The decision was delivered by John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, who found that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented a series of unlawful policies affecting plicants from across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Gulf region. The ruling coincided with the US Senate passing legislation tied to Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.

Those policies imposed a sweeping pause on immigration benefit processing for individuals from 39 countries already under full or partial travel bans, justified by the administration on national security and vetting concerns. The affected plications included asylum requests, work permits, permanent residency (green cards), and citizenship pathways.

USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the hpenstance of their birth, he wrote, as per .

The rule of law has to ply to everyone equally and, as evident here, USCIS has neither ‘followed the law’ nor ‘done things the right way’, McConnell added.

Indeed, the agency has violated the very immigration laws that Congress has charged it with administering, as well as the administrative laws that govern the agency’s actions.

The judge said the government lacked statutory authority for the blanket delays and said that plicants had complied fully with US immigration procedures.

The judgment could influence how strictly US authorities are allowed to delay or pause immigration plications, which may affect processing practices that also impact Indian plicants.

Every person seeking safety, stability, and opportunity deserves a fair chance to have their case heard under the law, Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition, told The Guardian.

Today, a federal judge reaffirmed what we already knew: that the Trump administration violated the law, and did so with anti-immigrant malice. By shutting down access to asylum and preventing thousands of immigrants from receiving a decision on their immigration plications solely on the basis of which country they come from, the Trump administration acted against statute and against the rule of law. He added that the policies left families in limbo and undermined the legal immigration system established by Congress.

The plaintiffs, represented by Democracy Forward, also welcomed the ruling, saying it reaffirmed that the federal government cannot deny lawful immigration pathways based on nationality.

The policies were introduced amid a tightening of immigration enforcement following a shooting involving National Guard members in Washington, DC, after which Trump called for expanded migration restrictions and travel bans covering 39 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela and Syria.

He said pubs would see 20% cut in their business rates, “typically worth about £5,000 a year”, and that he would re-energise the social care agenda, by asking Dame Louise Casey – currently carrying out an inquiry – to produce her findings this year, rather than the proposed 2028.

Mispriced tickets were sold through the official World Cup site ahead of next week’s showpiece event for FIFA.

FIFA has cancelled World Cup tickets issued to about 60 fans who mistakenly got them for free because of a website error.

The tickets were allocated at no charge (0 USD) due to a prior payment issue during the checkout process, FIFA said in a statement on Thursday.

FIFA regrets the error and any inconvenience caused, football’s ruling body said. The tickets requested by these fans remain reserved, and the affected fans have been invited to complete payment of the correct amount.

It is the latest glitch in an often controversial World Cup ticketing programme that the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey are investigating for possible violations of consumer protection laws.

The mispriced tickets were sold through the official World Cup site on May 21, FIFA said in an email message to buyers.

That date was more than three months after FIFA president Gianni Infantino said all 104 World Cup games had sold out.

Tickets are still being sold by FIFA for games at the World Cup, which opens next Thursday in Mexico City. It is unclear if seats for games in less demand will drop in price under FIFA’s surge pricing model, which has been controversial for fans.

FIFA is also operating its own resale platform — and taking 15 percent commission from both buyers and sellers — in order to cut out ticket dealers from the market. However, sales platforms such as SeatGeek were offering widespread availability on Friday for many games.

Tickets for the 2026 World Cup are wildly more expensive than any previous edition, which FIFA has justified as helping earn billions of dollars it will give to member federations for developing the game globally.

FIFA took control of pricing and selling tickets as part of bringing World Cup operations in-house. The longtime model at previous editions was working with host nations’ local organising committees.

When the football federations of the United States, Canada and Mexico won hosting rights in 2018, they promised to sell hundreds of thousands of tickets at $21 each for group-stage games. FIFA was selling official front-row tickets for the final for $32,970.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday declared the onset of the monsoon over the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka.

Also read | Monsoon arrives in Kerala three days late, IMD predicts steady advance across India

The region has recorded continuous rainfall of over 2-3mm in recent days, with wind speeds of 30-35kmph and persistent cloud cover. If these conditions continue, monsoon is expected to advance into Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru and other parts of SIK within two days, CS Patil, scientist at IMD Bengaluru told Times of India.

The weather agency expects the system to advance into more parts of Karnataka while also covering the entire Goa region and extending into parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Further progress is also anticipated over sections of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, along with parts of northeastern India.

Also read | List of places Monsoon has covered so far and where it is headed next

Typically, the monsoon reaches Kerala around June 1. On May 15, the IMD had forecast that the seasonal rains would arrive over the state by May 26, with a margin of error of four days.

Despite the delayed arrival, forecasters expect the monsoon to spread across most parts of the country by the third week of June.

While the monsoon’s advance is expected to benefit agriculture, concerns persist about the overall volume of rainfall during the season.

The IMD has forecast monsoon rainfall at 90 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) for 2026, placing it in the below-normal category. The weather agency has also indicated a 60 per cent probability of deficient rainfall, defined as precipitation below 90 per cent of the LPA.

Even so, the onset remains significant for India’s farming sector, where nearly 51 per cent of cultivated land depends on rainfall and contributes around 40 per cent of agricultural production.

Over Kerala, rainfall will reduce this week. Otherwise, the monsoon is likely to reach many parts including parts of Northwest India by June 15-16, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate and meteorology.

Rainfall is likely to be below normal during the June-September 2026 southwest monsoon season across much of South Asia, with the strongest signal over central regions, according to a seasonal forecast by WMO issued on ril 30. The m issued by WMO showed below normal rain over almost all of India.

Green Party candidate Sarah Wakefield said there was a need for “serious conversations about who is contributing for a better future for our children, to solve the climate crisis, to get our high streets going, to make sure that we have the money back in towns and villages”.