Top notch choreography features heavily in tale of a student who is inhabited by an assassin’s spirit determined to wreak revenge On her way home from a bad day at work and a disappointing drinks date with a sleazy social media influencer (Hidenobu Abera), college student and part-time waitress Fumika (Akari Takaishi) finds a bullet casing on a stairway. She unthinkingly picks it up, not realising...
Top notch choreography features heavily in tale of a student who is inhabited by an assassin’s spirit determined to wreak revenge On her way home from a bad day at work and a disappointing drinks date with a sleazy social media influencer (Hidenobu Abera), college student and part-time waitress Fumika (Akari Takaishi) finds a bullet casing on a stairway. She unthinkingly picks it up, not realising that her own suppressed rage and need for vengeance will instantly connect her through this object to the ghost of Kudo (Masanori Mimoto), a recently murdered hired assassin with his own load of unresolved emotional issues. Luckily, supernatural happenstance in this action-comedy charmer from Japan will help both of them to grow as people, or in Kudo’s case an ex-person. It turns out that Kudo can inhabit Fumika’s body at will and effectively use her as a karate-chopping, gun-slinging martial arts meat puppet in order to right wrongs, fight bad guys and eventually help him avenge his own murder. Fun! Star Takaishi and director Kensuke Sonomura have collaborated before on the successful franchise Baby Assassins (wherein Takaishi plays a professional contract killer who poses as a normie, basically the inverse of her character here). Sonomura was the action director for three Baby Assassins features, which might explain that this, his third gig as a main director, feels more weighted towards scenes that showcase fisticuffs and fancy fight choreography rather than character development and emotional nuance. But that’s fine because Takaishi has charisma to burn and an impressive range; she’s equally convincing as a hapless student screaming in shock at the destruction being wrought around her as she is as a dead-eyed killer when Kudo inhabits her body. Meanwhile, Mimoto, a Japanese action film stalwart, is compellingly soulful as a murderer experiencing flickers of conscience rather late in life who hopes he might be a good influence not just on Fumika but also his former prot...
A journalist tells the improbable tale of a British diplomat who worked to free Ireland – and paid the ultimate price Roger Casement had a life that defies categorisation: an imperial administrator who exposed imperial atrocities; a one-time diplomat for the United Kingdom who enlisted German help in Ireland’s fight for freedom; a closeted gay man who left detailed records of his sexual adventures...
A journalist tells the improbable tale of a British diplomat who worked to free Ireland – and paid the ultimate price Roger Casement had a life that defies categorisation: an imperial administrator who exposed imperial atrocities; a one-time diplomat for the United Kingdom who enlisted German help in Ireland’s fight for freedom; a closeted gay man who left detailed records of his sexual adventures; a knight of the realm convicted of conspiring against the crown. TE Lawrence (“of Arabia”), himself no stranger to the hypocrisy of British imperialism and the difficulties of illegal sexuality, called Casement a “broken archangel”. Rory Carroll, the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent, retains some of that poetry in this deeply researched and fascinating account of Casement’s role in the creation of the Irish state. Continue reading...
Chief executive says he has no ‘stance on Howe’s future’ David Hopkinson ‘expects great run to end of the season’ Eddie Howe has seven games to reassure Newcastle’s hierarchy that he remains the right manager to lead the club into next season. Newcastle sit 12th in the Premier League and David Hopkinson, the chief executive, has made plain his displeasure at the recent 2-1 home defeat by Sunderlan...
Chief executive says he has no ‘stance on Howe’s future’ David Hopkinson ‘expects great run to end of the season’ Eddie Howe has seven games to reassure Newcastle’s hierarchy that he remains the right manager to lead the club into next season. Newcastle sit 12th in the Premier League and David Hopkinson, the chief executive, has made plain his displeasure at the recent 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland . Continue reading...
Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson says he does not have a stance on the future of head coach Eddie Howe, but the club are "not looking to make a change at the moment".
Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson says he does not have a stance on the future of head coach Eddie Howe, but the club are "not looking to make a change at the moment".
Malaysia’s central bank has raised its 2026 growth outlook, saying the economy is on track to expand between 4 and 5 per cent despite mounting risks from the Iran war. The revised forecast from Bank Negara Malaysia marks an upgrade from the government’s earlier target of 4 to 4.5 per cent, reflecting stronger-than-expected momentum in the second half of last year and resilient domestic demand. “Ma...
Malaysia’s central bank has raised its 2026 growth outlook, saying the economy is on track to expand between 4 and 5 per cent despite mounting risks from the Iran war. The revised forecast from Bank Negara Malaysia marks an upgrade from the government’s earlier target of 4 to 4.5 per cent, reflecting stronger-than-expected momentum in the second half of last year and resilient domestic demand. “Malaysia enters 2026 from a position of strength to navigate the challenges,” BNM Governor Abdul...
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Watch Odd Lots on YouTube Subscribe to the newsletter This week, NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis II, a mission that will send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. But this comes at a time when the space agency is facing some pretty big funding challenges, as well as growing competition with priva...
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Watch Odd Lots on YouTube Subscribe to the newsletter This week, NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis II, a mission that will send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. But this comes at a time when the space agency is facing some pretty big funding challenges, as well as growing competition with private players like SpaceX. In this episode, we speak with Alexander MacDonald, who served as NASA's first chief economist and is now a senior associate at the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS. We talk about why the space agency had economists, how space exploration is funded, and how NASA measures its own economic impact. Please note, this episode was recorded March 10.
Efekta Education Group has announced a landmark partnership with one of Japan's leading language and corporate education providers, ECC Co., Ltd. On July 1st, ECC will launch ECC Online Hyper Lessons, a cutting-edge English-learning solution, powered by Efekta's world-class education technology.
Efekta Education Group has announced a landmark partnership with one of Japan's leading language and corporate education providers, ECC Co., Ltd. On July 1st, ECC will launch ECC Online Hyper Lessons, a cutting-edge English-learning solution, powered by Efekta's world-class education technology.
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Giverny Capital Asset Management 2025 Annual Letter. Constellation's ( CNSWF ) stock price has fallen by 26% in 2025 (and by another 12% to date in 2026). Such a decline is completely unrelated to the company's current situation. Indeed, revenue climbed 15% in 2025 and adjusted EPS by 21%. Since our initial pu...
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Giverny Capital Asset Management 2025 Annual Letter. Constellation's ( CNSWF ) stock price has fallen by 26% in 2025 (and by another 12% to date in 2026). Such a decline is completely unrelated to the company's current situation. Indeed, revenue climbed 15% in 2025 and adjusted EPS by 21%. Since our initial purchase in 2014, EPS has grown at an annualized growth rate of 20%. Despite the recent stock price drop, the share price has still risen by more than 1000% since our first purchase 12 years ago. In our opinion, Constellation Software is not as threatened by AI as some believe. And if it is in certain aspects of its business model, it can adapt (it already uses AI in several areas of its operations). It's important to understand that Constellation owns more than 1000 different companies acquired over the past 30 years, each occupying a niche in a specific market. Constellation has always prioritized software that drives businesses or key aspects of them, where seamless data continuity is essential, and where processes and user interfaces are paramount in their clients' daily operations. The software is often fully integrated into the client's operations while rarely representing a significant cost – relatively speaking. For example, it seems unrealistic to believe that an operator of a dozen mini-golf courses is going to start coding their own AI-powered reservation software to save something like $5,000 in annual fees! The other news that affected – to a lesser extent – Constellation's stock is the departure of Mark Leonard. We have immense admiration for Mr. Leonard, and I often mentioned that he was my favorite CEO of the companies we own. Mark experienced serious health issues this fall, to the point where his life was in danger. He therefore had to resign and undergo emergency surgery. The good news is that the surgery went well, and Mark is now out of danger. He will th...
Brookfield Asset Management has finalized a deal to buy a portfolio of rental housing from Blackstone Inc. for over €1 billion ($1.1 billion), the largest real estate transaction in Europe since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran. Brookfield’s funds entered into a share purchase agreement to buy Fidere Patrimonio Socimi SA for a net price after taxes and adjustments of €1.05 billion, ...
Brookfield Asset Management has finalized a deal to buy a portfolio of rental housing from Blackstone Inc. for over €1 billion ($1.1 billion), the largest real estate transaction in Europe since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran. Brookfield’s funds entered into a share purchase agreement to buy Fidere Patrimonio Socimi SA for a net price after taxes and adjustments of €1.05 billion, in line with the value at which Blackstone held the properties, according to statement late Monday. The companies own about about 5,000 apartments spread across 47 building in Madrid. Conflict in the Middle East has clouded the outlook for real estate’s ongoing recovery from the inflation wave of 2022. Bond yields — a key proxy for real estate valuations — have followed energy prices upwards since the attacks began but have recently retreated from their highs as traders weigh the impact of a growth shock on the economy. Read more: Iran Shock Upends Real Estate’s Long-Anticipated Recovery The spike in yields raised the risk that deals provisionally agreed before the outbreak of hostilities could collapse, as bidders weighed the impact of the conflict and the cost of financing acquisitions increased. But Brookfield pushed ahead with its bid, first tabled in January, even after the conflict escalated. Blackstone piled into Spanish property in the aftermath of the global financial crisis which ravaged the Iberian nation’s real estate markets. It followed up the acquisition of Fidere with deals to buy a majority stake in €30 billion of Banco Popular Espanol SA ’s real estate loans in 2017, before acquiring landlord Testa Residencial SOCIMI SA the subsequent year. Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. and Eastdil Secured LLC , the real estate investment bank that’s being acquired by Savills Plc , advised on the sale of the portfolio.
两名消息人士称，韩国的氦气库存至少可以维持到6月份，而韩国产业通商资源部长官排除了上半年供应中断的可能性，从而缓解了人们对伊朗冲突可能对芯片制造关键气体氦气供应造成影响的担忧。 氦气是天然气加工的副产品，其价格在美以对伊朗的袭击扰乱了卡塔尔（全球最大的液化天然气供应国）的天然气加工业务后大幅上涨。 但一位政府官员表示，韩国拥有包括三星电子和 SK 海力士在内的一些全球最大的芯片制造商，其氦气库存足...
两名消息人士称，韩国的氦气库存至少可以维持到6月份，而韩国产业通商资源部长官排除了上半年供应中断的可能性，从而缓解了人们对伊朗冲突可能对芯片制造关键气体氦气供应造成影响的担忧。 氦气是天然气加工的副产品，其价格在美以对伊朗的袭击扰乱了卡塔尔（全球最大的液化天然气供应国）的天然气加工业务后大幅上涨。 但一位政府官员表示，韩国拥有包括三星电子和 SK 海力士在内的一些全球最大的芯片制造商，其氦气库存足以应对上半年的市场波动。 他还表示，这些公司也在支付溢价以确保库存，主要来自美国最大的氦气生产商。他补充道：“抛开价格因素，确保目前的库存才是重中之重。” 韩国产业通商资源部长官金正官周二在内阁会议上向韩国总统李在明表示，上半年氦气供应中断的可能性不大，但他并未详细说明。 据来自三星氦气供应商的消息人士称，三星电子和SK海力士（全球约三分之二的内存芯片供应商）的氦气库存足够维持四到六个月。 责任编辑：于健 SF069