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  • Dwayne Johnson Says Weight Loss Is for Chicken Man Movie Role

    Dwayne Johnson Says Weight Loss Is for Chicken Man Movie Role

    Having earned raves for bulking up to play the wrestler Mark Kerr in his MMA fighting prime for “The Smashing Machine,” Dwayne Johnson is about to undertake another radical transformation. He’s shedding pounds to portray a ” whimsical, eccentric 70-something year-old” called Chicken Man in “Lizard Music.”

    The film, which will reunite Johnson with “The Smashing Machine” director Benny Safdie, is an acting challenge that the Rock jumped at the chance to pull off.

    “Benny pitched me this after,” Johnson said during a career retrospective talk at the Toronto Film Festival on Monday where “The Smashing Machine” will screen. “And after about 45 minutes, this pitch ended and I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’”

    Johnson, who had shed much of the 30 pounds of muscle he packed on as Kerr, still looked like he could benchpress a Humvee.

    “I still have a long ways to go,” he acknowledged.

    “I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in ‘Smashing Machine,’” Johnson added. “[It means] eating less chicken.”

    The film is an adaptation of a Daniel Pinkwater novel and tells the story of a septuagenarian whose best friend is a 70-year-old chicken. Like “The Smashing Machine,” which has earned Oscar buzz for Johnson, it’s an opportunity to subvert his action hero image. After starring in blockbusters like “Jumanji” and “Fast Five,” Johnson said he was ready to shake things up.

    “I felt for a few years, I was pigeonholed because I allowed it to happen,” Johnson admitted. He added, “‘Smashing Machine’ is for me.”

    The sports drama doesn’t shy away from showing the darker sides of Kerr’s story, including his toxic relationship with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) and substance abuse struggles. It’s about as far removed from “Moana” as one can get.

    “You hope it’s like, ‘Hey, we made this thing,’” Johnson said. “‘We love it. We hope you do too, and if you don’t, it’s OK. Maybe you’ll like the next thing.’”

    Not that Johnson is abandoning big-budget crowdpleasers entirely. He revealed he’ll be re-teaming with Kevin Hart on “Jumanji 3,” which will start shooting in November.

    “The films that I made in the past, I love them,” Johnson said. “I’ll go back to making them again.”

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  • A three-decade quest to decipher lung cancer risk

    A three-decade quest to decipher lung cancer risk


    Home / News / A three-decade quest to decipher lung cancer risk
    David Christiani. Kent Dayton / Harvard Chan School

    The research described in this article was made possible in part by federal funding awarded to Harvard Chan School scientists in the interest of protecting and promoting health for all. The future of research like this is now in question due to the government’s actions to terminate large numbers of grants and contracts and freeze funding for scientific inquiry and innovation across Harvard University.

    More than 30 years ago, David Christiani wanted to know why some smokers got lung cancer while others didn’t.

    The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researcher made several attempts to get a grant to answer that question from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute (NCI)—but he was not initially successful. Part of the problem, he said, was the general assumption at that time was that if people just stopped smoking, they would lower their lung cancer risk.

    “But that turns out not to be true,” said Christiani, Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics. “About half the lung cancers in the world are due to environmental exposures other than smoking. But I could not argue that at the time, because we did not have a lot of data then from developing countries and the global South. Now we do.”

    Christiani eventually won NCI funding and established the Boston Lung Cancer Study (BLCS) in 1992. Since then, the BLCS has become “the longest and largest lung survival cohort in the U.S.,” according to Christiani, involving more than 14,000 patients who have been treated at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute over the past three decades. During that time, BLCS researchers have published more than 300 papers looking at which environmental and genetic factors increase the risk for lung cancer, which factors predict survival, and why some people respond to particular treatments and some do not. To conduct their studies, researchers have used a wide range of data: demographic, smoking, occupational, and dietary information; pathology reports and tumor images; information on tumor characteristics and treatments given to patients; and tumor and blood samples.

    High-impact findings, but funding under threat

    Among the major findings of the BLCS, Christiani and colleagues discovered in 2004 that the reason that only a small percentage of people with non-small-cell lung cancer responded well to a class of late-stage cancer drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) was because they had a particular mutation in a gene targeted by the drugs that most other patients didn’t have.

    “That dramatic finding showed that you can have targeted or personalized therapy for a disease that, unless it was caught early, had a really bad outcome for decades,” Christiani said. “The five-year mortality for lung cancer used to be 14-15%; now it is about 20% for all lung cancers, and up to 26% for the most common types. That is still not great, but it is one-third better than before, and we hope it will get even better.”

    The TKI study, Christiani added, highlighted the importance of well-designed population studies involving systematic data collection, the collection and proper storage of biological samples, and the use of standardized, validated questionnaires for smoking, environmental exposures, diet, and other important variables.

    BLCS research has also found that exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to a higher risk of lung cancer, particularly for those who are first exposed before age 25; and that people exposed to a type of radioactivity associated with particulate air pollution have a greater risk of lung cancer recurrence and worse survival in lung cancer patients.

    The federal grant that was funding BLCS was cut as part of the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $2.6 billion in grants to Harvard University. Christiani had been expecting about $4.8 million over the next three years to support the study. Now he is not sure how he and his roughly 14-member team will keep the work going.

    If the government resumes funding to Harvard, Christiani hopes to continue the BLCS and conduct research on how best to monitor for lung cancer recurrences in people who have been successfully treated. “Now that we have more successful therapies, the next question we hope BLCS can address is what is the best way to care for patients after they’ve been treated?” Christiani said. “How do you advise them and their doctors?” Overtesting, he explained, can lead to increased morbidity in patients for a number of reasons, such as unnecessary medical procedures, but undertesting could lead to a missed cancer recurrence. Said Christiani, “We want to do those outcome and survival studies to see what works best.”

    Note: On Sept. 3, a federal district court judge in Boston ruled that the Trump administration’s freezing of funds intended for Harvard researchers was illegal. The administration has said it will appeal the decision, and the research funding remains frozen.

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  • WCH Tokyo 25 preview: men’s 20km race walk | News | Tokyo 25

    WCH Tokyo 25 preview: men’s 20km race walk | News | Tokyo 25

    • Strong Japanese team led by two-time world champion and world record-holder Toshikazu Yamanishi
    • World and Olympic medallist Caio Bonfim aiming for another podium place
    • Evan Dunfee, who eclipsed the world record for the 35km earlier in 2025, doubles up

    In February of this year, Toshikazu Yamanishi lowered the world record for the men’s 20km race walk by a quarter of a minute with 1:16:10.

    That rapid performance in Kobe booked his place on the Japanese team for these World Championships and he will be the favourite to shine once more in front of his home crowd.

    Expectations are high in Japan for a home gold for Yamanishi, who looked in Kobe like he still had more in the tank at the end, sharing a joke with lapped athletes towards the latter stages of the race.

    Whether he can get under 1:16 is another matter entirely; when he returns to the streets where he took Olympic bronze in 2021, Yamanishi’s main aim will be to add to the world gold medals he won in 2019 and 2022.

    It is not beyond the realms of comprehension that Japan could sweep the podium. And while Olympic champion Brian Pintado will be absent, as will the now-retired 2023 world champion Alvaro Martin, there are no shortage of medal contenders from other nations.

    The best of the rest this season behind Yamanishi is Satoshi Maruo who, although overshadowed by his teammate, has set a career best of 1:17:24 this season. Kento Yoshikawa, meanwhile, is fifth fastest of the World Championships entrants.

    Brazil’s Caio Bonfim earned world bronze in 2017 and 2023, then took Olympic silver in Paris last year. The 2024 Race Walking Tour winner is keen to win his first global gold.

    And then comes Evan Dunfee, like a fine wine seemingly getting better with age. He suffered the agony of two fourth-place finishes in his last World Championship appearance in both the 20km and 35km race walks. The Canadian, who also has an Olympic medal to his name, broke the world record for the longer distance earlier this year and has also smashed his 20km PB with 1:17:39.

    As is often the case, China fields three athletes capable of challenging for medals. Asian champion Wang Zhaozha is the quickest of the trio this year; he’s joined by global championship debutants Qian Haifeng and Li Chenjie.

    Spain’s Paul McGrath looks to be the leading European contender. The European silver medallist won the European Race Walking Championships this year in 1:18:05, just 10 seconds shy of his PB.

    Misganaw Wakuma placed sixth at the Olympics last year at the age of 20, achieving Ethiopia’s highest ever finish in a men’s race walk at a global championships. Earlier this year, he broke the African record with a 1:18:32 clocking at altitude, suggesting he’s capable of going quicker at sea level.

    Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom, a medallist at the past three World Championships, and European bronze medallist Francesco Fortunato also cannot be discounted.

    Matt Majendie for World Athletics

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  • Perpetua Resources Receives Preliminary Project Letter and Indicative Term Sheet from the Export-Import Bank of the United States on Potential $2 Billion Debt Financing

    BOISE, Idaho, Sept. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – Perpetua Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA) (TSX: PPTA) (“Perpetua Resources” or “Perpetua” or the “Company”) announced today that it received a preliminary, non-binding indicative financing term sheet from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (“EXIM”) as part of a Preliminary Project Letter (“PPL”) conveying EXIM’s initial due diligence findings to Perpetua on its application for $2 billion in debt financing from EXIM for the Stibnite Gold Project (“Project”).

    Along with the preliminary indicative term sheet, the PPL provides a summary of EXIM’s initial due diligence findings of the Project to date.  Perpetua continues to work with EXIM to advance the project through the next stages of EXIM’s due diligence and loan application process.  The Company is anticipating final EXIM Board consideration by the spring of 2026.

    “Perpetua Resources received its final federal permit for the Stibnite Gold Project in the second quarter of 2025, after eight years of rigorous interagency coordination and review,” said Jon Cherry, President and CEO of Perpetua Resources. “Following the successful equity offering earlier this year, Perpetua is focused on finalizing a potential royalty or stream arrangement with financial assurance guarantees, commencing early works construction in the fall of 2025 while advancing the EXIM debt financing.”

    About Perpetua Resources and the Stibnite Gold Project

    Perpetua Resources Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is focused on the exploration, site restoration and redevelopment of gold-antimony-silver deposits in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district of central Idaho that are encompassed by the Stibnite Gold Project. The Stibnite Gold Project is one of the highest-grade, open pit gold deposits in the United States and is designed to apply a modern, responsible mining approach to restore an abandoned mine site and produce both gold and the only mined source of antimony in the United States. Antimony trisulfide from Stibnite is the only known domestic reserves of antimony that can meet U.S. defense needs for many small arms, munitions, and missile types.

    Forward-Looking Information 
    Investors should be aware that the U.S. EXIM Letter of Interest (“LOI”), PPL and indicative term sheet are non-binding and conditional, and do not represent a financing commitment. A funding commitment, if any, is conditional upon successfully completing the due diligence and underwriting process, which may not be completed on the expected timeline, or at all. If the Company’s application is approved, there can be no assurance that the U.S. EXIM financing will be for the full amount indicated in the LOI or the increased amount requested in the application, or that the approved U.S. EXIM financing will be sufficient for the Company to commence construction of the Project. Further, release of funding under any such commitment would be subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions and covenants by the Company. 
    Investors should be aware that the Company has not entered into any definitive agreement with respect to a royalty, streaming or guarantee and may not be able to enter into such agreement on the anticipated terms and timeline, or at all. In addition, the outcomes from such agreement, when entered into, may not be sufficient to satisfy the aggregate obligations of the Company to provide construction phase financial assurance under applicable federal and state law prior to commencing construction. Securing the financial assurance does not guarantee the Company will receive the U.S. Forest Service (“USFS”) notice to proceed under the approved plan of operation and consummating the royalty financing may not satisfy the financial assurance conditions of various federal and state permits required to commence construction. 
    Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking information” or “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “Forward-Looking Information”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-Looking Information includes, but is not limited to, the Company’s ability to successfully secure financing from U.S. EXIM or other sources on acceptable terms, or at all, including the review process and potential outcome of the Company’s U.S. EXIM financing application; the expected timing of, and benefits to the Project of, securing such financing from U.S. EXIM; the Company’s ability to satisfy financial assurance requirements under applicable federal and state law on acceptable terms and on anticipated timelines, if at all; the Company’s ability, in connection with efforts to satisfy financial assurance requirements applicable to the Project and to provide additional Project financing, to enter into a royalty or stream agreement on acceptable terms and on the anticipated timeline, if at all. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases or variations of such words and phrases or statements such as “anticipate”, “expect”, “plan”, “likely”, “believe”, “intend”, “forecast”, “project”, “estimate”, “potential”, “could”, “may”, “will”, “would” or “should”. In preparing the Forward-Looking Information in this news release, Perpetua Resources has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to assumptions that the USFS will issue a Notice to Proceed for construction of the Project in a timely manner and as expected; that the Company will be able to satisfy all conditions provided in various federal and state permits that must be met to commence construction; that the U.S EXIM application will be reviewed and approved within the expected timeframe at the amount equal to or higher than the amount indicated in the related letter of intent; that the Company will be able to satisfy the conditions to obtain a funding commitment from U.S. EXIM and to receive committed funds when needed; the ongoing royalty or streaming financing negotiations will proceed in a timely manner and result in a binding agreement on the terms anticipated; that the Company will be able to satisfy financial assurance requirements applicable under applicable federal and state law; that the Company’s proposed financing package will be sufficient to finance permitting, pre-construction and construction of the Project or that the company will be able to secure alternate financing if necessary. Forward-Looking Information are based on certain material assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Perpetua Resources to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. Such risks and other factors include, among other things, risks related to unforeseen delays in the review and permitting process, including as a result of legal challenges to the ROD or other permits; risks related to opposition to the Project; risks related to increased or unexpected costs in operations or the permitting process; risks that necessary financing will be unavailable when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, as well as those factors discussed in Perpetua Resources’ public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and its Canadian disclosure record. Although Perpetua Resources has attempted to identify important factors that could affect Perpetua Resources and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company’s business and liquidity, see the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov and with the Canadian securities regulators, which are available at www.sedar.com. Except as required by law, Perpetua Resources does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

    SOURCE Perpetua Resources Corp.

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  • Broadridge Ranked #3 in the 2025 IDC FinTech Rankings Top 100, Wins Capital Markets Transformation Award

    Broadridge Ranked #3 in the 2025 IDC FinTech Rankings Top 100, Wins Capital Markets Transformation Award

    Broadridge remains in the top three ranking for third consecutive year

    NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader, announced today its inclusion in the 2025 IDC FinTech Rankings Top 100 for the eleventh consecutive year. Broadridge has maintained its #3 ranking since 2023 and was also named as the winner of the 2025 Capital Markets Transformation FinTech Real Results Award.

    “Broadridge’s #3 placement in the 2025 IDC FinTech Rankings demonstrates its ongoing commitment to helping financial institutions modernize, innovate, and build trusted client experiences at scale,” says Thomas Shuster, Research Director for IDC Financial Insights. “We commend them for their continued impact in shaping the industry’s digital future.”

    “This award and recognition are powerful validation of how Broadridge is a trusted and transformative partner for our clients as together we reimagine what’s possible in financial services,” said Tim Gokey, CEO of Broadridge. “We are committed to delivering real impact every day while driving innovation to democratize and digitize corporate governance, innovate and simplify capital markets, and modernize wealth and investment management.”

    As a Fintech leader, Broadridge has been leveraging cutting edge technology advances to build solutions like Wealth InFocus, Distribute Ledger Repo Platform, OpsGPT, BondGPT, and Global Demand Model to benefit clients and the financial services industry. This IDC recognition underscores Broadridge’s trusted expertise and use of transformative technology in tackling key challenges within the capital markets sector, such as accelerating T+1 settlement, enhancing automation, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Its NYFIX Matching platform stands out as an innovative solution that enhances operational efficiency across the marketplace.

    The Fortune 500-style ranking highlights and assesses the leading global financial technology providers, based on their calendar-year revenues from financial institutions for hardware, software and/or services. These companies form the technological foundation of the financial services sector—an industry where IDC projects global IT spending will reach $775 billion (USD) by 2028. To view the full list, please visit http://www.idc-fi.com.

    Broadridge provides technology-driven solutions to banks, broker-dealers, portfolio managers, and public companies. The company’s infrastructure serves as a global communications hub for thousands of mutual funds and millions of institutional investors.

    The IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results program, part of the broader IDC FinTech Rankings initiative, recognizes IT providers that have enabled a genuine, measurable, and future-enabling change at a client financial institution. Alongside other top-ranked companies, Broadridge is committed to helping financial institutions successfully execute digital transformation strategies that improve service for customers worldwide.

    For more information about the IDC rankings, visit https://www.idc.com/research/industry/fintech-rankings and follow them on Twitter @IDC and look for #IDCFinTechRankings.

    About Broadridge
    Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR) is a global technology leader with trusted expertise and transformative technology, helping clients and the financial services industry operate, innovate, and grow. We power investing, governance, and communications for our clients – driving operational resiliency, elevating business performance, and transforming investor experiences.

    Our technology and operations platforms process and generate over 7 billion communications annually and underpin the daily average trading of over $15 trillion in equities, fixed income, and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work®, Broadridge is part of the S&P 500® Index, employing over 15,000 associates in 21 countries.

    For more information about us, please visit www.broadridge.com.

    SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

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  • SCO power show framed by China’s Victory Day legacy

    SCO power show framed by China’s Victory Day legacy

    Beginning as a small pact of nations united to combat separatism, sectarianism and terrorism, SCO has morphed into an economic and strategic alliance, now envisioning the leverage of a mega-scale market that represents 42% of the global population, 25% of the global landmass and 24% of global GDP.

    The transformation of SCO into a broad-spectrum consortium has laid out a roadmap for peace and prosperity under three guiding principles: multipolarity; inclusive globalisation; and equitable global governance. The goals of indivisible security and a Eurasian security framework can only be achieved by acting upon these principles. Furthermore, these principles align with China’s Vision 2050, which stresses that Global South must strive for a new economic framework, a new civilisation initiative, new connectivity corridors and new security arrangements. Taken together, these commitments represent a rule-based world order, using the UN Charter as its Magna Carta.

    The SCO format, outlined above, is both complex and ambitious. It not only encompasses security and economic cooperation, but also cultural and civilisational preservation, as well as climate-related initiatives. This requires an extensive framework involving year-long activities, coordinated on a rotational basis by the host countries.

    This year’s SCO 25th Heads of State Council meeting created an impact comparable to last year’s BRICS Summit in Kazan. What is often viewed as a routine annual event became a venue for strategic multilateral discussions, bilateral contracts, future agreements and new pledges. Russia and China signed a landmark agreement on the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, with Mongolia also signing on as a partner. Iran, Russia and China held a comprehensive sideline meeting focused on security and defence arrangements. Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a reassuring meeting, emphasising their relationship as “traditional” and enduring.

    Building on the three guiding principles outlined earlier, this year’s summit gained additional significance as China invited a broader circle of international guests to coincide with the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan. Among the non-SCO member attendees were North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Slovak PM Robert Fico, the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepal’s PM KP Sharma Oli, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

    In a striking display, three NATO members – Serbia, Slovakia and Turkey – joined Xi, Putin and Kim, leaders often antagonised by the West. Not only did they attend the Victory Parade, they also held extensive bilateral meetings. The Slovak PM reaffirmed his opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership, confirmed Slovakia’s continued purchase of Russian gas through TurkStream and requested Russian assistance in nuclear power plant development.

    Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Armenia submitted requests to join SCO. However, as expected, India blocked Azerbaijan’s entry, while Pakistan opposed Armenia’s application. However, both countries, being members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), received observer status, as the SCO this year granted dialogue status to Laos and observer status to the CIS, besides designating Kyrgyzstan as the next chair.

    The most monumental point is the trilateral cooperation agreement between SCO, CIS and CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization). This collaboration will open new pathways of manoeuvrability within Eurasia, creating a framework that is by far non-Eurocentric.

    No account of this event would be complete without mentioning Donald Trump who, on his Truth Social account, sent his regards to Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin through Xi Jinping, adding that they should “do that while conspiring against the USA”.

    Western media coverage reflected a sense of unease, even hysteria, at China’s spectacular power display. While Western alliances appear hollow and agenda-less, gatherings like BRICS in Kazan (2024) and the SCO in Tianjin (2025) have manifested a palpable sense of momentum, the effects of which are becoming ever more visible in global politics.

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  • Nokia and Supermicro partner to deliver integrated, AI-optimized data center networking solutions – 5G Americas

    1. Nokia and Supermicro partner to deliver integrated, AI-optimized data center networking solutions  5G Americas
    2. AI Chips Today – AI-Driven Data Center Innovation With Nokia and Supermicro Partnership  Yahoo Finance
    3. Supermicro 800G switches to run Nokia’s SR Linux and event automation suite  Telecompaper
    4. Why Nokia and Supermicro Have Forged Data Centre Alliance  Data Centre Magazine
    5. Super Micro Teams With Nokia To Tackle Surging AI And Cloud Demand  Yahoo Finance

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  • Come From Away Show to Debut on Cunard – Cruise Critic

    1. Come From Away Show to Debut on Cunard  Cruise Critic
    2. Cunard to Debut “Come From Away” at Sea on Queen Elizabeth’s First Caribbean Voyage  Caribbean Journal
    3. Globally Acclaimed Theater Show Come from Away Set for First Production at Sea on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth  PR Newswire
    4. Queen Elizabeth Hosts Come from Away Theater Production  Cruise Industry News
    5. Cunard expands its on-board entertainment as an award-winning show comes to sea for the first time  MSN

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  • Watch Michael Scott Honor Supertramp’s Rick Davies With “Goodbye Toby”

    Watch Michael Scott Honor Supertramp’s Rick Davies With “Goodbye Toby”

    The Supertramp fan community was dealt a devastating blow over the weekend when news hit that co-founder Rick Davies has died after a long battle with multiple myeloma.

    “As co-writer, along with partner Roger Hodgson, he was the voice and pianist behind Supertramp’s most iconic songs, leaving an indelible mark on rock music history,” the band wrote on Facebook. “His soulful vocals and unmistakable touch on the Wurlitzer became the heartbeat of the band’s sound.”

    Supertramp enjoyed greater popularity in their native England than in America, even though hits like “Take the Long Way Home” and “The Logical Song” remain in heavy rotation on classic rock radio. Those two songs were written by Hodgson, and he sang them as well. But their 1979 classic “Goodbye Stranger” is a Davies tune, and it hit Number 15 on the Hot 100 here. (It stalled at Number 57 in the U.K.)

    “Goodbye Stranger” was given new life in the season four Office finale, “Goodbye, Toby,” when Michael Scott sang a slightly modified version of the song at a farewell party for human resources rep Toby Flenderson. “The real reason we’re here is to say goodbye to a guy we’ll probably never, ever see again,” Scott says. “As a lot of you know, I’m an accomplished songwriter. I have done things like ‘Beers In Heaven’ or ‘Total Eclipse of the Fart.’ I’d love to be singing them, but I’m not going to be doing that today. I’m going to be doing something I wrote specifically for Toby.”

    In truth, Rick Davies wrote “Goodbye Stranger.” The only change Michael makes is swapping out “stranger” for “Toby,” and adding in a manic “Toby’s going away!” scat section at the end. (We never got a chance to hear “Beers in Heaven” or “Total Eclipse of the Fart,” but we imagine they were a bit more inventive.)

    Trending Stories

    “Goodbye, Toby” is a key Office episode since it introduces Amy Ryan’s Holly Flax character, and wraps up the strike-shortened fourth season of the show. To many fans who feel that The Office began a gradual downhill climb in the fifth season, when showrunner Greg Daniels and writer Michael Schur left to launch Parks and Rec, this episode concludes the show’s golden age. (To be fair, there are many legendary episodes in season five, six, and seven. The heights just weren’t as consistently high as two, three, and four. And the less said about seasons eight and nine, the better.)

    Like every episode of The Office, “Goodbye, Toby” is always playing somewhere. It did a lot to make one of Davies’ most successful songs even more memorable. But from the perspective of Michael Scott, it was a massive failure. His nemesis Toby returned nine episodes later.

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  • US firm agrees $500 million investment deal with Pakistan for critical minerals

    US firm agrees $500 million investment deal with Pakistan for critical minerals

    ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.S. metals company signed a $500 million investment deal with Pakistan on Monday.

    Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization — which is the country’s largest miner of critical minerals — signed a memorandum of understanding with Missouri-based U.S. Strategic Metals for collaboration plans that include setting up a poly-metallic refinery in Pakistan.

    The deal comes after Washington and Islamabad last month reached a trade agreement that Pakistan hoped would attract American investment in its minerals and oil reserves.

    U.S. Strategic Metals is focused on producing and recycling critical minerals, which the U.S. Department of Energy has defined as essential in a variety of technologies related to advanced manufacturing and energy production.

    A second agreement was signed between the National Logistics Corp of Pakistan and Mota-Engil Group, a Portuguese engineering and construction company.

    A statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said he held talks with the delegation from U.S. Strategic Metals and Mota-Engil over Pakistan’s copper, gold, rare earths, and other mineral resources.

    The sides expressed readiness to develop value-added facilities, enhance mineral processing capacity, and undertake large-scale projects tied to mining, the statement said.

    “The partnership will begin immediately with the export of readily available minerals from Pakistan, including antimony, copper, gold, tungsten, and rare earth elements,” it added.

    The U.S. embassy in Pakistan said in a statement: “This signing is yet another example of the strength of the U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relationship that will benefit both countries.”

    Earlier this year, Sharif claimed that Pakistan possesses mineral reserves worth trillions of dollars, and foreign investment in the mineral sector could help the country overcome its prolonged financial crisis and free itself from the burden of massive foreign loans.

    Most of Pakistan’s mineral wealth is located in the insurgency-hit southwestern Balochistan province, where separatists have opposed the extraction of resources by Pakistani and foreign firms.

    In August, the U.S. State Department had designated the Balochistan National Army separatist group and its fighting wing, the Majeed Brigade, as a foreign terrorist organization.

    Oil and minerals reserves have also been found in the southern Sindh, eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan.

    Several companies have already signed agreements with Pakistan in the mining sector. They included the Canadian firm Barrick Gold, which already owns a 50% stake in the Reko Diq gold mine in Balochistan.


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