Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence made history on Tuesday when he came off the bench in Belgrade to become the first Muslim to earn a senior cap for England.
Spence, 25, replaced Chelsea’s Reece James in the 69th minute of England’s 5-0 World Cup qualifying victory. “I was surprised because I didn’t know I was the first, so it’s a blessing,” London-born Spence said.
“It’s good to make history and hopefully inspire young kids around the world that they can make it as well. They can do what I am doing.” Spence’s first England appearance is a landmark moment for British Muslims who are under-represented in professional football in the country, despite making up 6% of the population. “It’s a moment of celebration for British Muslims,” Ebadur Rahman, founder of Nujum Sports, an organisation which supports more than 400 Muslim athletes through faith advice and professional counselling, said ahead of the game.
“Djed has big responsibility on his shoulders – not only is he playing for England, he is playing for Muslims around the world because he is now a role model breaking a barrier.”
Spence began his professional career with Middlesbrough before joining Tottenham in 2022. After a tough start with the London club and being loaned out three times, he has become an important part of the squad and played in their Europa League final victory last season. His elevation to senior England international is being seen as a breakthrough moment for British Muslims.
“We just haven’t had the Muslim players coming through,” Yunus Lunat, a grassroots coach and former chair of the Football Association’s race equality advisory board, told the BBC.
“Muslims haven’t had enough opportunities or enough role models for young, aspiring players to follow. “It’s not particularly good that it’s taken until 2025 for a Muslim to play for England.”
Spence said earning his first England cap had been an emotional moment. “Whatever religion you believe in, just believe in God,” Spence said.
“Days like today are special because of God, for me. “I was a little bit emotional because the journey hasn’t been easy. But I am officially an England player now and I am over the moon.”
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 9, 2025) – The fortress of Columbus stood tall once again for the U.S. Men’s National Team as the program recorded another win in the historic soccer city. On Tuesday night, the USMNT defeated 17th-ranked Japan 2-0 at Lower.com Field in front of a crowd of 20,192 behind goals from forward Alex Zendejas and striker Folarin Balogun to close out the September window with a strong result against a World Cup-bound opponent and even the matchup’s all-time series.
Tuesday’s win is the 11th in Columbus for the U.S. Men’s National Team in 15 all-time matches played in the Ohio capital, including eight of its last nine. The program’s winning record in Columbus of 73.3 percent is the highest out of any city.
Mauricio Pochettino made five changes from the lineup that faced Korea Republic on Saturday in Harrison, New Jersey. Zendejas, Balogun, defenders Alex Freeman, Chris Richards and midfielder Cristian Roldan all earned the start Tuesday in Columbus after entering Saturday’s match against Korea as second-half substitutes.
Columbus Crew fullback Max Arfsten started at his home club stadium in his 12th cap for the USMNT. The 2025 MLS All-Star received a boisterous cheer from the Black & Gold faithful in attendance.
Also starting the match were the three most capped players in camp – forward Christian Pulisic, center back Tim Ream and midfielder Tyler Adams. Goalkeeper Matt Freese, in his ninth appearance, and Tristan Blackmon, fresh off his USMNT debut Saturday night, completed Pochettino’s starting lineup.
The United States began the game on the front foot, looking comfortable with three in the back, and the attackers worked together to get the ball into the opponent’s box just 90 seconds into the match. Freeman sprinted to chase down a beautifully chipped ball from Adams and sent a pacey, low cross into the box that the Japanese defense cleared away. One minute later, Japan progressed with a headed ball into space, which Arfsten shut down with a smart tackle. He knocked the ball out of bounds for the first corner kick of the night.
Another good defensive action from Arfsten, in combination with Ream, led to the first shot of the match for the United States in the seventh minute. High pressure from the defensive duo forced Japan to make a lackadaisical back pass into no man’s land. The U.S. pounced on the counterattack, and Balogun’s expert backheel traveled into the path of Pulisic. The forward carried the ball centrally to set up a right-footed shot from outside the box, but the strike sailed high.
The U.S. nearly converted in the 19th minute. Balogun and Arfsten worked together nicely on the left side of the 18-yard box, passing the ball in a tight area. Balogun squared his shoulders and took a shot on goal from close range that Japan goalkeeper Keisuke Osako blocked. Zendejas tried to nod in the high-bouncing rebound for the U.S., but Osako gathered himself for the save.
Zendejas would not be denied a second time, and in the 30th minute, the forward opened the scoring on the night. The U.S. moved the ball up the field with pace and found Arfsten on the wing. The Crew defender showed no fear on his club’s home turf and beat his defender 1v1 with a wicked stepover move. Arfsten rocketed a left-footed cross into the box where Zendejas lined up his shot. The clinical volley from the Texas native opened the scoring on the night, and the A-to-Z connection gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead.
Arfsten was credited with the assist, his fourth on the year, to send his fans in Columbus into a frenzy.
Freese made several stops in the first half to keep a clean sheet for the second straight half. The goalkeeper was called into action to stop Japan’s first shot of the night in the ninth minute, dropping to block a left-footed cross from midfielder Junya Ito that was curving toward goal. Two more stops from Freese in the 21st minute, on a dangerous header from midfielder Kaishu Sano inside the box, and in the 35th, after a takeaway nearly gifted an opportunity for Japan, brought his save total to four in the first half.
Leading by a goal, the United States continued to attack to start the second half. In the 54th minute, Pulisic weaved in and out of defenders on the dribble to set up a low left-footed strike from just beyond the corner of the six-yard box. Osako made a terrific save with his foot to keep the United States from doubling the lead – for the moment.
Balogun recorded the second goal in the 64th minute. Following a free kick around midfield, Pulisic capitalized on Japan taking time to organize defensively. The forward raced down the sideline on the dribble and played a through ball to Balogun making a strong, well-timed run in behind. Balogun slowed his pace to skillfully deliver a low strike into the far side netting to record his sixth international goal and extend the lead to 2-0.
Pochettino made a group substitution in the 66th minute, sending on Diego Luna, Sergiño Dest, Jack McGlynn, and Luca de la Torre. Zendejas, Adams, Pulisic and Arfsten exited the match.
The substitutes continued to attack and created several chances to bring the USMNT’s shot total to 19 on the night. In the 79th minute, McGlynn’s deflected shot was headed toward goal, but Osako’s leaping save prevented the United States from extending their lead. Again, McGlynn barely missed after he fired an absolute rocket in the 83rd minute that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced away from the goal line. In the 86th, Downs, who subbed on for Balogun in the 79th minute, nearly scored following a glorious give-and-go inside the box from Luna.
The group returns to action in October for another two-match set against World Cup qualified opponents.
The USA will first host Ecuador, presented by AT&T, on Oct. 10 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, U.S. Soccer will pay tribute to the Hispanic community, honoring both their cultural heritage and their passionate support for the U.S. team.
Four days later, the USMNT faces Australia, presented by American, at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. The match on Oct. 14 marks the first time the USMNT has played in Commerce City, Colorado since 2017.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Alex Zendejas (Max Arfsten), 30th minute: Arfsten beat his defender one-on-one on the left wing with a quick stepover move and created space to fire a left-footed cross. Zendejas lined up his left-footed strike just yards away the penalty spot and blasted a low bouncing volley into the lower left corner of the net to deliver the match’s opening goal. USA 1, JPN 0
USA – Folarin Balogun (Christian Pulisic), 64th minute: Following a foul on Japan, the United States was awarded a free kick around midfield. Pulisic raced down the pitch on the dribble and fed a ball to Balogun making a run inside the box. The striker used his left foot to deliver a low-driven shot from just beyond the corner of the six-yard box into the far side netting. USA 2, JPN 0 FINAL
Additional Notes:
The assist on the second goal of the night was the 19th for Pulisic in his career, which ties him with Claudio Reyna and Clint Dempsey for fourth all-time in assists in USMNT history.
Pulisic also ties Eric Wynalda for fourth all-time in USMNT goal contributions at 51 (31 goals, 19 assists). Pulisic has now recorded 17 goal contributions in his last 24 games.
Zendejas’ 30th minute goal was the second of his international career and his first since March 24, 2023 against Grenada.
Balogun’s goal in the 64th minute was the sixth of his international career and his first since June 27, 2024 against Panama in Copa America.
His assist on the opening goal was Arfsten’s fourth for the USMNT, with all coming in 2025.
Pulisic became the 30th player to reach 80 caps for the USMNT.
Balogun and Cristian Roldan earned their first starts under Mauricio Pochettino.
Balogun became the 17th different player to score in Mauricio Pochettino’s 18 games as USMNT head coach. Zendejas was the 16th.
The USMNT is now 2-2-0 (W-L-D) in four matches all-time against Japan.
– U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: United States Men’s National Team vs. Japan Date: September 9, 2025 Competition: International Friendly Venue: Lower.com Field; Columbus, Ohio Attendance: 20,192 Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy
Colm Tóibín has chosen Anna Fitzgerald’s deeply moving and beautifully written coming of age novel Girl in the Making (Sandycove) as the winner of the John McGahern Book Prize for best debut novel or short story collection by an Irish writer or writer resident in Ireland published in the year 2024. The annual prize, now in its sixth year, and sponsored by the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, carries an award of £5,000 and will be presented to Fitzgerald at the Liverpool Literary Festival, hosted by the university, on the weekend of October 17th-19th. The other shortlisted titles in what was a very strong year were Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson; Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon; and The Coast Road by Alan Murrin.
Tóibín commented on this remarkable debut: “Anna Fitzgerald’s Girl in the Making is written in the pitch-perfect voice of a girl who is a born noticer. This is suburban Dublin in the 1970s and 1980s, captured in careful, accurate detail. The family in focus here may seem comfortable, may appear ordinary. Indeed, some of the tensions are registered by Jean the narrator with calmness and plainness so that they seem ordinary too. But then, with extraordinary skill, Anna Fitzgerald reveals what is really happening in this house and to the delicate consciousness at the heart of the story.
“This is a novel of concealment and shocking revelation. In working so closely with intimate emotions and domestic traumas, Fitzgerald has managed to create an unforgettable heroine and a dark picture of the world around her.”
Jean Kennedy and her family seem, on the face of it, like a typical south Dublin suburban group of the 1970s: mother, father, Jean, her older brother Tom, little sister Cissy, baby Cecil (and later John F.), younger twin brothers and Aunty Ida. Fitzgerald has a marvellous eye for the little details that filled that decade: Green Shield Stamps, David Cassidy records, Bonanza on the telly, banana and sugar sandwiches, and behind it all a vague and confused sense of the encroaching Troubles. Right from the start a sense of fear and barely contained violence pervades the book. To Jean, her bullying father Edmund is known throughout as simply HE or HIM. Jean’s childish puzzlement at why this wretched man should so dominate her home – a place that should be safe and comforting – is one of the narrative’s many convincing strengths.
The novel, dedicated to the author’s daughters, is constructed around a series of chapters running from 1966 to 1981, each titled after a year in Jean Kennedy’s life, starting at three and ending at 18. These chapters are gathered into three sections reflecting childhood, early teens and late teens.
One is reminded throughout of James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the opening chapters, titled Three and Four, unpunctuated and diffuse, reflecting the thoughts of a little girl. Section Three, titled Seabird, in which Jean undergoes the beginning of a joyous transformation thanks to a positive university experience, prompts thoughts of Stephen Dedalus’s epiphany on Dollymount Strand.
A subsequent scene where Jean contemplates life while overlooking Sandymount Strand pulls us into the worlds of Ulysses and Gerty MacDowell. These Joycean tremors, handled by a less able writer, would be distracting, but Fitzgerald’s prose has a crispness and a depth that surprises and delights, particularly for a writer making her debut. That Fitzgerald grew up close to the Strand, a place she has always found spooky, gives such passages an authentic power distinct from any predecessor.
That we all now have access to this powerful work is the result of a series of fortuitous breaks. Fitzgerald has been writing fiction since she was seven – Girl in the Making is her eighth novel, the other seven remaining, for now at least, private affairs, unseen and unpublished. As a little girl, enraptured by Enid Blyton, she would run out of books to read and so have to write stories for herself. Allowed 15 minutes in her National School library every Friday, she found this space a place of peace and comfort. In secondary school she was blessed with an inspirational English teacher. The chance to write essays for this teacher, she tells me, “was the only reason I went to school.” As Fitzgerald entered adulthood, the writing of homework essays expanded into the composition of novels but she never seriously considered trying to publish.
Girl in the Making began life as one of these novels, written as a 21st-birthday gift for a daughter who, on reading the manuscript asked her mother if she could show it to friends. One of these readers worked in the arts and the manuscript eventually found its way to the fiction writer Ian Sansom, who sent Fitzgerald an enthusiastic and heartfelt review. The document next came into the hands of one Ireland’s top literary editors, Brendan Barrington at Sandycove Penguin, who admired and understood what Fitzgerald was trying to achieve through the modulating voice of Jean Kennedy. And so what had long remained private became public for the first time. Fitzgerald remembers an early sense of dread when the book appeared and she caught a glimpse of it in her home as though it were just another consumer product, a colourful box of cornflakes. “Why did I do that?” she recalls asking herself.
But those early misgivings have begun to abate. Fitzgerald, like all good writers, feels compelled to continue, whether for publication or not. “I am trying to work out things so that I can understand my place in the world better,” she tells me. While trying to be a strong, modern woman, Fitzgerald can feel the weight of old baggage: “all the time you are dragging along the era in which you grew up”. And this is true, she comments, not just for women but for men too: “Everyone’s hands are tied”.
The Ireland of the 1970s in which Jean Kennedy grows up is a place of unexamined conventions of gender, of secrets and unacknowledged unfairness. Perhaps not surprisingly, given these emphases, John McGahern’s The Dark made, and continues to make, a huge impression on Fitzgerald and she is especially pleased to have won a prize associated with his name. While on first reading McGahern’s banned classic, she admits to being “startled and shocked”, but she always admired the book’s “extraordinary simplicity”. On recently rereading it, she was overwhelmed by the book’s impulse towards forgiveness.
The John McGahern Prize for Debut Irish Fiction was established to promote new Irish writing and to celebrate the memory of one of the country’s greatest masters of prose fiction. Prof Pete Shirlow, director of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies, said: “Anna Fitzgerald’s Girl in the Making is exactly the sort of book we hoped we could promote when originally thinking about the establishment of a new literary prize in 2019. Here we have a bold new voice who we feel ought to have gained greater attention than has hitherto been the case. We very much hope that the prize will promote the reading of her work among a wider audience and encourage Anna to continue in her efforts at fiction writing.”
Let us hope this book is the beginning of a writing career. Fitzgerald is now reworking one of those earlier novels she never thought to share. What will become of her revisions remains to be seen. “I’d like to get it right,” she tells me with the modesty of a true artist.
Anna Fitzgerald will read from her prizewinning novel at the Liverpool Literary Festival on October 19th. Entries are now being accepted for debut Irish books of fiction published in 2025. Details are available on the Institute of Irish Studies website.
The cry of a distressed baby triggers a rapid emotional response in both men and women that is enough to make them physically hotter, researchers say.
Thermal imaging revealed that people experienced a rush of blood to the face that raised the temperature of their skin when they were played recordings of babies wailing.
The effect was stronger and more synchronised when babies were more distressed, leading them to produce more chaotic and disharmonious cries. The work suggests that humans respond automatically to specific features in cries that ramp up when babies are in pain.
“The emotional response to cries depends on their ‘acoustic roughness’,” said Prof Nicolas Mathevon at the University of Saint-Etienne in France. “We are emotionally sensitive to the acoustic parameters that encode the level of pain in a baby’s cry.”
Evolution equipped baby humans with a hard-to-ignore wail to boost their odds of getting the care they need. But not all infant cries are the same. When a baby is in real distress, they forcefully contract their rib cage, producing higher pressure air that causes chaotic vibrations in the vocal cords. This produces “acoustic roughness”, or more technically, disharmonious sounds called nonlinear phenomena (NLP).
To see how men and women responded to infants’ cries, scientists played recordings to volunteers with little or no experience with babies. While listening, the participants were filmed with a thermal camera that captured subtle changes in their facial temperature.
The adults listened to 16 different cries over four sessions and rated whether the baby was in discomfort or significant pain. The cries were recorded from babies in different levels of distress, ranging from discomfort in the bath to feeling the scratch of a needle at a vaccine clinic.
Footage from the thermal camera showed that men and women responded to babies’ cries in much the same way. The wails with the most NLP, regardless of pitch, were rated as coming from babies in real pain and triggered the greatest changes in the adults’ facial temperature.
Writing in Journal of The Royal Society Interface, the scientists describe how NLP in babies’ cries produces an automatic response in men and women, suggesting people pick up on the acoustic features to distinguish between babies that are merely unhappy and those in real pain.
“The more pain the cries express, the stronger the response of our autonomic nervous system, indicating that we emotionally sense the pain information encoded in the cries,” said Mathevon. “No one had ever measured our response to cries like this before and it is too early to know if there will be practical applications one day.”
The study follows work last month from researchers in Denmark that challenges the claim that women are hardwired to wake up more easily than men when a baby starts crying. It found that men were as likely as women to be woken by wailing infants, despite mothers being three times more likely to get up and tend to the child.
The reasons for the disparity are up for debate, but Prof Christine Parsons, who led the team, suggested two potential factors. First, mothers often took maternity leave before fathers took paternity leave and learned how to calm their baby earlier. Second, when mothers were breastfeeding, it might be sensible for fathers to sleep through.
“Much of the previous work on adults’ physiological responses to infant crying has looked at heart rate, skin conductance, or even brain responses. So this study is innovating,” Parsons said. “People often assume there will be a clear distinction between men and women in how they respond to crying. The authors set out to test this, and found no evidence for a difference,” she added. “We were also surprised at how little difference there was between men and women.”
Walnuts are packed with omega-3s, antioxidants and nutrients that help protect memory and support long-term brain health.
Their anti-inflammatory and circulation-boosting benefits keep brain cells working smoothly for focus, clarity and mental energy.
Pairing walnuts with habits like the MIND diet, exercise and good sleep gives your brain even stronger support.
Some of the best parts about aging are the wisdom and memories we collect along the way. But a common downside is that memory can change over time. Maybe it takes longer to learn a new skill or we forget where we placed certain items. The upside? Science shows that certain foods can offer built-in brain support to help it keep firing on all cylinders.
One of the best snacks for memory and brain health is crunchy, nutty and just one ingredient: walnuts. “Walnuts don’t just resemble your brain—they’re built to protect it,” says Shayan Khazaei, MD, neurologist. “From boosting memory to supporting long-term brain health, adding a handful of walnuts to your daily routine—along with good sleep and light exercise—may be one of the easiest ways to give your mind the care it deserves.”
Below, we dig into all the reasons why we love walnuts as a perfect memory-supporting snack. Plus, we share additional expert-backed tips from neurologists and dietitians on other ways to improve brain health.
Why We Love Walnuts for Memory
They’re Rich in Omega-3s
“Walnuts are the only nut rich in alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid that helps strengthen brain cell membranes and support communication between neurons,” says Dr. Khazaei. “They may help your thoughts stay quick, clear and focused”.
Neurologist Rhonda Voskuhl, MD explains that these healthy fats provide more fluidity in blood cell membranes, which allows for smoother movement and better function of brain cells and their synapses (connections). “Unsaturated fatty acids can protect the brain via better nerve cell function and better cardiovascular circulation of blood to the brain.”
And when circulation to the brain improves, more oxygen and nutrients can reach it too. “Healthy circulation is key to keeping mental energy high and cognitive function strong. Better blood flow, brighter mind,” Dr. Khazaei adds.
In fact, research found that people who supplemented with omega-3s increased blood flow to the brain, learning, memory and overall cognitive well-being.
They Pack Anti-inflammatory Properties
“Walnuts are packed with omega-3’s (about 2.5 grams per 1 ounce), which are well known for their work against inflammation,” says registered dietitian Sharniquia White, M.S., RDN, LDN.
She explains their anti-inflammatory compounds can help calm inflammation and reduce oxidative stress on brain cells. “When brain inflammation is increased our brain cannot communicate its signals smoothly, affecting memory, mood and focus.”
By adding walnuts into your routine, you can give your brain a dose of anti-inflammatory support to help counteract inflammation or oxidative stress.
They Contain Ample Antioxidants
Walnuts are packed with powerful antioxidants, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, vitamin E, selenium and proanthocyanidins. Surprisingly, when researchers tested more than 1,000 foods for antioxidant content, walnuts ranked second overall.
These antioxidants act like a protective shield for the brain, fighting oxidative stress and inflammation—”two troublemakers linked to memory loss and age-related cognitive decline,” says Dr. Khazaei.
“Think of the brain as your body’s engine. Similar to a car engine, your brain produces exhaust (free radicals). The buildup of these free radicals can clog the brain affecting memory,” explains White. Luckily, the antioxidants in walnuts act like a hose, cooling things down and clearing away that ‘exhaust’ before it causes damage.
They’re Full of Neuroprotective Nutrients
It might not be a coincidence that walnuts are shaped like a brain—they’re loaded with nutrients that support it. In particular, they’re rich in vitamin E, melatonin, folate and fiber. “These compounds are neuro-supportive and may lend a helping hand in improving brain health,” says White.
“Walnuts’ mix of nutrients may enhance cognitive performance”, says Renee Korczak, Ph. D., RDN. She points to a study showing that eating walnuts at breakfast supported brain function and led to faster reaction times through the day compared to non-walnut eaters. “This suggests that walnuts may help the brain work more efficiently during challenging mental tasks,” she adds.
Plus, just one ounce of walnuts contain nearly 2 grams of dietary fiber, which feeds good gut bacteria. And those good bacteria make compounds that support brain health, mood and focus via the gut-brain axis, explains White.
Other Tips for Supporting Brain Health
While walnuts are a crunchy nut you can sprinkle into many dishes—hot, cold, sweet or savory—there’s more you can do to support brain health. Neurologists and dietitians share other tips for supporting brain health.
Try the MIND diet: The MIND Diet combines elements of the Mediterranean and DASH diet to support brain health. It emphasizes leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, beans, fatty fish and olive oil—all rich in vitamins, carotenoids and flavonoids that can support the brain by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, says Dr. Korczak.
Include pre- and probiotics foods: Did you know your gut and brain are in constant communication via the gut-brain axis? Prebiotics feed beneficial gut bacteria, producing compounds that support cognitive function, while probiotics introduce good bacteria that can affect pathways in the brain. Together, these foods can lead to improved mood, attention, memory and cognitive function, says Dr. Korczak.
Stay active: Exercise is a brain-booster, and stimulates the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which helps brain cells function better, says Dr. Voskuhl. Heart-pumping activities like brisk walking, jogging, biking or swimming at least three times a week for 30 minutes can improve blood flow to the brain, she says.
Get enough sleep: Sleep is a crucial piece of allowing the brain to form new memories. Aim for 7 to 9 hours of restful sleep each night so the brain can repair and recharge, says Dr. Khazaei.
Our Expert Take
Walnuts are the top choice for improving memory according to neurologists and dietitians. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidants compounds, and loaded with additional brain-protective nutrients. Experts recommend following the MIND diet, including pre-and probiotic rich foods, staying physically active and getting enough sleep each night for supporting brain health and memory.
Prince Harry has returned to the UK on a four-day visit after months. Reportedly, his recent visit to Nottingham, England, was special and all the more so because of its sweet connection to his wife, Meghan Markle. Harry is alone in the UK, with his wife in the family’s home in Montecito, California.
Prince Harry is set to donate 1.1 million pounds to help UK youth. (AP)
What is the connection?
In 2017, Prince Harry brought his then-fiancée, Meghan Markle, to this very place to meet the people of Britain for the first time after his engagement, reported The People. It was the couple’s first official joint royal duty.
He visited Nottingham a day after he reached the UK. The first day he visited the country, he paid tribute to his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, on her death anniversary.
The royal reportedly visited Nottingham’s Community Recording Studio in St. Ann’s, where he met with social action groups and local charities. This visit is one of the royal’s most talked-about visits to his homeland since 2020, when he stepped down from royal duties.
Prince Harry on his visit to Nottingham:
“It is so good to be back in Nottingham. I’ve lost count of the number of visits I’ve made here — and the amount of jerk chicken I’ve eaten on almost every one of those trips! Which, by the way, is the best you will find anywhere,” Prince Harry said in a speech.
“Nottingham holds a special place in my heart, having had the privilege of visiting and supporting the community there for over a decade. The incredible work Himmah does to address food insecurity, poverty, and social exclusion should be recognised and applauded. I’m happy to be able to play a small part in your mission to bring communities together by creating opportunities and support for those facing hardship,” he said while talking about his connection with the place.
Prince Harry to donate 1.1 million pounds:
During his visit, the royal promised to personally donate 1.1 million pounds ($1.49 million) to the charity BBC Children in Need, as per the organisation. The donation would be one of the largest individual sums publicly given by a British royal.
“We’re grateful for the support of BBC Children in Need in helping changemakers in the city continue their mission to create safe spaces, build trust, and offer hope and belonging to young people who need it most,” Harry, 40, said in a statement.
One of the gorier fates meted out in Patrick Marlborough’s revenge comedy is allotted to an unnamed journalist, a minor character who appears in only a single sentence. The journalist arrives at his untimely end after penning a profile of George Bodkin. Also known as “The Nutter King”, Bodkin is the third of five mad monarchs who reign year-round over the fictional small town of Bodkins Point.
Review: Nock Loose – Patrick Marlborough (Fremantle Press)
The Nutter King is irked by the piece, which implies he has flouted laws and human rights charters, so he has the journalist pulverised in a printing press. He then decants the poor hack’s pureed remains, selling them off at a school fete as strawberry jam.
His brutality is all the funnier if you’re aware of the parallels between the journalist’s investigative work and the author’s. The seed of Nock Loose was a short report on a medieval festival in the West Australian town of Balingup that Marlborough wrote for Vice in 2016. This makes the subtext of the journalist’s fate clear. Woe to those who fail to take the silliness of rural role-playing seriously.
Bodkins Point’s citizens are routinely wounded and killed during its ultraviolent annual medieval festival, Agincourt – the only thing the town is known for (apart from a brand of cider). The kings reign over the town year-round, as the time between Agincourts is essentially spent planning the next one.
Patrick Marlborough. Fremantle Press
‘This town runs on massacres’
Nock Loose, like much Australian fiction of the last 50 years, takes as its broad target the rapacious capitalist’s distaste for any inconvenient history. Callum Bodkin (“The Wanker King”) is the mouthpiece for this view: “this town runs on massacres”, he quips. For him, this is not a cause for regret or reflection on the genocidal violence that accompanied its establishment – but something to be grateful for, as a source of profit.
“Australia is a deeply humourless country with incredibly thin skin”, writes Marlborough in his author’s note. That thin skin, he continues,
is stretched tight over an atavistic ever-thrumming nastiness, itself the inevitable curdling of our violent colonial origins, the barbarousness of which is ongoing.
Nock Loose moves between critique on a national scale and entertaining little digs. They are peppered throughout the novel’s rather gnarly plot, in which larger-than-life caricatures joust for a place in the limelight.
At its core is Joy, a portly lesbian in her mid-60s, formerly a prodigious archer turned stunt double. She is best known for her role in a live-action adaptation of a fictional manga series, Sukeban Yumi, “a show as hyperactive as it was horny”. (In the acknowledgements, Marlborough wryly insists Joy must be played by Magda Szubanski if the novel is adapted into a film.)
Joy is aided in her quest to avenge the death of her granddaughter Hannah by a motley crew of eccentrics. These include local historian Casca, her artist and weeb (or anime/manga nerd) Noongar husband Jeb, their precocious daughter Ophelia, and the local smith Ron.
This unlikely fellowship’s long list of enemies includes a number of ghoulish deplorables. Often, these villains are rendered by sharp turns of phrase. There’s the quixotic Josef “Saint Joe” Panzer: “a little man, not unlike a strip of beef jerky”. There’s the unheroic Arthur Bodkin, “The King Apparently”, known to keep “his glass eye pickling in a pitcher of cider on the desk in his study”. And his slimy son Callum shares his father’s “casually lizard-like movement – not unlike a goanna ambling over a hot road”. The novel follows the murderous misdeeds of these and other creeps.
Nock Loose’s mordant humour gives the novel an edge. It lifts it out of the documentarian drudgery the prose occasionally slips into, when Marlborough’s penchant for Tolkienian world-building cleaves too closely to the fact-farming form of a Wikipedia page.
Another shortcoming is the novel’s dialogue. When its characters speak, they too often slip into interchangeable cliches, their statements littered with ellipses, capitalisations, “dunno” and “fukt”. After the umpteenth burlesque of crass philistinism, it starts to wear a tad thin.
At their worst, such characters become either straightforward embodiments of racist anti-intellectualism, or preachers to the converted. The aforementioned “Man of La Mandurah”, Saint Joe, ironically hates Catholics, but predictably detests them about as much as he does “Jews, queers, and blacks”. In case Marlborough’s point wasn’t clear, Joe’s gang – the Don Coyotes – wear a patch that spells out it out (via another allusion to Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote): their insignia is “a bloody windmill whose blades bent in the shape of a swastika”.
Barbs and brand identity
Nock Loose’s satirical barbs find their primary mark in a somewhat milquetoast critique of Callum Bodkin’s idea we ought to “worry less about our history, and more about our brand”. But one begins to wonder who exactly needs to be persuaded of this view. It’s hard to imagine many readers of playful literary fiction would think we need more profiteering and less knowledge of the past.
Nock Loose has less to say about gender than some other novels exploring the regressive fantasises behind historical reenactments. For example, Sarah Moss’ Ghost Wall, a tightly plotted novel about an academic reenactment of day-to-day life in the Iron Age, explores how such rituals frequently make a fetish of agrarian gender roles.
And for all its eccentric humour and wicked turns of phrase, Nock Loose’s reenactments also never quite attain the ethical stakes of Tom McCarthy’s novel Remainder, in which the reenactment of half-recalled memories becomes a way of investigating the limits of literary realism.
This may all be a result of Nock Loose’s reluctance to relinquish its commitment to other kinds of generic brand identity. Marlborough retains an understandable affection for the fantastical, slapstick and cartoonish – but in a way that makes it difficult for Nock Loose to move beyond such formulae.
Marlborough is hardly the first to try to elevate the trappings of genre: Ishmael Reed, Junot Diaz and Ling Ma have each, in very different ways, worked to wed literary ambitions to ostensibly generic forms. Nock Loose doesn’t quite manage to pull this balancing act off with the same aplomb. But Marlborough’s debut is nonetheless an impressive feat: a feral work of madcap ambition from a novelist well worth keeping an eye on.
A currency dealer can be seen counting Rs5,000 notes. — AFP/file
KARACHI: Government debt increased by Rs8.974 trillion, or 13 per cent, in the fiscal year ending June 30, highlighting its growing reliance on domestic and external borrowing to meet rising fiscal needs.
The central government debt rose to Rs77.888 trillion at the end of June 2025, up from Rs68.914 trillion a year earlier, data from the central bank showed on Tuesday.In June, the debt stock increased by 2.4 per cent, compared to the previous month.
Awais Ashraf, research director of AKD Securities Limited, said that the government’s debt has gone up to finance the budget deficit and to fund interest payments on existing debt.“The government is only able to raise money through taxes, which can cover its costs other than the interest payments. If the government remains committed to its fiscal consolidation drive, then the increase in debt would be reduced by one-fourth during the current fiscal year,” Ashraf said.
The SBP’s data, which was published with almost a one-month delay, showed that the government’s domestic debt stood at Rs54.471 trillion in FY25, up 15.5 per cent from the previous year. This saw a 1.9 per cent rise on a month-on-month basis. Additionally, the external debt rose to Rs23.417 trillion by the end of June, marking a 7.6 per cent increase from a year ago and a 3.7 per cent rise, compared with May.
Saad Hanif, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities Limited, said that the latest Pakistan’s debt profile reflects both challenges and encouraging signs.“On one hand, the overall stock of government debt has continued to expand in line with fiscal needs, reflecting reliance on domestic instruments and external support from multilaterals and the IMF,” Hanif said.
“However, the quality of financing has improved, with greater recourse to longer-tenor sukuk and PIBs that reduce rollover risk, while the rise in SBP reserves to multi-year highs provides a stronger external buffer than seen in recent years,” Hanif added.
The strengthening of reserve adequacy, together with steady inflows from multilateral partners, suggests that near-term repayment capacity is more secure than before, he noted.“Going forward, the focus should be on sustaining this momentum by broadening the revenue base and anchoring fiscal consolidation, so that the current improvement in external buffers translates into lasting debt sustainability rather than just temporary relief,” he said.
The government has repaid over Rs1.6 trillion of its debt to the SBP, bringing total early repayments to over Rs2.6 trillion in less than one year. The SBP earned a net profit of Rs2.5 trillion for FY25, with Rs2.428 trillion transferred to the government.
According to the SBP’s data, the country’s total debt and liabilities increased to Rs94.197 trillion in FY25, up from Rs85.457 trillion during the previous year. Interest payments on the total debt surged to Rs9.46 trillion, with domestic debt servicing alone reaching Rs8.07 trillion, despite a decline in interest rates.
In dollar terms, Pakistan’s outstanding total external debt and liabilities increased to $134.97 billion as of June 30, 2025, compared with $131.04 billion in the previous year. The public external debt of the country rose by 5.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY), reaching $103.75 billion in FY25. Debt from multilateral sources amounted to $42.48 billion, which reflects an 8.2 per cent increase from the previous year. The debt owed to the IMF stood at $9.268 billion in FY25, up from $8.378 billion in FY24.
In FY25, the country’s external debt servicing increased, compared to the previous year, due to higher government repayments and a big jump in commercial bank loan maturities, while interest cost stayed almost the same.
The total debt servicing payments amounted to $18.049 billion, up from $16.932 billion in FY24. Of this total, $5.338 billion was paid in interest, a decrease from $11.475 billion the previous year, while $12.711 billion was allocated for principal repayment, compared with $5.458 billion in FY24.
“Pakistan’s external debt servicing is higher this year as the government retired commercial loans worth $2.7 billion and repatriation of $1.47 billion in Naya Pakistan Certificates and NBP/BOC deposits. Moreover, scheduled banks have also repaid debt of $1.3 billion of loans in the second half of this year,” Ashraf said.
According to a report from Topline Securities, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio slightly increased to 73.2 per cent in FY25, as debt grew faster at 13 per cent than the nominal GDP growth rate, which was 8.0 per cent. The external debt-to-GDP ratio remained unchanged in FY25, reaching a seven-year low. In US dollar terms, external public debt rose by 5.6 per cent, while in Pakistani rupee terms, it increased by 7.6 per cent, both figures being lower than the nominal GDP growth of 8.2 per cent.
Moreover, the ratio of external debt servicing to total exports decreased to 34 per cent in FY25 from 35 per cent in FY24.“External debt servicing to FX reserves is 115 per cent for FY25. This ratio indicates external public debt repayments due in one year as a percentage of the country’s reserves. Notably, this is expected to further improve in FY26 as reserves are expected to improve in June 2026,” the report said.
