Al Fayed family battle over luxury penthouse with ‘leaky roofs and noisy lifts’
An exclusive Park Lane address owned by the Fayed family is at the centre of an eight-year dispute.
Federal judge orders stop to indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles
Civil rights groups alleged that ICE and Border Patrol agents are rounding people up based on their race, and denying them access to lawyers. A federal judge said there’s evidence what they’re doing is illegal. (Image credit: Tayfun Coskun)
David Gergen, adviser to 4 presidents, dies at 83
David Gergen worked in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as a speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, among other roles. (Image credit: Doug Mills)
NPR News
Federal judge orders stop to indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles
Civil rights groups alleged that ICE and Border Patrol agents are rounding people up based on their race, and denying them access to lawyers. A federal judge said there’s evidence what they’re doing is illegal. (Image credit: Tayfun Coskun)
Senate Democrats join fired State Department employees to rally against layoffs
Senate Democrats on Friday joined State Department employees in protest of the Trump administration’s decision to layoff 1,300 employees this week. “This is not America first. This is America in retreat,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on Friday at a protest outside the department’s headquarters in Washington. “And we don’t want America retreating, do we?”…
Judge issues order giving journalists greater protections against LA police
A federal judge on Thursday issued a temporary restraining order providing protections for journalists covering protests in Los Angeles after reporters alleged law enforcement mistreated them during widespread protests last month. U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera, an appointee of former President Biden, granted the 14-day order and ruled that local police could no longer…
Federal judge says voice-over artists’ AI lawsuit can move forward
The two voice over artists allege their voices were stolen by an AI voice startup.
Mother mourns ‘beautiful’ 12-year-old shot while watching TV during Kenya protests
A stray bullet burst into Bridgit Njoki’s home while police were clashing with anti-government protesters.
Trade trumps geopolitics as Australia PM visits China
The visit comes as countries around the world navigate the US president’s “America First” policies.
Gold and FX Reserves in 2025Q1
Based on IMF data (COFER, IFS): Figure 1: USD shares of fx (blue bars), EUR (tan), all other (gray). USD(EUR) share assumes 60%(35%) of unallocated reserves are in USD(EUR). Source: IMF COFER, and author’s calculations. The drop in USD reserves out of total FX reserves is not apparent. However, gold has taken on a heightened importance in recent years. Taking this into account, we have Figure 2. Figure 2: USD shares of fx and gold reserves (blue bars), EUR (tan), all other (gray), and gold (yellow). USD(EUR) share assumes 60%(35%) of unallocated reserves are in USD(EUR). Assumes quantity of gold holdings stay constant in 2025Q, and observed . Source: IMF COFER, World Gold Council, and author’s calculations. To the extent that total reserves are the relevant measure, the dollar has dropped by 1.4 percentage points in 2025Q1; the standard deviation of changes is 0.6 ppts. If central banks on net acquired gold in Q1 (World Gold Council suggests 50 tonnes whereas I assumed 0 tonnes), then the drop would be even larger.