest banks are to pay fines totaling $5.7bn for charges including manipulating the foreign exchange market. Four of the banks - JPMorgan, Barclays, Citigroup and RBS - have agreed to plead guilty to US criminal charges, while the fifth, UBS from Switzerland will plead guilty to rigging benchmark interest rates.

Japanese airbag maker Takata has said that mechanisms in the airbags of almost 34 million cars are defective. It will lead to the largest recall in US automotive history, affecting models from 11 carmakers. . The number is double previous estimates for faulty air bags from the manufacturer.

Despite persistent denials of any wrongdoing from Caracas, US authorities are currently investigating Venezuela’s powerful parliamentary chief, Diosdado Cabello, and other senior officials over alleged cocaine-trafficking and money-laundering, the Wall Street Journal reported.

President Barack Obama has banned the US government from giving certain kinds of military-style equipment to local police forces. The announcement follows criticism that police were too heavy handed in dealing with protests in Ferguson, Missouri, that turned violent last summer.

As the seed and chemical maker Monsanto woos Swiss agrochemicals firm Syngenta, the US company is also is trying to win over consumers in key international markets, rolling out social media and marketing campaigns.

Next June 30 Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will visit Washington D.C. to meet with President Barack Obama, a highly anticipated event given tensions between the two governments over the past two years.

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau, indicate that China and India have replaced Mexico as the top countries sending immigrants to the United States. Although people from Latin America still dominate the population of legal and undocumented immigrants in the U.S., it is now China and India that send more immigrants to the United States, the data said.