Global Pulse

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  • Toll from landslide in southwestern China rises to 11 dead, with 50 people still missing

    Toll from landslide in southwestern China rises to 11 dead, with 50 people still missing

    A week after a devastating landslide struck Pengshui County in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, rescue teams have recovered three more bodies from the mountain of debris, pushing the confirmed death toll to 11 while 50 people remain unaccounted for, local Chinese authorities announced Thursday.

    The massive slope collapse, which occurred last Friday, buried over 10 residential buildings in the mountainous county, leaving 10 people injured in its immediate aftermath. Eight fatalities were pulled from the rubble in the first 48 hours after the disaster, and the latest recovery operations have added three more names to the list of the dead.

    Despite ongoing search operations, local government officials confirmed in an official statement that no signs of life have been detected in recent days, after repeated attempts to locate trapped survivors across the disaster site.

    Pengshui County, located in southeastern Chongqing along the city’s borders with Hubei and Guizhou provinces, has posed extraordinary hurdles for first responders. The landslide deposited an enormous volume of rocky debris, including dozens of massive boulders that have blocked access to large sections of the impact zone.

    To overcome these obstacles, search teams have deployed heavy construction equipment and aerial drone technology to map the area and clear rubble. Crews have also carried out controlled blasts to break down oversized boulders into manageable fragments, a necessary step to continue the painstaking search for missing residents. Rescue leaders have emphasized that the scale and composition of the collapsed material make the entire operation exceptionally challenging, with teams working around the clock to advance through the debris field.

  • Teen jailed for exam cheating in Guinea dies after sickle cell complications, father says

    Teen jailed for exam cheating in Guinea dies after sickle cell complications, father says

    A tragic incident in Guinea has sparked public outcry and demands for official accountability after a 17-year-old student with a chronic genetic illness died days after being arrested for alleged exam cheating. Mamadou Djouma Bah, a social sciences student, was taken into custody on July 15 alongside multiple other students accused of fraud during Guinea’s national baccalaureate school-leaving examination, with authorities alleging he used a mobile phone to violate exam rules.

    Two days after his arrest, Bah was convicted of the cheating charge, handed a six-month prison sentence with five months suspended, and ordered to serve one month behind bars at a facility in Kindia, a city located roughly 137 kilometers northeast of Guinea’s capital Conakry. It was during his detention that Bah’s pre-existing sickle cell disease, a lifelong and life-threatening blood disorder common among people of African descent, began to deteriorate rapidly.

    Sickle cell disease is caused by a genetic mutation that produces misshapen red blood cells, which can become lodged in blood vessels and block healthy circulation. This blockage often causes extreme, debilitating pain episodes, increases the risk of life-threatening infections and anemia, and can lead to permanent organ damage or death if not properly managed. People living with the condition require consistent access to medical care, hydration, and monitoring to prevent acute health crises.

    After Bah’s condition worsened in custody, prison officials transferred him to Kindia’s regional hospital for emergency treatment. His father, Mamadou Saliou Bah, recalled the final moments he shared with his son in an interview with the BBC. When the elder Bah visited his son in the hospital, he said the teenager told him he could not breathe properly, asked to lean against his father for support, and uttered his final words: “Dad, I’m dying.”

    According to local government officials, Bah was discharged from the hospital after roughly two days of treatment and returned home, where he died shortly after. Speaking to the BBC, Bah’s father placed full blame for his son’s death on state authorities, saying the teenager did not receive adequate medical care while he was detained in prison. He has joined human rights organizations in calling for a full independent investigation into the circumstances of his son’s death.

    Beyond the demand for justice for his son, Saliou Bah is also calling for the immediate release of the other students still being held on exam fraud charges, warning that they face the same risk of preventable harm. “A student should not be sent to prison. These young people are the future of our country,” he said. “We lost our son; we lost our future.”

    Guinea’s Education Minister Alpha Bacar Barry issued a statement acknowledging the tragedy, saying he was “deeply saddened by the news” and extended “sincere condolences” to the Bah family. Human rights groups have echoed the family’s call for an independent probe, not only into Bah’s death but also into the prosecution of the other detained students. On Wednesday, hundreds of students held demonstrations across the country to protest the detentions and demand the immediate release of their classmates.

  • Ex-governor convicted of murdering a pregnant student in Kenya

    Ex-governor convicted of murdering a pregnant student in Kenya

    After a years-long legal process, a high-profile murder case that shocked Kenya has finally reached a guilty verdict: former Migori County Governor Okoth Obado has been convicted of orchestrating the 2018 killing of 26-year-old pregnant university student Sharon Otieno, with whom he had an extra-marital affair. Two other co-defendants—Obado’s ex-personal assistant Michael Oyamo and former county clerk Caspal Obiero—were also found guilty on Thursday for their roles in the premeditated killing. The verdict has been widely celebrated by activists fighting gender-based violence, who say it marks a rare moment of accountability for a powerful Kenyan political figure.

    The case dates back to September 2018, when Otieno contacted a Nation Media Group journalist, Barack Oduor, to disclose her affair with the sitting governor. The pair was abducted by armed assailants shortly after meeting, but Oduor managed to escape from the moving kidnap vehicle. Two days later, Otieno’s bloodied body was found dumped in a dense thicket outside a small town in western Kenya. A post-mortem examination found she had been raped and stabbed multiple times in the neck, abdomen and back while pregnant.

    In her nationally televised ruling, Judge Cecilia Githua laid out the court’s findings: Obado was the mastermind of the plot, having provided the motive, incitement, and financial resources to carry out the killing. Investigators found the pregnancy was the core trigger: Obado, a sitting governor at the time, refused to accept the pregnancy and arranged Otieno’s elimination to protect his political reputation and personal standing. Oyamo facilitated the execution of the plan, while Obiero handled logistical support and helped cover up the crime to avoid detection, the judge confirmed.

    Prosecutors built their case around 42 witness testimonies and strong circumstantial evidence, according to local Kenyan outlet *The Star*. Investigators were able to trace the getaway car used by the abductors, whose tracking device was deliberately deactivated on the day of the kidnapping to hide the vehicle’s movements, before being reactivated the next day—what then-chief prosecutor Noodin Haji described as a “well-calculated move by the killers” to cover their tracks. Oduor’s eyewitness account of the abduction also served as a critical early lead that pushed the investigation forward.

    During the trial, Obado’s legal team argued that the affair was an open secret, and that there was no reason for their client to resort to murder. But the court rejected this version of events entirely. All three convicted men are currently being held in custody ahead of their sentencing hearings.

    In the immediate aftermath of Otieno’s death in 2018, the case sparked nationwide protests across Kenya and drew long-overdue public attention to the pervasive crisis of gender-based violence and femicide in the country. A 2022 national demographic and health survey found that at least 34% of Kenyan women have reported experiencing physical violence at the hands of intimate partners or other assailants. In the days following this week’s guilty verdict, community vigils were held across the country to honor Otieno and other women killed by gender-based violence.

    For Otieno’s family, the conviction represents the end of a years-long fight for accountability. “We are happy with the conviction. We believe that justice has at last been served to Sharon,” said the family’s legal representative. Activists now say the verdict sets an important precedent for holding powerful perpetrators of violence against women accountable in a country where such cases often go unpunished.

  • Ukraine’s ousted defense minister rejects Zelenskyy’s offer of a different government role

    Ukraine’s ousted defense minister rejects Zelenskyy’s offer of a different government role

    KYIV, Ukraine – Just one week after being removed from his post as Ukraine’s defense chief, Mykhailo Fedorov has publicly rejected a major overture from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, turning down an offer to rejoin the Ukrainian government in a different role and doubling down on his refusal to accept any position other than the defense minister portfolio.

    Fedorov, a 40-something reformist who held the defense minister role for only six months before last week’s dismissal, had built a widespread reputation as a transformative leader in Ukraine’s war effort. His tenure was marked by sweeping modernization of Ukraine’s armed forces, pioneering the use of innovative drone and digital technology that gave Kyiv a critical asymmetric edge against invading Russian forces, and aggressive anti-corruption crackdowns on the opaque military procurement system. The young, popular official’s sudden ouster last week already sent shockwaves across Ukraine, spurring spontaneous street demonstrations in multiple cities that have piled new political pressure on Zelenskyy’s administration, while drawing open approval from Russian officials in Moscow.

    In an official statement released Thursday, Fedorov laid out his uncompromising position, arguing that the role of defense minister is one of only three positions in the Ukrainian state that directly “shape the course of the war” — alongside the presidency and the post of armed forces chief. Earlier the same day, Zelenskyy confirmed he had offered Fedorov a newly created role as deputy prime minister for military innovation, a position designed to keep the popular reformer in government while accommodating the recent leadership reshuffle.

    But Fedorov made clear the new role lacks the authority he needs to continue his work. “No other role carries the actual authority to combat procurement corruption, complete the army’s transformation, plan and execute asymmetric operations against the enemy, root out a culture of lies and unaccountability within the system,” he wrote, referring to the defense ministry post.

    Friction that led to Fedorov’s ouster has been linked to his tense relationship with Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, a Soviet-trained military veteran who is widely seen as a representative of the country’s old guard military establishment. When Fedorov took over the defense ministry in January, he inherited a war that by then had been raging for more than four years, and immediately laid out an ambitious strategic plan: end the conflict by strengthening Ukraine’s air defense networks, holding stable frontline positions against Russian advances, and weakening Moscow’s war capacity through targeted long-range strikes on Russian military and economic infrastructure.

    “Our collective results created something unprecedented, a window of opportunity to force Russia into peace through strength. And we cannot afford to lose it,” Fedorov added, emphasizing that his unfinished reforms at the defense ministry are critical to securing a favorable end to the war. The political standoff comes as Zelenskyy is already navigating a sweeping reset of Ukraine’s top military and defense leadership, a shakeup that has exposed internal rifts as Kyiv continues its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

  • Nicaragua’s legislature debates barring opposition from elections

    Nicaragua’s legislature debates barring opposition from elections

    Nicaragua’s government-dominated National Assembly has launched debate on a proposal that would bar all opposition political parties from participating in future elections, with a final vote scheduled for the first week of August. The legislative push comes just days after President Daniel Ortega publicly declared there would be no more opportunities for opposition groups to contest elections in an effort to take national power.

    Ortega’s inflammatory remarks drew immediate international pushback, starting with Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who emphasized that democratic participation requires that people of all political ideological backgrounds be guaranteed the right to both vote and run for public office. Now 80 years old, Ortega has held continuous presidential power since 2007, and his administration has increasingly consolidated authoritarian control over the years: political opponents have been systematically jailed, forced into exile, and stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship.

    The controversial comments were delivered Sunday during a national address marking the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista Revolution, the leftist uprising that Ortega participated in to oust the U.S.-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza. In his speech, Ortega claimed that Nicaraguan opposition groups are financed by the United States, accusing them of plotting to infiltrate the electoral system and seize power through balloting. He framed the proposed ban as a defensive measure, saying new legislation would build “a wall to block the coup mongers” that would prevent opposition forces from taking power “regardless of how much money they are given by the Yankees.”

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among the first global leaders to condemn the plan, saying Ortega’s remarks laid bare the “true authoritarian nature” of his regime. Rubio added that Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo — whom Ortega appointed as co-president in a 2025 constitutional reform — have “abandoned even the pretense of popular consent.”

    Gustavo Porras, president of Nicaragua’s National Assembly, rejected all international criticism in an interview with a pro-government media outlet. He defended the legislative process, saying the body and Nicaragua’s top electoral oversight body are working to ensure “not even a crack” is left open for the opposition to gain any political foothold in the country.

    The current political unrest follows a deeply flawed 2021 presidential election, which was preceded by a brutal government crackdown on all viable opposition candidates. Ortega won the one-sided contest after every major challenger capable of drawing significant voter support was either detained, disqualified from running, or forced to flee the country. Dozens of lower-level opposition figures were also arrested, and only a handful of little-known, low-support candidates were permitted to appear on the ballot.

    In November 2025, four years into Ortega’s 2021 five-year term, the ruling party-controlled National Assembly passed a unanimous constitutional reform that extended presidential terms from five to six years. The reform also formalized Murillo’s role as co-president, creating a clear line of succession that would allow her to take over the presidency if Ortega, whose health is widely reported to be frail, becomes permanently unable to serve.

    Since 2018, when Nicaraguan security forces killed more than 300 people while crushing widespread anti-government protests, most domestic opposition activists have avoided public criticism of the Ortega-Murillo administration for fear of repression. But exiled Nicaraguan opposition leaders have been vocal in their condemnation of the latest proposed ban. Juan Sebastián Chamorro argued that the plan is clear proof Ortega intends to “turn Nicaragua into a one-party country” modeled on Cuba, North Korea, and China. Felix Maradiaga, a former opposition presidential candidate who was jailed by the Ortega regime, told Agence France-Presse that the ban reveals Ortega’s deep fear of popular dissent. “Ortega is admitting what most worries him: he hasn’t neutralized the opposition, he knows the desire for change is still alive, and is still fighting for the country,” Maradiaga said.

  • By the Numbers: This year’s Ebola outbreak has spread faster than the worst on record

    By the Numbers: This year’s Ebola outbreak has spread faster than the worst on record

    The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is facing an unprecedented Ebola outbreak that has just reached a devastating public health milestone: 1,033 confirmed deaths just over two months after the outbreak was first officially declared on May 15. New data released by Congo’s Ministry of Health puts total confirmed infections at 2,536 as of this week, marking a worrying acceleration of transmission that outpaces any previous recorded Ebola event in modern history.

    To put this speed in context, the 2014-2016 West African Ebola epidemic — long cited as the worst Ebola outbreak on record — took eight months to reach the 1,000-death threshold, three times longer than the current outbreak. That historic epidemic, which ultimately spread across three West African nations and beyond, recorded more than 28,000 total cases and over 11,000 deaths over its three-year duration. The current outbreak, by contrast, has already recorded 2,500 cases at a pace nearly three times faster than the 2014-2016 event.

    Public health experts warn that key differences between the two outbreaks explain the rapid spread, starting with the viral strain behind each event. According to the World Health Organization, three strains of the Ebola virus family are known to cause large-scale outbreaks: Ebola virus, Sudan virus, and Bundibugyo virus. The 2014-2016 epidemic was driven by the more common Ebola virus strain, for which targeted vaccines and treatments have been developed. The current outbreak, however, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo variant — a strain with no currently approved vaccines or specific antiviral treatments available to curb transmission or improve patient outcomes.

    Geographically, the current outbreak remains largely contained for now, unlike the 2014-2016 event that spread widely across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone before spilling over to the United States and Europe. Almost all cases of the current outbreak are limited to five eastern provinces of Congo, near the Ugandan border, with only a small number of cases detected in neighboring Uganda. That geographic confinement has so far prevented wider global spread, but public health officials warn the situation remains fragile.

    Another key contrast between the two outbreaks is their case fatality rates. The current Bundibugyo outbreak has recorded a 40% fatality rate so far, with health officials attributing most deaths to delayed care-seeking by infected patients. By comparison, the 2014-2016 Ebola virus outbreak had a far higher 66% overall fatality rate, which overwhelmed fragile public health systems across three West African nations. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data notes that the Ebola virus strain is the deadliest of the known Ebola variants, with untreated cases carrying a fatality risk as high as 90%.

    Despite the lower fatality rate, officials warn the worst of the current outbreak may still lie ahead. Multiple challenges continue to hinder containment efforts: patient zero of the current outbreak has not yet been identified, a majority of new infections are being detected in community members not on monitored contact lists, and public health teams faced critical delays in identifying the specific viral variant causing the first wave of cases. These gaps have allowed the virus to spread faster than containment measures can respond, creating a growing public health emergency for central Africa.

  • Ghanaians ask International Criminal Court to examine years of anti-migrant violence in South Africa

    Ghanaians ask International Criminal Court to examine years of anti-migrant violence in South Africa

    JOHANNESBURG and ACCRA – For nearly 20 years, periodic waves of xenophobic violence targeting foreign migrants have plagued South Africa, leaving a trail of death, displacement, and unresolved impunity. Now, two private Ghanaian citizens have taken the extraordinary step of asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to intervene, arguing that repeated, widespread attacks on non-citizens qualify as crimes against humanity under international law.

    The petition, filed July 15 with ICC prosecutors by Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a former Ghanaian government spokesperson, and Emmanuel Kotin, a Ghanaian security analyst, demands accountability for nearly two decades of anti-migrant attacks. The filing specifically documents allegations of systematic violence between 2015 and 2025, ranging from fatal assaults and mass looting of migrant-owned property to forced displacement of thousands of foreign-born residents, most of whom are citizens of other African nations.

    Crucially, the petitioners also accuse South Africa’s national government of failing to uphold its responsibility to prevent these attacks and prosecute perpetrators, a core requirement under the Rome Statute that governs the ICC’s mandate. In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Kotin clarified that the filing is an independent private initiative, with no official endorsement or backing from the government of Ghana. “We are simply asking the ICC to investigate these allegations,” Kotin told the AP.

    Anti-migrant unrest has reemerged with particular intensity in recent months, as protesters in South Africa have scapegoated foreign nationals for the country’s deep economic challenges, including persistently high unemployment, widespread crime, and strained access to public housing and healthcare. The upsurge in violence targeting African migrants has already sparked diplomatic friction across the continent: the governments of Nigeria, Ghana, and Malawi have arranged large-scale repatriations of their citizens who chose to flee the violence, and all three nations have summoned South Africa’s senior diplomatic envoys to formally protest the ongoing attacks.

    As of Thursday, a spokesperson for South Africa’s national government had not issued an immediate response to requests for comment on the new ICC petition. The court has confirmed to the AP that it has received the formal communication, following the petitioners’ public announcement of the filing.

    Under the rules of the Rome Statute, private individuals and civil society groups are permitted to submit information on alleged crimes falling under the ICC’s jurisdiction. After receiving a communication, ICC prosecutors conduct an initial review to determine whether there is a reasonable factual and legal basis to open a formal investigation. It is important to note that the submission of a petition does not automatically trigger a probe; the court receives hundreds of similar communications annually, and only a small fraction advance to the stage of a full formal investigation.

  • Israeli lawmakers lead mass Al-Aqsa Mosque raid

    Israeli lawmakers lead mass Al-Aqsa Mosque raid

    On Thursday, a large-scale incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem was led by senior Israeli government officials and lawmakers, with thousands of ultranationalist Israelis entering the sacred Islamic site under heavy armed police protection, in a move that has sharply escalated regional tensions.

    Prior to the entry of Israeli groups, Israeli security forces had blocked hundreds of Palestinian worshippers from reaching the mosque for pre-dawn prayers, forcing many faithful to hold prayer services in adjacent streets outside the complex. By 10 a.m. local time, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs confirmed that at least 2,300 Israelis had entered the mosque’s courtyards, with the incursion expected to continue through midday.

    Among the high-profile participants were Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, and Amit Halevi, a sitting legislator from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party. The incursion was timed to coincide with Tisha B’Av, a Jewish fast day that marks the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Ultranationalist Jewish groups that advocate for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque to build a Third Jewish Temple on the site had organized the mass action, originally setting a target of 5,000 participants.

    Witnesses on the ground documented participants violating longstanding site rules: they raised Israeli flags across the mosque courtyards, held Jewish prayer services, danced and sang, and even erected a temporary shade tent — all acts explicitly prohibited under the decades-old status quo agreement that governs the site.

    The Palestinian Endowment Ministry issued a scathing condemnation of the incursion, calling it a “blatant incursion” led by senior Israeli political figures that represents a gross violation of the site’s Islamic sanctity and a direct attack on the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa. “The entire 144-dunam Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is the exclusive, indivisible right of the Muslim world alone,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that “these provocative actions, carried out at the highest levels of the occupying government, are intended to ignite a religious war across the entire region.”

    The status quo, a decades-old arrangement recognized by the international community, designates the entire Al-Aqsa compound as an exclusively Islamic holy site, with full administrative authority over access, worship, maintenance and excavations held by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, the Muslim religious trust that manages the site. However, since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, it has gradually eroded this agreement, seizing control of entry access from the Waqf and facilitating regular daily incursions by ultranationalist Israelis. In recent years, these incursions have grown dramatically in size, drawing tens of thousands of Israeli participants annually.

    The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate noted that Israeli authorities relaxed group size restrictions for Thursday’s incursion, allowing groups of up to 150 people to enter at once, compared to the usual cap of around 30. Over the past decade, Israeli officials have also increasingly permitted Jewish prayer and flag displays inside the compound, actions that directly contravene the status quo.

    Days before the incursion, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, senior Al-Aqsa preacher and former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, warned that Israeli authorities were deliberately exploiting Jewish religious holidays to escalate provocative actions aimed at permanently changing the status of the holy site. He noted that officials have increasingly turned these occasions into opportunities to organize large-scale incursions involving cabinet ministers, senior officials and members of Israel’s parliament, in a bid to normalize the violations and grant them political legitimacy. The incursion proceeded amid widespread silence from the international community and major Islamic organizations, as highlighted in local Palestinian reporting on the event.

  • Oil prices hit $100 for the first time since May

    Oil prices hit $100 for the first time since May

    Global energy markets have been sent into a fresh period of volatility this week, as benchmark Brent crude oil prices crossed the $100 per barrel threshold for the first time since May, driven by escalating military tensions across the Middle East that have renewed widespread concerns over the security of international energy supply chains.

    After a multi-day rally that accelerated sharply on Thursday, the global oil benchmark jumped more than 6% following an expansion of U.S. military operations targeting Iran. The sharp upward price movement was triggered directly by attacks on commercial oil tankers transiting the Red Sea carried out by Yemen’s Houthi militia. The Red Sea serves as a critical alternative export corridor for Saudi Arabia, allowing the kingdom to route oil shipments bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s other most vital chokepoint for global energy trade.

    Alongside crude oil, natural gas prices have climbed steadily over the past four weeks. The United Kingdom’s wholesale gas benchmark now trades near 150 pence per therm, a sharp jump from the 98 pence recorded at the end of June.

    This latest rally marks a sharp reversal from the market downturn that followed a brief temporary ceasefire between Washington and Tehran earlier this year. After the ceasefire took effect, oil prices fell back to levels last seen before the U.S. and Israel launched military actions against Iran on February 28. That ceasefire has since collapsed, and this week U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Iranian leadership remains “not ready to make a deal” to de-escalate tensions.

    The sustained escalation in the Middle East now carries significant risks of rekindling inflation across major developed economies, including the U.K. and U.S., forcing higher costs onto consumers at every level of the supply chain. By default, higher crude prices translate directly to increased costs for petrol and diesel. While motorists bear the immediate brunt of these increases, households across all income brackets will also see upward pressure on the prices of everyday goods, most notably food, as transport-dependent businesses pass elevated fuel costs onto end customers.

    Prior to this latest market shock, both the U.K. and U.S. had recorded steady declines in inflation. The U.K.’s annual inflation rate fell to 2.6% in June, a drop driven in large part by cooling fuel prices, while U.S. inflation settled at 3.5% over the same period. Analysts now warn that these downward trends could prove temporary if energy prices remain at their current elevated levels.

    Fresh industry data published Thursday already reflects early price increases at the pump. In the U.K., the RAC motoring group reports that average petrol prices have risen 5 pence per liter since the start of July, hitting nearly £1.56 per liter, while average diesel now stands at £1.72 per liter. Across the Atlantic, U.S. motor advocacy group AAA confirms that the national average price for gasoline has once again crossed the $4 per gallon threshold, up from $3.92 just one month ago.

    “More expensive fuel and energy can ripple through the wider economy, increasing costs for businesses and ultimately feeding through into the price of food and other goods,” explained Jonathan Raymond, an investment manager at Quilter Cheviot. “This creates another headache for central banks as they continue their battle against inflation. If energy prices remain elevated, policymakers may come under pressure to keep interest rates higher for longer or even raise them. This would come as a blow to mortgage holders and borrowers already feeling the strain.”

    The Bank of England, which has held its baseline interest rate at 3.75% through four consecutive policy meetings, is widely expected to hold rates steady again at its next gathering, according to Paul Dales, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics. Dales added that most analysts still project rate cuts will begin next year if energy price increases stabilize and cool off.

    In the U.S., newly appointed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh signaled a hardline stance on persistent inflation during recent testimony before Congress, stating that the central bank has “no tolerance to persistently elevated inflation.” Former President Donald Trump, who pushed Warsh’s predecessor Jerome Powell to implement deep rate cuts, has repeatedly made clear he expects Warsh to deliver lower borrowing costs for American households. Despite this pressure, the Fed held rates steady in a range of 3.5% to 3.75% at Warsh’s first policy meeting last month, and he reaffirmed to Congress his commitment to “restoring price stability” in the face of new inflationary pressure from Middle East supply risks.

  • A decade in, Studio Ghibli Fest keeps growing as new generations flock to ‘Totoro,’ ‘Ponyo’ and more

    A decade in, Studio Ghibli Fest keeps growing as new generations flock to ‘Totoro,’ ‘Ponyo’ and more

    For Amanda Mendoza VanCleave, the annual arrival of Studio Ghibli Fest is a date she marks on her calendar without fail. For 10 years, this recurring program of theatrical rereleases of beloved Studio Ghibli animated films has grown into a treasured intergenerational tradition for VanCleave, her 3-year-old daughter, and her mother Araceli, who make a point of catching every rereleased title on the big screen at their local Austin, Texas cinema.

    VanCleave laughs recalling her daughter’s excited reaction to the opening Totoro title card of *My Neighbor Totoro* — an unplanned outburst that drew gentle laughter from the entire theater. Though the family first discovered Ghibli’s catalog on the streaming platform HBO Max, their annual theater outings have become a beloved shared ritual. During a recent screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 classic, the trio even attended in matching Totoro pajamas. “It’s been our thing: us three girls together,” VanCleave says.

    Studio Ghibli’s ability to inspire fierce, enduring fandom is widely known, but its consistent theatrical draw decades after its films’ initial releases is unparalleled in global cinema. Every year, audiences ranging from lifelong Ghibli devotees to young first-time viewers flock to cinemas for Ghibli Fest, which runs across select dates from June through October each year. What began as a small retrospective series has evolved into an annual cinematic marathon, turning timeless titles like *My Neighbor Totoro*, *Spirited Away*, and *Ponyo* into permanent theatrical mainstays rather than one-off rereleases.

    When GKids, Studio Ghibli’s North American distributor, partnered with Fathom Events to launch the formal Ghibli Fest in 2017, five films generated $5 million in total ticket sales. What has surprised industry insiders is that the event’s growth has only accelerated since Ghibli’s full catalog became available to stream on HBO Max in 2020 — the last three consecutive years have been the festival’s highest-grossing on record.

    “I’d be lying if I thought the program when we conceived it would be going as long as it has,” says Dave Jesteadt, president of GKids. “It does defy conventional wisdom. We keep waiting for the year that people tire of going to the films, but that’s not what’s happening. Every single year, we see records being set. The grosses are going up, not down.”

    2024 has marked the festival’s most successful year to date: 14 titles have grossed $16.4 million in ticket sales, up from $10.6 million for eight films in 2023. Already this year, *Ponyo* and *My Neighbor Totoro* each sold out five-day theatrical runs that were added to meet overwhelming fan demand. Shannah Miller, Fathom Events’ vice president of marketing, says audience demand has pushed the festival to expand its reach dramatically over the years. “When we started, I think our theatrical footprint was about 640 locations. This year, we’re crossing over 1,100 locations. We started with two, maybe three playdates for a particular title, but due to fan demand, we have five-day runs for some titles.”

    When GKids first acquired distribution rights to the full Ghibli library in 2011, the Japanese animation studio emphasized how critical theatrical screenings were to its creative vision. Early retrospectives were limited to small arthouse cinemas in major cities, but Ghibli Fest brought the films to mainstream multiplexes across the U.S., introducing a new generation of young viewers to animated storytelling outside of Disney’s offerings. “One of the worst things that can happen to classics is that they’re perceived as classics and kept in amber,” Jesteadt says. “We wanted to move to a nationwide celebration that really treated these as equivalent to any new Hollywood film.”

    As overall U.S. moviegoing attendance has risen more than 10% in 2024, theater chains have increasingly leaned on classic film rereleases to fill gaps in release schedules and boost attendance on slow weekdays. Ghibli Fest paved the way for this repertory trend years ago, and its long-term work has cultivated an entirely new generation of Ghibli fans: while older audiences often first fell in love with Miyazaki’s 2001 Oscar-winning masterpiece *Spirited Away*, many younger viewers now discover the studio through lighter, whimsical titles like *Ponyo* or *Howl’s Moving Castle*.

    When Ghibli’s catalog launched on streaming in 2020, industry observers predicted theatrical attendance would decline. Instead, streaming introduced Ghibli to millions of new viewers who then sought out the experience of seeing the films on the big screen for the first time.

    The 2024 Ghibli Fest lineup continues through October, with upcoming screenings including *Tales of Earthsea*, *Only Yesterday*, a 40th-anniversary presentation of 1986’s *Castle in the Sky*, a 4K remaster of *Princess Mononoke*, and a 25th-anniversary run of *Spirited Away*. While occasional Ghibli rereleases happen in other countries, the annual Ghibli Fest phenomenon is unique to the U.S.

    “We are equally in awe of and proud of what we’re building and the opportunity to celebrate instead of all the doom and gloom, ‘Is theater dead?’ conversations,” Miller says. “We have a different story to tell with Studio Ghibli.”

    Outside of Ghibli Fest, Studio Ghibli’s cultural dominance continues to grow: Los Angeles’ Academy Museum is currently hosting a new special exhibit dedicated to *Ponyo*, and legendary Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi is touring a concert series of the studio’s most famous scores, including a seven-night residency at New York’s Radio City Music Hall this August. But for fans, nothing compares to seeing the films on the big screen.

    Angela Lector, a 27-year-old lifelong Ghibli fan, has attended festival screenings in costume as *Howl’s Moving Castle*’s protagonist Sophie and connected with Japanese film students at a showing of *Princess Mononoke*. “Being in the theater is so much more fun than being on HBO Max,” Lector says. “Being in your home, you can make your own popcorn and cuddle up with your dog. But being in the theater you can actually talk to people you don’t know about the movie.”

    The only common complaint from fans is that the festival does not include more underrated deep cuts from the Ghibli catalog; Lector for one hopes to see 1984’s *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind*, Miyazaki’s pre-Ghibli classic, added to future lineups. “The Ghibli films are timeless. There’s something for everyone in them,” Lector says. “Everything feels human. No one is too powerful or too small.”

    That inclusive, welcoming energy extends to the audience as well. VanCleave recently noticed her daughter’s preschool classmate wearing a signature hair bow like Kiki from *Kiki’s Delivery Service*, struck up a conversation with the girl’s mother, and discovered the family also loves Ghibli. She ended up inviting them to this year’s *Ponyo* screening — which marked the young girl’s first ever trip to a movie theater. “It was cute,” VanCleave says. “The two 3-year-olds shared a recliner.”