Fair Observer Monthly: May 2026 - Fair Observer

Revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke terms of their visas, says Department of StateThe US Department of State has canceled more than 175,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to office, quadrupling the pace of revocations under Joe Biden’s final year in the White House, according to a new tally released by the department this week.The announcement said the revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, defrauded US citizens, abused the immigration system or endangered national security. Many followed run-ins with law enforcement, the department said, with assault, drunk driving, theft and drug offenses the leading causes, alongside reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse and fraud. Continue reading...

Prof Wyn Evans, who raised concerns over treatment of female staff at Institute of Astronomy, was subject to ‘baseless’ investigation, judge rulesA University of Cambridge whistleblower who alleged bullying of female staff inside the university’s Institute of Astronomy has won a tribunal against his employer.Prof Wyn Evans told a tribunal hearing in June that the Institute suffered from “a bad history of misogyny”. He claimed that one woman in the department had been “hounded out of a job”, another was “left a frightened woman”, and a third had faced “aggressive professors” at the institute. Continue reading...

When it comes to the Reserve Bank, there’s a whiff of a parent making a threat they have no intention of carrying outGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEvery parent makes threats in an effort to get their kids to behave – and every parent hopes they won’t have to follow through.Some (most?) parents even make threats they have zero intention of carrying out. Continue reading...

Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan will support Pauline Hanson’s migration bill despite vowing to fight her rightwing partyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Coalition will back a plan by Pauline Hanson to prevent Australian citizens with links to overseas terrorist groups from returning home, significantly elevating One Nation’s policy prescriptions on matters of national security.Despite pledging to fight Hanson’s insurgent rightwing movement amid collapsing support for their own parties, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, and Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, both signalled support for One Nation’s bill to bar the return of foreign fighters ahead of its introduction to the Senate on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Lawsuit challenges Trump’s executive order targeting the ICC for its investigation of Israeli crimes in PalestineFour prominent US human rights organizations have accused the Trump administration of using its “crippling” sanctions regime against the international criminal court (ICC) to undermine global efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity.In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday, the groups – the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute – argued that the administration’s targeting of the ICC, as well as of groups and individuals affiliated with it or assisting its work, amounts to a “blatantly illegal attack on international justice”, the groups said. Continue reading...

Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failedA Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to wear a seatbelt.The child was standing in their chair as the 6 August Porter Airlines flight taxied towards the runway, the airline said. Repeated attempts by an accompanying parent and crew to secure the child in their seat failed, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark as “the aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition”, it added. Continue reading...

The new PM could bring in revenue for social care or defence with a land levy or by reforming council taxResidential property is the largest store of wealth in the UK, and has long been a target for those who believe homes should be taxed more. Real estate remains a juicy plum for Andy Burnham to pick as he searches for ways to pay for an overhaul of the social care system and higher defence spending, to name just two fiscal priorities. Yet how to tax property, or possibly the land it sits on, has vexed economists and politicians for centuries. Here we discuss the background to the debate and some of the tax options. Continue reading...

Evacuations include famed tourist destinations as blaze grew to over 1,700 acres by MondayEvacuations have been ordered for areas along California’s famous Big Sur coast as a wildfire burns in the nearby steep, rugged mountains.The Timber fire in Monterey county started Sunday and grew to more than 1,700 acres by Monday, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. Continue reading...

Poll finds consensus on what makes people proud to be British but deep divisions on issues such as immigrationYou may think it’s a commitment to buying a round, the ability to chat at length about the weather, or making a proper cup of tea. But when it comes down to what makes people proud to be British, there is a consensus across all ages, demographics and political groups – and tea, pints and the weather don’t get a look-in.Hard work, fair play and community are the values that voters – no matter which political party, age group, social class or region they come from – instinctively believe capture what it means to be British, according to a large-scale study of British values by Public First. Continue reading...

Baltimore officer Dequwan Houchins, 30, indicted for allegedly making false traffic stop reports for monthsA Baltimore, Maryland, police officer avoided service calls by claiming he was on traffic stops when he was in fact “sitting idle in his car”, according to an indictment filed by city prosecutors.Dequwan Houchins, 30, is accused of four counts of false entry in a public record and five counts of misconduct in office and could face 12 years in jail and a $4,000 fine for each of the false entry charges, if convicted. Continue reading...

Buildings collapse and more than 470 people hurt in 7.4-magnitude quake. Plus, in such a vast universe why is there no sign of aliens?Good morning. More than 130 people died after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia, collapsing and severely damaging scores of buildings in main cities, including Cali and Pereira.The US and Colombian geological surveys reported that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 7.34am local time on Monday, with its epicentre in the western department of Chocó. It was felt in neighbouring Venezuela, still reeling from a deadly double earthquake on 24 June. The quake killed at least 132 people and more than 570 were injured as of Monday afternoon, according to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, which coordinates cities across the country.How has the government responded? In a national address, Colombia’s president, Abelardo de la Espriella, said: “The ⁠national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is ​needed. The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble. Colombia has a president whose heart aches for his people and who will do everything in his power to help them in the most difficult moments.” Continue reading...

British driver Andy Green will try to beat his own record, set 20 years ago, with a hydrogen-powered carThe first – and only – person to break the sound barrier in a car hits the track in Utah this week with new wheels and his eye on another record.Twenty years ago, British driver Andy Green set the land speed record for a diesel-powered car, reaching 350.092 mph (563.4 km/h) at Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats. Green will return to the lunarlike landscape Tuesday and try to beat that mark, this time with a hydrogen-powered car. Continue reading...