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Caracas, April 27, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) has announced the hiring of outside firms to audit Venezuelan export revenues currently controlled by the Trump administration and disbursed to Caracas.

In a press statement, BCV Acting President Luis Pérez confirmed that both the Venezuelan and US governments had hired auditing companies to “ensure peace of mind and impartiality.”

“The auditing of the country’s resources by external consultants gives us peace of mind,” Pérez stated. “Venezuela can be confident that the resources are being channeled where they have to and getting where they need to.”

According to Reuters and Bitácora Económica, Deloitte is one of the firms selected to inspect the Central Bank’s accounts, though it is not known whether it was chosen by Washington or Caracas.

One of the largest global consulting corporations, Deloitte has close ties to the US political establishment and national security state.  The London-based firm has a well-documented history of hiring former CIA agents and undertaking corporate espionage.

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has taken control over Venezuelan oil revenues, mandating that all royalty, tax, and dividend payments be deposited in US Treasury-run accounts before a portion is returned to Caracas at the White House’s discretion.

US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have stated before congressional committees that the Venezuelan government’s allocation of its own resources, once returned by Washington, would be subject to outside audits.

Rubio additionally claimed that Caracas needs to submit “budget requests” before accessing funds. Both US and Venezuelan officials have acknowledged the use of US-managed funds for imports of medicines and medical equipment from US manufacturers.

The sequestered Venezuelan earnings have not been returned directly to the BCV but injected into foreign currency auctions run by banks. US officials have confirmed the transfer of US $500 million of a projected $2 billion initial agreement, though analysts have reported a higher volume of foreign currency made available in recent weeks.

Recently issued US Treasury licenses allowing transactions with the Venezuelan Central Bank are expected to restore some of the institution’s capacity to intervene in the economy. In a recent meeting with banking executives, Acting President Pérez stated that the BCV was prioritizing inflation control and forex market stability. A black market exchange rate has consistently hovered above the official one, with a gap currently at around 30 percent. Critics have blamed the BCV’s lack of oversight for the proliferation of currency speculation.

Pérez likewise pledged to review the Central Bank’s current reserve requirements, a recurring demand from banks in recent months. Banks are presently forced to hold 73 percent of deposits as reserves.

The contraction of credit, alongside reduced public spending and the freezing of wages, were policies adopted by the Maduro government in recent years in an effort to slow down inflation in the sanctions-hit Venezuelan economy.

Pérez was appointed acting president of Venezuela’s financial authority on April 16. He replaced Laura Guerra, who had been in the post since April 2025. Last week, the Venezuelan government’s “rapid response” social media denied reports of negotiations with the US State Department and the far-right opposition to select a new BCV board.

Since January, the Venezuelan government led by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement with the Trump administration.

The White House’s recognition of Rodríguez as Venezuela’s sole leader has paved the way for the resumption of dealings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while creditors of Venezuela’s sizable foreign debt anticipate a lucrative restructuring agreement.

The Rodríguez administration has likewise driven a pro-business legislative agenda with the goal of attracting foreign investment. The Caribbean nation’s parliament has approved reforms to the hydrocarbon and mining sectors that grant increased control to foreign conglomerates, alongside reduced fiscal responsibilities and the possibility of taking disputes to international arbitration bodies.

Canadian miner Gold Reserve issued a statement Monday “welcoming” the new mining law, noting that some of its “key recommendations were reflected in the final enacted law,” including the repeal of a 2015 decree establishing majority Venezuelan state control over the sector.

Acting President Rodríguez, as well as National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, have both acknowledged receiving “recommendations” and “suggestions” from oil majors in the hydrocarbon industry overhaul.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Fusagasugá, Colombia.

A festive moment in central Gaza as a charity-sponsored mass wedding ceremony for 300 brides and grooms was held near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, with newlyweds, their families and the local community in attendance.

FOR a simple stay in the city, The Resident Victoria is the place to be, being right in the middle of London.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Where is The Resident Victoria?

The hotel is just steps from Buckingham Palace, so royal family fans can head straight to it.

Being right by Victoria Station as well, it means you can easily hop into central London or even easily get to London airports including Gatwick and Heathrow?

What is the hotel like?

Just one of four in London – with another in Liverpool and Edinburgh – the hotel itself is simply but classy.

What are the rooms like?

The 73-room hotel ranges from single person rooms to deluxe rooms with super king beds.

SEA YOU SOON

I stayed at the cosy boutique hotel in one of England’s coolest seaside towns

ROYAL WELCOME

I stayed at the cosy Cotswolds hotel right by ‘Britain’s greatest palace’

Each room is classy but simple, with everything you’d expect as well as extras that make them ideal for longer stays.

This means mini kitchenettes that have fridges and microwaves, as well as crockery, glassware and coffee machines.

Working desks make them ideal for anyone travelling for business too.

Lots of the interior is from British designers, such as fabrics from the Isle of Bute and and furniture made in West London.

I loved the bathrooms which had loads of mirrors – often forgotten about in hotels – and complimentary toiletries and towels.

Rooms start from £184 per night.

What is there to eat and drink there?

There’s no restaurant here so you’ll have to go out for dinner.

Thankfully you’re spoilt for choice, although I recommend the Market Hall with a range of food stands inside to keep even fussy eaters happy.

For breakfast, you can order delivery to your room with things like pastries on the menu from the Drinks & Snacks menu.

Or you can ask to have your fridge filled with groceries, again at an additional cost.

Make sure to stay in the evenings at the hotel – they have complimentary wine hours.

What else?

There’s not gyms or spas at the hotel, but the reception is open 24 hours.

Use the hotel as a base to explore the area as you couldn’t be bettered located.

Is it family friendly?

The hotel welcomes families with the Deluxe rooms sleeping up to four and the Superior sleeping up to three.

Is it accessible?

Yes, the hotel has a number of accessible rooms.

Caracas, April 17, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela has reestablished ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after a seven-year hiatus.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez confirmed the news on Thursday night, calling it a “great achievement of Venezuelan diplomacy” and a “very important step” for the Venezuelan economy.

“This is the result of months-long negotiations that the Venezuelan far-right unsuccessfully tried to sabotage,” she stated in a televised broadcast. “Good has triumphed.”

The IMF announced the “resumption of dealings” with Venezuela in a statement on Thursday, stating that the decision was “guided by the views of IMF members representing a majority of the total voting power.”

Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva stated earlier this week that the IMF had been approached by Venezuelan authorities at a technical level and that the Caribbean nation “desperately needs help.”

The World Bank likewise issued a statement disclosing the resumption of dealings with the acting Rodríguez government. Venezuela’s last loan with the institution concluded in 2005.

Venezuela had its relationship with the IMF suspended in 2019 after the first Trump administration and allies recognized the self-proclaimed “interim government” led by Juan Guaidó as the Caribbean nation’s legitimate authority.

In March, the White House recognized Rodríguez as Venezuela’s “sole leader” and later withdrew sanctions against her, while US officials spoke of efforts to reincorporate Caracas into the IMF fold.

Though relations were officially frozen in 2019, Venezuela had sought to distance itself from the Washington-based institution more than a decade prior. In 2007, former President Hugo Chávez formally withdrew Venezuela from the IMF and the World Bank, calling them “weapons of US imperialism.”

Chávez repeatedly denounced the US-controlled multilateral institutions’ role in promoting debt and underdevelopment in Global South countries and pushed for the creation of lending institutions as part of Latin American integration efforts. Under Chávez’s predecessors, Venezuela implemented draconian IMF-conditioned structural adjustment policies that saw over half of Venezuelans living in poverty by 1998.

Last year, President Nicolás Maduro stated that Venezuela had “broken the shackles” of the World Bank and the IMF and was instead building its own “self-sustainable model and relations with a new world.”

Venezuela’s priority will be accessing US $5.1 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) that it is entitled to as an IMF member. In 2021, the lending institution issued $650 billion amid the Covid-19 pandemic as an effort to help countries boost reserves and address fiscal needs. 

However, Venezuela was blocked from accessing the funds as the IMF refused to rule on the country’s legitimate authorities.

Caracas’ reengagement with the IMF and the World Bank also comes amid growing speculation about the fate of Venezuela’s sizable foreign debt. The Caribbean nation owes as much as $170 billion from a combination of defaulted bonds, unpaid loans, and international arbitration awards that have accrued interest for years as US sanctions battered Venezuela’s economy and cut it off from credit markets.  

Venezuelan bonds have been rallying in recent weeks following Washington’s rapprochement with Caracas as creditors bet on a debt restructuring deal that can bring significant windfalls.

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the Rodríguez administration has fast-tracked a number of pro-business reforms, including in the hydrocarbons and mining sectors. Upon enacting the Mining Law on Thursday, the acting president thanked Trump, Rubio, and other administration officials for their “good disposition” in establishing “cooperation.”

Rodríguez recently announced further plans to overhaul the South American country’s labor, pension, and tax legislation, while also identifying state assets that are “not strategic.” The Cisneros Group, one of Venezuela’s largest business conglomerates, recently announced the raising of funds ahead of expectations of a “wave of privatizations.”

Since January, the Trump administration has imposed control over Venezuelan oil revenues, mandating that royalties, taxes, and dividends be deposited in US Treasury accounts. In a congressional hearing on Thursday, Assistant State Secretary Michael Kozak stated that “around $3 billion” have moved through the dedicated accounts. 

He did not specify what portion of the revenues has been returned to Caracas, only that the funds had been used to pay public sector incomes and import oil industry inputs, while blocking any transactions with China, Cuba, and Iran.

Earlier this week, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued new restricted licenses allowing transactions with the Venezuelan Central Bank and public banks that are expected to facilitate the partial return of seized Venezuelan export revenues.

On Thursday, Venezuelan authorities additionally announced a change in the Central Bank leadership, with Luis Pérez replacing Laura Guerra as president of the institution. Guerra had been appointed to the post in April 2025 by Maduro.

Pérez is an economist who had served on the BCV board of directors since 2018. In his social media profile, he describes himself as a cryptocurrency enthusiast.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Fusagasugá, Colombia.

American sanctions on the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) have been relieved, generating a flurry of speculations over what is next for the financial sector and the broader economy. After the big news, Delcy Rodríguez announced the resignation of BCV President Laura Guerra on Thursday night. Guerra is the sister of Nicolás Maduro’s first wife, and the aunt of Nicolasito Maduro Guerra.

At least for now, the central bank will be led by Guerra’s former deputy, Luis Pérez-González, a name that is as underwhelming as any of his predecessors. Pérez has been a member of the BCV board since April 2025. Before that, his experience in monetary policy was nil. He was in charge of Carbones del Zulia and of “Monitoring and Control of Eco-mining Development” in Maduro’s Ministry of Mining. You can find him playing Frank Sinatra songs in his spare time.

It doesn’t look like this will be Delcy’s permanent pick.

Before diving into the immediate and medium term effect that recent developments could have, it is worth highlighting what the BCV’s actual purpose is and the spectacular failure that has driven the institution to near irrelevance. 

Ironically, Venezuelan law mandates the BCV to ensure price stability and preserve the value of the currency. We don’t have to go far back to remember the multiple zeros stripped from the bolívar after one of the longest hyperinflationary episodes in modern history, directly contradicting its constitutional mandate. After all, this is a central bank that went years without publishing any data, and when it resumed, it released incomplete figures, forcing economists to reconstruct years of missing information. It is the same BCV that despite its constitutional mandate did not make any counterbalance to the completely irresponsible fiscal policy of the Chávez and Maduro era, shattering any sort of credibility it may have had. 

Nevertheless, reviving the BCV is crucial to the reintegration of the financial sector into the wider Venezuelan economy. In the near term, the effects of sanctions relief will likely be most visible in exchange rate auctions. Greater transparency and reliability in these operations will help reduce the gap between the official and the black market rates. This would directly affect daily life, reducing price distortions and helping stabilize inflation expectations for ordinary Venezuelans. It would also reopen the door to multilateral institutions and international markets, particularly renewed engagement with the International Monetary Fund, which is a necessary step toward debt restructuring and access to credit.

However, there is no on and off switch in terms of trustworthiness, and the BCV is supposed to be in the credibility business.The effectiveness of any central bank relies on its independence from political pressures and ability to communicate a coherent monetary policy, not just on the technical capacity of who runs it. Undermining that independence is what ultimately kills the effectiveness of any policy it may attempt to implement. 

Delcy needs to set up an independent central bank to satisfy the economic discourse, attract investment, and control inflationary pressures. Doing so will require establishing the first institution capable of challenging the administration from within.

This is true everywhere, as hard fought-battles are being waged around the economic world on this matter. From Trump’s challenges to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which unsettled financial markets, to standout regional cases like Peru, where the central bank has been single-handedly supporting the economy despite near-permanente political turmoil. These examples highlight just how crucial central bank independence is to real economic stability.

Restoring trust in the BCV goes beyond who runs it, but the naming of the new president is one of the most crucial decisions that the interim administration of Delcy Rodríguez will have to make. Whoever is chosen will be scrutinized by both ordinary Venezuelans and international investors to gauge the commitment of Rodríguez to carry out the necessary economic reforms. Someone that falls short of being able to implement true independence and restore confidence in the system will just undermine all the political speech of the economy first that is currently being put on display. 

The paradox is that Delcy needs to set up an independent central bank to satisfy the economic discourse, attract investment, and control inflationary pressures. But doing so will require establishing the first institution capable of challenging the administration from within. This is where the political and economic reality clash.

The decision comes with a level of urgency, as patience is starting to run out in an internal political climate that is heating up. Trade unions and pensioners have recently taken to the streets to demand higher wages and benefits. Appointing someone close to the previous administration will increase frustration and complicate the weak equilibrium that Rodríguez has built around the promise to rebuild the economy.  

The interim government is attempting to make itself useful to the American overlords by convincing them that they have the ability and willingness to commit to economic reform. Failure to follow through with an independent BCV board could strain the relationship further and make it even harder to justify. Now that sanctions have been lifted and oil money is flowing through US-backed accounts, it is time for the interim authority to live up to their side of the bargain, as Delcy risks losing the little goodwill her administration has left.  

Attention is now focused on who will be appointed to lead the BCV, and whether that choice signals a genuine shift toward institutional autonomy or a continuation of past policy constraints.

Friday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Angelou 21, Los Angeles 7

Bell 4, South Gate 3

Bravo 12, LA Wilson 4

Canoga Park 11, Panorama 0

Chavez 15, VAAS 1

El Camino Real 13, Cleveland 1

Fairfax 6, Westchester 4

Franklin 11, Eagle Rock 0

Fulton 3, Northridge Academy 0

Garfield 6, Legacy 3

LACES 4, Palisades 1

LA Roosevelt 13, Huntington Park 1

LA University 11, LA Hamilton 4

Monroe 9, Grant 3

Santee 14, Diego Rivera 1

SOCES 14, AMIT 2

Vaughn 12, Arleta 1

Wilmington Banning 9, San Pedro 2

SOUTHERN SECTION

AAE 12, ACE 2

Anaheim 5, Bolsa Grande 4

Anza Hamilton 8, San Jacinto Leadership 4

Arcadia 5, Corona Centennial 0

Arlington 3, Moreno Valley 2

Ayala 6, Gahr 4

Azusa 8, Garey 2

Calabasas 10, Agoura 9

California 6, El Rancho 1

Charter Oak 10, Rowland 4

CIMSA 22, Lucerne Valley 11

Citrus Hill 11, Orange Vista 10

Colony 16, Don Lugo 7

Cornerstone Christian 19, NSLA 0

Corona del Mar 9, Rancho Mirage 1

Costa Mesa 6, Garden Grove 3

Crossroads Christian 26, Packinghouse Christian 1

Diamond Bar 4, Bonita 3

Dos Pueblos 6, Marina 3

Eastside 9, Antelope Valley 5

El Modena 7, Brea Olinda 3

Estancia 4, Loara 1

Etiwanda 19, Warren 9

Gabrielino 11, Mark Keppel 3

Gardena Serra 12, Rolling Hills Prep 1

Golden Valley 7, Grace 1

Great Oak 4, Chaparral 3

Hemet 15, Vista del Lago 4

Hesperia 5, Apple Valley 4

Indian Springs 5, San Bernardino 3

Irvine 12, Portola 7

Jurupa Valley 4, La Sierra 3

Katella 4, Fullerton 2

Knight 12, Palmdale 8

La Canada 5, South Pasadena 0

La Habra 2, Cypress 1

La Mirada 5, Servite 3

La Serna 7, Santa Fe 1

Lakewood 12, University Prep 1

Los Amigos 10, Garden Grove Santiago 5

Los Osos 4, JSerra 3

Magnolia 15, Western 1

Mesa Grande Academy 12, Public Safety 6

Northwood 4, Laguna Beach 3

Oakwood 17, Hoover 6

Ontario Christian 6, Woodcrest Christian 1

Orange 10, Rancho Alamitos 0

Orange Lutheran 4, Norco 1

Palos Verdes 4, Sana Monica 3

Patriot 15, Rubidoux 3

Ramona 4, Norte Vista 1

Rancho Christian 16, Lakeside 2

Ridgecrest Burroughs 21, Oak Hills 7

Riverside Poly 6, Liberty 5

Riverside Prep 17, Big Bear 3

Royal 5, Moorpark 1

San Marino 13, La Salle 3

Santa Ana 2, Whittier 1

Savanna 10, Westminster La Quinta 6

Silver Valley 1, Victor Valley Christian 0

Simi Valley 14, Oak Park 1

Sonora 8, Esperanza 2

St. Bernard 10, St. Paul 9

St. Bonaventure 14, Fillmore 2

St. John Bosco 2, Fountain Valley 1

St. Margaret’s 4, Sage Hill 2

Sultana 10, Serrano 8

Sunny Hills 2, Yorba Linda 1

Temecula Valley 8, Murrieta Mesa 2

Trabuco Hills 6, Ocean View 3

Tustin 7, Buena Park 6

Viewpoint 6, Beverly Hills 3

Villa Park 12, El Dorado 2

Vista Murrieta 13, Murrieta Valley 6

West Covina 6, Bishop Amat 1

Woodbridge 1, Irvine University 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Coalinga 5, Firebaugh 2

Eastvale Roosevelt 16, Central 0

Ganesha 11, Arroyo Grande 5

Legacy Christian Academy 22, Alpaugh 2

Lompoc Cabrillo 6, Village Christian 3

Maranatha 7, Righetti 4

Mesa Grande Academy 12, Public Safety Academy 6

Millikan 21, Pitman 0

Morro Bay 7, Bishop Montgomery 4

Nevada Union 17, Lompoc 10

Paloma Valley 3, Heritage 1

Riverside North 17, Perris 0

Rosamond 9, Boron 4

San Luis Obispo 20, Gridley 1

Santa Maria St. Joseph 2, Ventura 1

Terra Nova 8, Cathedral 7

Troy 5, South East 1

Westlake 4, San Ramon Valley 1

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Angelou 12, Santee 6

Birmingham 20, Cleveland 0

Chatsworth 13, Taft 2

Chavez 16, Sun Valley Poly 9

Fairfax at Palisades, postponed

Granada Hills 7, El Camino Real 3

LA University 16, LACES 3

North Hollywood 11, Van Nuys 1

San Fernando 8, Granada Hills Kennedy 2

Venice 14, LA Hamilton 1

Verdugo Hills 10, Arleta 8

SOUTHERN SECTION

AAE 16, Riverside Prep 3

Aquinas 11, Woodcrest Christian 1

Ayala 7, California 3

Bolsa Grande 11, Magnolia 0

Bonita 12, Monrovia 2

Canyon Springs 13, Moreno Valley 2

Chaminade 9, Oaks Christian 6

Charter Oak 15, Rowland 2

CIMSA 23, Lucerne Valley 4

Citrus Hill 16, Vista del Lago 15

Cornerstone Christian 27, NSLA 3

Flintridge Prep 19, Westridge 0

Fullerton 10, La Palma Kennedy 0

Garden Grove Pacifica 10, El Modena 8

Heritage Christian 13, Buena Park 6

Jurupa Valley 17, La Sierra 4

Los Amigos 20, Loara 16

Miller 19, Entrepreneur 0

Oak Hills 14, Hesperia 4

Oak Park 21, Fillmore 4

Ontario Christian 4, Arrowhead Christian 3

Orange 8, Savanna 5

Orange Lutheran 11, Huntington Beach 0

Orange Vista 9, Riverside North 1

Oxnard 3, Righetti 2

Patriot 12, Rubidoux 2

Ramona 26, Norte Vista 2

Rancho Alamitos 19, Western 3

Ridgecrest Burroughs 5, Serrano 4

Riverside King 16, Corona Santiago 0

Riverside Poly 7, Liberty 5

Riverside Prep 16, AAE 3

River Springs CSM 25, Redlands Adventist Academy 4

Santa Ana Foothill 22, Troy 0

South Torrance 3, North Torrance 0

Temple City 9, La Canada 5

Thousand Oaks 9, Dos Pueblos 5

Valley View 15, Arlington 5

Ventura 6, Foothill Tech 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Bishop Conaty-Loretto 14, Orthopaedic 3

Buchanan 10, San Marcos 7

Enochs 7, Alemany 1

Paloma Valley 10, Rancho Verde 0

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Bravo 4, LA Wilson 2

Chavez 7, Arleta 2

El Camino Real 9, Cleveland 3

Granada Hills 12, Chatsworth 1

LA Marshall 10, Lincoln 0

LA Roosevelt 11, Huntington Park 4

Maya 12, Los Angeles 2

Northridge Academy 15, Panorama 3

Palisades 3, LACES 1

Roybal 18, RFK Community 1

San Pedro 13, Wilmington Banning 5

SOCES 7, Fulton 0

South Gate 7, Bell 3

Van Nuys 15, VAAS 3

Westchester 19, Fairfax 9

SOUTHERN SECTION

Arliington 3, Moreno Valley 2

Bellflower 7, Cerritos 4

Bonita 5, Diamond Bar 2

Cajon 7, Beaumont 0

California 6, El Rancho 3

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 2, Channel Islands 1

Charter Oak 15, Rowland 13

Chino Hills 5, Upland 3

Corona 3, Arcadia 2

Cypress 14, La Habra 3

Damien 2, Rancho Cucamonga 0

Desert Mirage 16, Packinghouse Christian 2

Eastside 11, Antelope Valley 7

El Modena 7, Brea OlInda 1

Etiwanda 1, Bishop Amat 0

Estancia 12, Santa Ana 2

Esperanza 6, Troy 2

Garden Grove 3, St. Monica 2

Glenn 6, Firebaugh 5

Godinez 3, Saddleback 1

Hemet 11, Vista del Lago 1

Hesperia 9, Apple Valley 6

Hoover 12, Burbank Providence 10

Huntington Beach 4, St. John Bosco 2

Indian Springs 10, San Bernardino 3

Irvine 8, Portola 2

Laguna Beach 6, Northwood 0

La Serna 10, Santa Fe 7

La Sierra 17, Jurupa Valley 9

Long Beach Cabrillo 11, Artesia 6

Long Beach Jordan 7, San Jacinto 3

Miller 39, Entrepreneur 0

Mira Costa 9, Capistrano Valley 6

Newbury Park 12, Crespi 2

Newport Harbor 2, Corona Centennial 0

Norco 14, Los Osos 0

Northview 6, Laguna Hills 5

Orange County Pacifica Christian 15, Nipomo 5

Orange Lutheran 2, Gahr 1

Orange Vista 1, Citrus Hill 0

Oxnard 10, Fillmore 4

Palmdale 4, Knight 3

Paramount 9, Mary Star of the Sea 5

Patriot 10, Rubidoux 1

Ramona 18, Norte Vista 0

Rancho Christian 10, Lakeside 0

Rancho Verde 2, Canyon Springs 1

Ridgecrest Burroughs 10, Oak Hills 5

Righetti 10, Bishop Montgomery 1

Riverside North 2, Perris 1

Riverside Poly 9, Liberty 8

Riverside Prep 23, Big Bear 4

Royal 8, Moorpark 7

San Marcos 11, Lakewood 1

Sierra Canyon 13, Warren 0

Simi Valley 10, Oak Park 1

St. Francis 4, Santa Maria St. Joseph 2

St. Paul 5, Buena Park 2

Sultana 10, Serrano 3

Sunny Hills 7, Cerritos Valley Christian 6

Torrance 12, Gardena Serra 4

Valley View 14, Hillcrest 8

Vasquez 5, Canyon Country Canyon 1

Villa Park 8, El Dorado 4

West Covina 8, Schurr 1

West Torrance 5, North Torrance 4

Whittier 14, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 7

Woodbridge 17, Irvine University 4

Yorba Linda 5, Sonora 4

INTERSECTIONAL

Alemany 12, Bakersfield Centennial 2

Atascadero 6, Terra Nova 3

Canoga Park 11, Reseda 10

Dublin 12, Marina 4

Eastvale Roosevelt 15, Central 0

El Capitan 5, Placentia Valencia 1

Ganesha 2, San Ramon Valley 2

Heritage 12, Paloma Valley 7

La Palma Kennedy 16, Golden Sierra 6

Lompoc 13, Piedmont 11

Morro Bay 6, Village Christian 3

Paraclete 7, Central Valley 2

Patrick Henry 10, Fountain Valley 5

Pioneer Valley 6, University Prep 6

St. Bernard 16, Venice 2

Walnut 8, Bear River 4

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Chavez 9, Arleta 0

Diego Rivera 14, Angelou 9

Granada Hills Kennedy 4, Verdugo Hills 1

Hawkins 34, Crenshaw 13

LA Jordan 14, Washington Prep 13

Marquez 14, Sotomayor 0

Maywood Academy 22, Torres 4

Maywood CES 32, Elizabeth 2

Narbonne 15, South East 7

San Fernando 14, Sun Valley Poly 0

Santee 24, West Adams 20

SOCES 32, Fulton 0

Sylmar 14, North Hollywood 3

Triumph Charter 28, Valley Oaks CES 0

University 17, Palisades 2

Van Nuys 21, Monroe 4

Venice 22, LACES 1

SOUTHERN SECTION

Anaheim 16, Loara 2

Anza Hamilton 11, Yucca Valley 4

Apple Valley 21, Ridgecrest Burroughs 1

Azusa 17, Nogales 15

Bolsa Grande 29, Estancia 0

Bonita 10, Corona Santiago 9

Charter Oak 12, Rowland 1

CSDR 27, Sherman Indian 5

Eastvale Roosevelt 15, Corona Centennial 4

Foothill Tech 11, Hueneme 0

Fullerton 10, Garden Grove 0

Glendora 3, Burbank Burroughs 1

Heritage 11, Citrus Valley 1

Highland 11, Palmdale 0

Jurupa Valley 12, La Sierra 1

La Canada 14, Alemany 7

Lakeside 24, Vista del Lago 1

Magnolia 16, Saddleback 12

Norco 4, Riverside King 3

Oak Hills 23, Serrano 2

Orange 10, Western 0

Pasadena Poly 5, Harvard-Westlake 3

Patriot 14, Rubidoux 4

Ramona 18, Norte Vista 0

Rancho Mirage 12, Silverado 3

Rancho Verde 11, Moreno Valley 0

Riverside North 7, Arlington 4

Riverside Poly 5, Valley View 0

Riverside Prep 19, AAE 7

San Bernardino 15, Indian Springs 5

San Marcos 14, Fillmore 1

Santa Ana Foothill 4, Beckman 3

Santa Fe 8, Sonora 5

Savanna 21, Century 6

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 7, Royal 1

Sierra Canyon 7, Moorpark 3

Sultana 15, Hesperia 10

Ventura 13, Faith Baptist 1

West Torrance 11, South Torrance 6

INTERSECTIONAL

Paloma Valley 2, Hillcrest 1

Palo Verde Valley 7, Artesia 3

Quartz Hill 19, Immanuel Christian 5

Rancho Christian 10, Perris 0

Righetti 2, Sutter 0

Videos show Palestinians in Gaza scrambling to extinguish a vehicle engulfed in flames in az-Zawayda after it was targeted by an Israeli drone. Israel has killed more than 700 people since the October 10 “ceasefire,” according to local officials.

Watch the moment an Iranian strike hits what appears to be a bridge in central Tel Aviv, startling pedestrians nearby with the loud blast.

PHILADELPHIA — After missing its first seven shots, UCLA finally started to click in its NCAA tournament opener against Central Florida on Friday night. The Bruins shook off their early jitters by hitting their next eight shots to quickly build a 13-point lead midway through the half.

From there, the seventh-seeded Bruins, playing without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, held off No. 10 Central Florida’s second half comeback bid in a 75-71 win.

UCLA will play the winner of No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 15 Furman on Sunday in the second round.

With Bilodeau out because of a sprained knee he sustained in the Big Ten tournament, 6-foot-8 guard Eric Dailey Jr. led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Xavier Booker, starting in place of Bilodeau, added 15 points and eight rebounds. Trent Perry also scored 15 points and Donovan Dent scored 10. Jordan Burks and Riley Kugel topped the Knights with 22 and 13 points, respectively.

After a late UCF flurry cut a 14-point Bruins’ lead to 35-27 at the half, UCLA went back to work in the second half, with a Booker jumper helping UCLA take a 46-32 lead. But Central Florida wasn’t giving up.

The Knights responded with an 11-0 run, knocking down three from beyond the arc, making it a one possession game, 46-43.

That was as close as UCF got until the final seconds. A three-pointer by Burks with 10 seconds left made it a three-point score again. Perry then made two free throws before Themus Fulks quickly scored on a driving layup. Skyy Clark, who lost part of a tooth earlier in the second half while battling for a loose ball, then made one of two free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

UCLA’s Trent Perry, left, shoots over Central Florida’s Themus Fulks during the first half Friday.

(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)

Wave of Israeli air attacks launched as ground offensive widens in south where Hezbollah are fighting Israeli forces.

Israel has attacked a building in Bashoura, a neighbourhood in the heart of Beirut, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported, with a blast and smoke rising over the area shortly after Israel issued an evacuation threat for the site.

The attack was part of a deadly wave of Israeli strikes across Lebanon that killed at least 20 people and wounded 24 on Wednesday, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health, with raids stretching from the capital through southern and eastern parts of the country, a devastating front in the wider United States-Israel war against Iran embroiling the region.

At least six people were killed in the air strikes in Beirut, with dozens injured.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Beirut, Zeina Khodr, reported that intense Israeli attacks hit multiple regions across Lebanon, including central Beirut, overnight.

Speaking from in front of a 15-storey building struck in one of the attacks, Khodr said its lower floors had been targeted a week earlier. In the early hours, however, the structure was completely demolished, with the Israeli army claiming Hezbollah had stored cash there.

“You can see the widespread damage across this whole neighbourhood,” Khodr said.

Israel’s military said it had launched what it described as limited ground operations in southern Lebanon, issuing evacuation threats for residents of four towns near the Zahrani River and the Tyre area, warning them to head north immediately.

Lebanon’s NNA also reported strikes on Tyre and the nearby area of Al-Burj Al-Shamali in the pre-dawn hours.

At least four people were killed in an Israeli attack that targeted four houses in the town of Sahmar in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

The intensifying assault has now killed at least 912 people in Lebanon, including 111 children, and wounded more than 2,200 since Israel launched its offensive on March 2, according to Lebanese Health Ministry figures.

More than one million people have been forced from their homes. The United Nations warned on Tuesday that Israeli attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure may constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law.

A spokesperson for the UN human rights office said that deliberately targeting civilians or civilian objects “amounts to a war crime”, adding that Israel’s sweeping displacement orders for southern Lebanon may themselves violate international law.

Khodr said that Hezbollah’s secretary general, Naim Qassem, last night laid down conditions for the war to end, including Israel stopping attacks, displaced people being permitted to return to their homes, those detained over the last two years by Israel being released and the Israeli army withdrawing.

Across southern Lebanon, Khodr said Hezbollah was “still present in the area, trying to repel the Israeli army’s advance”, adding that Hezbollah’s aim was not just territorial control of the region, but preventing Israel from gaining new positions in the country.

The conflict was ignited on February 28 when US and Israeli forces assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, prompting Hezbollah to launch rockets into northern Israel on March 2.

Israel has since killed more than 2,000 people across Iran and Lebanon in its attacks.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a staunch Israeli ally, added his voice to growing international concern, warning that Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon was an “error” that risked worsening what he described as an already dire humanitarian situation.

The surge in oil prices triggered by the war in Iran is increasingly becoming a major concern for global central banks, which are closely monitoring the potential economic and financial consequences of the shock.

More than a week of conflict in the Middle East has disrupted energy supply routes and pushed crude prices sharply higher, raising fresh fears about inflation. For policymakers already grappling with fragile economic conditions, the oil spike presents a complex policy dilemma.

Historically, oil shocks have posed a difficult challenge for central banks. Rising energy prices can drive inflation higher while simultaneously weakening consumer spending and business activity by raising costs. In such circumstances, policymakers face an uncomfortable choice: tighten policy to control inflation or ease financial conditions to support economic growth and employment.

The current situation could potentially produce both outcomes at once, creating a scenario where inflation rises even as economic demand weakens a combination that complicates monetary policy decisions.

Inflation Versus Economic Growth

Central banks traditionally respond to inflationary pressures by raising interest rates or maintaining tighter monetary policy. Some policymakers argue that responding quickly to inflation triggered by an oil shock can prevent inflation expectations from becoming entrenched and reduce longer-term economic damage.

Others, however, advocate “looking through” temporary energy-driven price spikes, arguing that aggressive tightening could unnecessarily damage economic growth. This approach gained prominence after the pandemic, when many central banks initially viewed inflation as temporary a judgment widely criticised in hindsight.

The decision facing policymakers now depends on several uncertainties, including how long the conflict lasts, how severely energy supplies are disrupted, and whether governments intervene with subsidies or price caps to protect consumers.

Given these unknowns, many central banks may prefer to adopt a cautious approach, waiting to see how markets and economic conditions evolve before making significant policy adjustments.

Financial Stability Risks Enter the Picture

Beyond inflation and growth concerns, central banks must also consider a third responsibility that has gained prominence since the global financial crisis: financial stability.

Senior policymakers worry that the oil shock could expose vulnerabilities that have been building in global financial markets for years. A large macroeconomic disturbance involving energy prices, inflation, interest rates and currency volatility could trigger a broader financial stress event.

Much of the concern centres on the growing role of “shadow banking” institutions, financial intermediaries operating outside traditional banking regulation. These entities have become increasingly important providers of credit to companies and governments.

One major area of focus is the rapid expansion of private credit funds, which now manage more than $3 trillion globally. These funds allow asset managers to lend directly to businesses, often outside the scrutiny of public markets or traditional banking standards.

Regulators worry that during a major shock, investors could rapidly withdraw funds from these vehicles, potentially creating liquidity problems for borrowers and spillover risks for banks that help finance or manage the funds.

Pressure in Bond and Repo Markets

Another major source of concern lies in government bond markets, where highly leveraged hedge funds have become increasingly active. Many of these funds use repurchase agreements, or “repo” markets, to borrow money and finance large trades involving government bonds.

These strategies often rely on exploiting small price differences between cash bonds and futures contracts, but they involve substantial leverage. While such activity can help smooth government financing, it can also create systemic vulnerabilities during periods of market stress.

The Financial Stability Board, which monitors risks to the global financial system for the G20, warned earlier this year that sudden deleveraging in repo markets could disrupt sovereign bond markets.

More than $16 trillion in repo transactions backed by government bonds were outstanding last year, with about 60% concentrated in the United States. A sudden withdrawal of leveraged investors could therefore have significant ripple effects across global financial markets.

New Fragilities: Stablecoins and Technology Stocks

Regulators are also monitoring emerging risks linked to digital finance. Stablecoins cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar have grown rapidly and are increasingly investing reserves in government bonds.

With the stablecoin market now worth roughly $300 billion and expanding, any loss of confidence in these assets could trigger large-scale sales of the bonds that back them. Such an event could add stress to already volatile financial markets.

At the same time, some investors remain concerned about high valuations and heavy market concentration in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector, which could amplify market volatility during periods of economic uncertainty.

Analysis: Oil Shock Could Trigger Wider Financial Stress

The Iran war oil shock illustrates how geopolitical crises can interact with financial vulnerabilities to create broader economic risks.

Higher energy prices directly increase inflation and strain household finances. At the same time, they can force central banks to reconsider interest-rate policies, potentially leading to higher borrowing costs and greater volatility in financial markets.

Such conditions could expose weaknesses in highly leveraged sectors of the financial system, particularly in shadow banking, hedge funds and digital financial markets.

Although previous shocks including the economic turmoil following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not ultimately trigger a major financial crisis, policymakers remain cautious. The brief turmoil in the U.S. regional banking sector in 2023 demonstrated how quickly financial stress can emerge when economic conditions shift.

If oil prices remain elevated and central banks are forced to respond aggressively, the resulting tightening of financial conditions could amplify existing vulnerabilities across markets.

For now, the disturbances appear manageable. But the combination of geopolitical conflict, energy market disruption and financial fragility ensures that central banks will continue to watch the situation with increasing concern.

With information from Reuters.