SYDNEY, July 18 Australia's central bank decided to keep interest rates steady this month as policy was clearly

Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has admitted fraud after failing to declare more than £400million held in a trust in Singapore to the Government. The 92-year-old said “I plead guilty” at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday while standing in the well of the court wearing a dark suit and grey tie. On July 7, 2015, the billionaire failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing around 650 million US dollars, worth about £400million at the time. The charge stated Ecclestone, who has three grown-up daughters, Deborah, Tamara and Petra, and a young son, Ace, had “established only a single trust, that being one in favour of your daughters, and other than the trust established for your daughters you were not the settlor nor beneficiary of any trust in or outside the UK”. Before his guilty plea, he had been due to face trial in November on the single fraud charge. The court heard Ecclestone had said “no” when asked by HMRC officers whether he had any links to any further trusts “in or outside the UK”. Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said: “That answer was untrue or misleading. “Mr Ecclestone knew his answer may have been untrue or misleading. “As of July 7, 2015, Mr Ecclestone did not know the truth of the position, so was not able to give an answer to the question. “Mr Ecclestone was not entirely clear on how ownership of the accounts in question were structured. “He therefore did not know whether it was liable for tax, interest or penalties in relation to amounts passing through the accounts. “Mr Ecclestone recognises it was wrong to answer the questions he did because it ran the risk that HMRC would not continue to investigate his affairs. “He now accepts that some tax is due in relation to these matters.” Read More FIA to review Qatar GP as ‘dangerous’ temperatures prompt driver complaints Lewis Hamilton and George Russell vent anger on radio after collision in Qatar Lewis Hamilton crashes out after first-corner collision with George Russell In his own words: Christian Horner on world champion Max Verstappen Angry Lance Stroll shoves personal trainer and storms out of interview Max Verstappen fastest in Qatar practice as he closes in on world championship

Australia captain Pat Cummins described his team's five-run win over New Zealand in the highest-scoring match in World Cup history...

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By Stella Qiu SYDNEY Job vacancies in Australia slid from record levels in the three months to August,

Gareth Southgate advised players not to be stressed by summer transfer talk after joking the England squad have been “tapping each other up” throughout this camp. This mammoth, unprecedented season finally comes to a close with Monday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia at a sold-out Old Trafford. England won 4-0 in Malta on Friday and are expected to take another step towards next summer’s tournament by winning a Group C clash played out against a backdrop of transfer talk. Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Kyle Walker are subject of summer interest, while Harry Maguire, Conor Gallagher and Kalvin Phillips have decisions to make over their lack of game time at club level. There is also speculation about Jordan Pickford and James Maddison, but Southgate has not felt the need to speak to players about it – even though the former defender does have some advice. “I haven’t felt the need to say anything,” Southgate said. “I mean, the players are tapping each other up anyway on the quiet, so I can’t do anything about that! “What I have said is that these things run their course, they happen in their own time, you can’t force it as a player. “Don’t get frustrated, don’t be asking all summer. You don’t need to be updated on every call that happens. “There’s a lot of negotiation that goes on. I remember as a player getting too wrapped up in every detail of that. “In the end, there’s only a small amount that you can actually control. “I think all of those things will happen later on in the summer and I think the players understand that, really. “And they know the focus for the next 36 hours is this game, finishing the season well, making sure we’re set on 12 points and we’ll be in a very healthy position if we do that.” Southgate was speaking alongside left-back Luke Shaw at Sunday’s pre-match press conference and the defender smiled when “tapping up” was mentioned. England are training at Manchester United’s Carrington base and the 27-year-old posted an Instagram story on Saturday showing pictures of him next to Kane and another with Rice. The Old Trafford giants have a longstanding interest in both, and Shaw tagged them in the post with the caption “Carrington tour” and an eyes emoji. Asked who he has been tapping up, Shaw said with a laugh: “There’s a few.” When Mason Mount, another United are interested in, was mentioned to him, Shaw said: “Obviously he’s not here but I think it is all just a bit of banter, really. “Obviously we have a joke and a laugh about it, not too sure what goes on behind the scenes. “It’s to do with the club, really, but of course when we are here we are always together and we have a joke about it. “I don’t really know too much what is going on. That’s just it really.” Shaw looks set to start on Monday as Old Trafford hosts the national men’s team for the first time since 2007. England also played there the previous year against Macedonia – a drab 0-0 draw in what proved to be a failed Euro 2008 qualification campaign. They drew 2-2 in their only other home meeting against the Balkan nation, who Southgate is not taking lightly as he looks to make it third time lucky. “They should have won the other night against Ukraine really,” the England boss said. “So we know the quality of some of the individual players. “They have got some players playing at big European clubs. As a team they function well. “They obviously knocked Italy out of the last World Cup and pushed Portugal close in those knockout games. So, they have got pedigree. “They bring the game to you a bit more than perhaps we had the other night as well. “So, it isn’t just a case of rolling on from Friday, it is a step up in intensity and quality and we’ve got to be right on our game to win the match.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Italy finish third in Nations League after beating the Netherlands Katie Boulter fulfils childhood ambition with ‘special’ victory at Nottingham Gareth Southgate sees a tougher test for his team at Old Trafford

Sean Murphy hit a two-run homer and the red-hot Atlanta Braves began a weekend series between teams with the best records in the major leagues with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is a former guerrilla fighter and bodyguard who responded to being fired as vice president by unseating long-ruling autocrat Robert Mugabe in a coup

The United States military has released video of what it called an “unsafe” Chinese maneuver in the Taiwan Strait on the weekend, in which a Chinese navy ship cut sharply across the path of an American destroyer, forcing the U.S. ship to slow to avoid a collision

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is due in court Wednesday to defend the company’s proposed $69 billion takeover of video game maker Activision Blizzard

The Miami Dolphins scored the most points in a game by an NFL team since 1966, overwhelming the Denver Broncos 70-20 behind rookie speedster De’Von Achane’s 203 yards rushing and Tua Tagovailoa’s no-look shovel-pass TD

Vladimir Putin has tested Russia’s ability to launch a massive retaliatory nuclear strike as he pulled the country out of an international test ban treaty. “Practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place during the training,” Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said. A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was fired in Russia’s far east, a nuclear-powered submarine launched a ballistic missile from the Barents sea, and long-range bombers test fired air-launched cruise missiles, according to the Kremlin. On Wednesday, Russia’s parliament unanimously approved legislation pulling the country out of the international Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, designed to limit the proliferation of nuclear weapon testing. It comes as a Russian drone attack damaged buildings near the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western Ukraine, wounding 20 people. The Ukrainian air force destroyed all 11 Russian drones, according to the military. Damage was caused by blast waves and falling debris. “At night, the enemy struck territory near the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. As a result of the explosion, windows in administrative and laboratory buildings have been damaged,” Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. Read More Russian drones likely targeted Khmelnytskyi nuclear power station, Zelensky says Business owners in a Ukrainian front-line city adapt even as 'a missile can come at any moment' Russian forces simulate nuclear strike as upper house rescinds ratification of test-ban treaty