Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

Liverpool are considering a move for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha as an alternative to Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, whose asking price is understood to have risen above £100 million. Scott is regarded as one of Liverpool’s leading midfield targets for January, with Chelsea also among the clubs showing strong interest. However, Bournemouth are reportedly seeking between £110 million and £115 million for the 23-year-old. That valuation could prove prohibitive for Liverpool, prompting the club to examine other options. Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara is another name under consideration, while Nmecha has emerged as a potential Bundesliga alternative. Liverpool keeping close watch…

Revel Downing, 58, has been identified as one of two experienced aviation enthusiasts killed when a light plane crashed shortly after take-off near Scone in regional New South Wales. The pair had travelled from Western Australia to inspect and buy the kit-built recreational aircraft, which was worth about $38,000. The second man was aged 63. Emergency services were called to Bunnan Road, near Scone Racecourse and Scone Aerodrome, shortly before 2pm on Friday after reports that a light plane had come down. The two men were the only occupants and died at the scene. Fire and Rescue NSW crews remained…

The Vatican says Pope Leo is to leave hospital today after undergoing surgery for lung cancer. The brief notice confirmed the pope’s discharge from hospital but offered no further medical detail or timetable. No additional information was provided about the pope’s condition or the next steps in his recovery.

Low-income countries are spending up to 14 per cent of their revenue on debt repayments as wars, inflation and higher borrowing costs put pressure on vulnerable economies, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has warned. Speaking after the IMF’s annual meetings in Bangkok, Georgieva said poorer nations were also being left out of the investment boom linked to artificial intelligence, which is helping to drive growth in richer countries. She said discussions with policymakers had revealed a mixture of “optimism and worry”, pointing to the resilience of the global economy and the dynamism of Asia alongside concerns over inflation, debt, wars,…

Artificial intelligence could deliver a vast boost to US gross domestic product, with Anthropic’s Clark saying its economic impact is accelerating rapidly. Clark said the effects of AI were gathering pace quickly, pointing to the potential for the technology to significantly increase the size of the US economy.

Manchester United are preparing to explore January signings as Michael Carrick plans the next stage of a defensive rebuild at Old Trafford. The head coach has indicated that the club will assess opportunities in the winter window, with centre-back and left-back among the positions under consideration. United’s lack of defensive depth has been exposed by Luke Shaw’s injury, which has left youngster Ayden Heaven deputising out of position at left-back. “When the next transfer window comes, you want to plan and you want to make the best of it,” Carrick said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Leeds. “Whatever that looks…

A horse death at the Caulfield Cup has overshadowed the 150th running of the Australian race, after Oaks winner Ohope Wins was euthanised following a two-horse fall involving defending champion Half Yours. The incident occurred on the home bend, only minutes after the capacity field had left the barriers. Ohope Wins was unable to avoid Half Yours, who had fallen during a contest between Green Spaces and Kings Valley. Both jockeys involved, Mark Zahra on Half Yours and Jye McNeil on Ohope Wins, were taken to hospital for observation. They escaped serious injury, although Half Yours suffered a laceration and…

Kingswood claimed the $6 million Caulfield Cup in a dramatic 150th running of the Melbourne race, while the meeting was overshadowed by the death of mare Ohope Wins after a fall. Trained by Gavin Bedggood and ridden by John Allen, Kingswood produced a strong finish to beat Saint George in the 2,400-metre handicap on Saturday. Enfjaar finished third, while pre-race favourite Cosmic Crusader was fourth. Kingswood was the widest runner entering the straight but avoided the incident and surged to victory as thousands of racegoers watched from the stands. The race was marred when Ohope Wins fell alongside Half Yours…

Donald Trump’s midterm campaign blitz has taken him mainly to Republican strongholds rather than the swing states and districts he promised to target, as the party faces unexpectedly competitive races across traditionally safe territory. The president told Republican candidates at a White House dinner in September that he would visit “every one of those 35 places” represented by those attending. The White House has not clarified which locations he meant, but Trump has since campaigned with fewer than a third of the candidates. His itinerary has instead included Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, as well as Arizona, Montana and Alaska.…

Delegates walked out of an International Monetary Fund steering committee meeting when a Russian official began speaking, sources said. The reported walkout took place during the IMF meeting, although the identities of those involved and the Russian official were not disclosed.