The 10 most important things in the world right now

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REUTERS/Hazir Reka

People attend a funeral for militants killed earlier this month in neighbouring Macedonia, at Pristina's Martyrs' cemetery in Kosovo May 26, 2015.

Hello! Here's what you need to know for Thursday.

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1. Several high-ranking FIFA officials were arrested on Wednesday in a US corruption probe, just hours before Swiss federal prosecutors opened criminal proceedings related to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

2. The chief US negotiator in Iran nuclear talks, Wendy Sherman, will reportedly leave the State Department after the June 30 negotiation deadline.

3. Saudi-led airstrikes killed at least 80 people in Yemen on Wednesday, one of the deadliest days since airstrikes began against the Houthis, a Shiite rebel group, began in March.

4. The total number of patients in South Korea with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has risen to seven after the first case was confirmed last week.

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5. France said on Wednesday that it would not back any nuclear deal with Iran unless it provided full access to the country's military sites.

6. US Defense Secretary Ash Carter has called for an end to island building near the South China Sea by China and other countries to prevent the "further militarisation of disputed features."

7. The main parties opposed to Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza running for a third term said in a joint statement that the country has "sunk into a political and security mess" and that it will be impossible to hold peaceful and fair elections next week.

8. Nebraska abolished the death penalty on Wednesday making it the first traditionally conservative US state to get rid of the punishment since North Dakota in 1973.

9. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair resigned as Middle East envoy on Wednesday, a role that he has held since 2007.

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10. Twenty-two US military personnel at a US Air Force Base in South Korea received emergency medical treatment after a potentially live sample of anthrax was accidentally sent to the base.

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