Wednesday's football transfer rumours include Man Utd being favourites for Rafael Leao, Barcelona's pursuit of Santiago Gimenez, plus Ivan Toney, Devyne Rensch, Trevoh Chalobah, Lautaro Martinez, Diogo Costa, Thomas Partey & more.

China has been using Cuba as a spy base since at least 2019, the White House confirmed on Saturday. It was reported last week that Cuba and China had reached an agreement in principle to build a spy base on the island. The Wall Street Journal, quoting senior US officials familiar with the matter, reported that China planned on paying Cuba billions of dollars in exchange. Initially, the White House said that the report was inaccurate. However, on Saturday, it said: “This is an ongoing issue and not a new development.” It claimed though that “the arrangement as characterised in the reporting does not comport with our understanding.” The statement said that Joe Biden upon joining office in January 2021 was briefed on China’s efforts to expand its global military and intelligence presence. “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019. This is well-documented in the intelligence record.” It said the Chinese government “will keep trying to enhance its presence in Cuba, and we will keep working to disrupt it”. The statement added: “We think the PRC isn’t quite where they had hoped to be.” It also claimed that the US has taken diplomatic and other steps to “slow down” the Chinese government in Cuba. The WSJ had earlier reported that an electronic eavesdropping station on the island would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from the southeastern United States, home to many US military bases, as well as monitor ship traffic. China, meanwhile, accused the US of “spreading rumours and slander” and called the US “the most powerful hacker empire in the world”. “As we all know, spreading rumours and slander is a common tactic of the United States,” Wang Wenbin, spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry said. “The United States is also the most powerful hacker empire in the world, and also veritably a major monitoring nation.” Read More Honduras opens embassy in China after breaking off ties with Taiwan Ex-governor general examining allegations of Chinese meddling in Canada steps down China calls US the ‘most powerful hacker empire’ as it denies deal to set up Cuba spy station

Britain is close to winning a major battery plant for electric vehicles as Tata Group, the parent company

Joe Rogan once accused Coca-Cola of adding cocaine to its formula, here's what the company said

An Israeli hostage freed by Hamas has said in an interview that she was initially fed well in captivity until conditions worsened and captives became hungry

Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation rate surged to a higher-than-expected record 37.4% in August from 36.5% in

Ryan Tannehill threw for 240 yards and a touchdown and the Tennessee Titans rebounded from the franchise’s worst offensive performance in 49 years by routing the Cincinnati Bengals 27-3 Sunday

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell is stepping down after 18 months on the job

People living in the community are disturbed by the arrest as Rex Heuermann appeared to be a normal father

Fans urge Kim Kardashian to relocate after spotting eerie elements in her mirror selfie, including a spooky shadow and a random purple circle

Travis Kelce was asked about the dating rumours swirling around him and Taylor Swift, but the Kansas City Chiefs star didn't give much away when asked by a reporter. The American football player first spoke about Swift after going to her Eras Tour concert and expressed his disappointment at not being able to give a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it to the pop star. "I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” Kelce said on his podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. "So I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.” The Chiefs tight end added: “If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets and I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it." @profootballfocus Travis Kelce shot his shot ? #traviskelce #taylorswift #swifties #friendshipbracelets #newheightshow #fyp #foryoupage (via @New Heights) Since then, there have been reports that Kelce and Swift spent time together in New York City - "Taylor and Travis have been quietly hanging out,” the source said, as per The Messenger. “She saw him when she was in NYC a few weeks ago.” However, a source told Entertainment Tonight that the two are not dating. “Travis has been into Taylor for a while and definitely has a crush on her. He is a simple guy that is very funny, charismatic, chill, and loves playing football," the source said. Meanwhile, Kelce was asked if the dating rumours were true in an interview with NFL+ on September 15, to which he decided not to comment on. “I know what you writers wanna hear, and you wanna hear more about that. And I’m not gonna give you anything,” he said. @andrew.siciliano New romantics for Taylor Swift? #taylorswift #traviskelce #swifties #newromantics The 33-year-old was then asked about the bracelet he wanted to give to Swift with his phone number on it but remained reserved in his response. “I said what I said. And I meant what I said when I said it,” Kelce said. “You know what, it is what it is. I’m not gonna talk about my personal life.” Elsewhere, Kelce's brother Jason - who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles - was asked about his younger brother's rumoured romance with Swift during an appearance on Prime’s Thursday Night Football. “I’ve seen these rumors. I cannot comment,” he told co-host Tony Gonzalez. “I don’t really know what’s going on there,” Jason added. “I know Travis is having fun, we’ll see what happens with whoever he ends up with." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Donald Trump was indicted on 1 August on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators. The former president was informed shortly beforehand and posted the news on Truth Social that he would soon be indicted. This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment, his second federal indictment, and his first for his alleged conduct while in office as president. He has been ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Thursday, while the case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by Barack Obama. In a brief statement, Mr Smith placed the blame for the violence squarely on Mr Trump’s shoulders, saying the 6 January 2021 riot “was fueled by lies”. The Trump campaign said he had always followed the law and characterized the indictment as a “persecution” reminiscent of Nazi Germany. “President Trump will not be deterred by disgraceful and unprecedented political targeting!” it added. Read Trump’s indictment from the January 6 grand jury in full Read More Donald Trump’s third indictment explained Why Trump is charged under a civil rights law used to prosecute KKK terror Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of 'fraud and deceit' Criminal conspiracies and civil rights abuses: Trump charges to overturn 2020 election, explained