Geoscience Australia recently updated its National Seismic Hazard Assessment, and it’s raised some eyebrows by flagging two regions in Australia as having a higher risk of strong ground shaking – Victoria’s Latrobe Valley and Darwin. The Latrobe Valley is getting particular attention because it’s also one of the spots the Coalition has suggested could house a nuclear reactor in the future. This new assessment is based on fresh data from recent seismic activity and feedback from people who have felt earthquakes. Senior seismologist Trevor Allen explained that while the risk of earthquakes hasn’t actually increased, our understanding of it has. The recent data from regions like Victoria and Darwin has helped refine the predictions. For example, we now know that Darwin's earthquake risk is higher than what was previously thought, thanks to a better understanding of seismic activity in the Banda Sea. The Latrobe Valley, in particular, has been in the spotlight due to the 2021 Woods Point earthquake, which was the largest in Victoria in recent years. That quake, which had a magnitude of 5.9, shook up the region, including Mansfield, and got locals and anti-nuclear campaigners worried about the safety of nuclear plants in the area. But Seismology Research Centre's chief scientist, Adam Pascale, reassures us that modern nuclear plant designs are built to handle earthquakes, even as strong as 7.5 on the Richter scale. He points to examples of nuclear plants around the world that have withstood ground shaking from earthquakes without a hitch. So, while there’s growing awareness of seismic risks in areas like the Latrobe Valley and Darwin, the infrastructure being proposed for things like nuclear reactors is being designed to withstand these events.

සංක්‍රමණ සඳහා වූ ජාත්‍යන්තර සංවිධානය (IOM) සමඟ එක්ව විදේශගත ශ්‍රී ලංකා දූත මණ්ඩල හරහා විදේශ ගමන් ලේඛන නිකුත් කිරීම සහ දීර්ඝ කිරීම සඳහා ඔන්ලයින් ක්‍රමයක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සාකච්ඡා පවත්වා ඇත. විදේශ කටයුතු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය විජිත හේරත් මහතා විසින් කරන ලද ඉල්ලීමකට අනුව නව ක්‍රමය පිළිබඳ සාකච්ඡාව පසුගියදා පැවැත්විණි. IOM නියෝජනය කරමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ IOM ප්‍රධානී ක්‍රිස්ටීන් පාර්කෝ විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ දී අමාත්‍ය විජිත හේරත් සමඟ පැවති සාකච්ඡාවට සහභාගී වූවාය. මෙම සාකච්ඡාවේදී ක්‍රිස්ටීන් පාර්කෝ අමාත්‍ය හේරත්ට දන්වා සිටියේ විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් තෝරාගත් ශ්‍රී ලංකා රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික දූත මණ්ඩල 20ක් මෙම ඔන්ලයින් වැඩසටහනට සම්බන්ධ කරන බවත්, සියලු ප්‍රතිපාදන ජපාන රජය විසින් සපයන බවත්ය. විදේශගත ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් මුහුණ දෙන වර්තමාන ගැටලුවට විසඳුමක් ලෙස, සංචාරක ලියකියවිලි ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා දිගු කාලයක් රැඳී සිටින කාලය වන අතර, යෝජිත ඔන්ලයින් ක්‍රමය මඟින් ආගමන හා විගමන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට අයදුම්පත් ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට, ඇඟිලි සලකුණු ලබා ගැනීමට සහ සියලු ක්‍රියාවලීන්ට ඉඩ ලබා දේ. කොන්සියුලර් කාර්යාලවලදී සම්පූර්ණ කළ යුතුය. කොන්සියුලර් කාර්යාල 20කට ඔන්ලයින් ක්‍රමය හඳුන්වා දෙන පළමු අදියරෙන් අනතුරුව ඉදිරියේදී අනෙකුත් කොන්සියුලර් කාර්යාල වෙතද මෙම සේවාව ව්‍යාප්ත කරන ලෙස අමාත්‍ය හේරත් ක්‍රිස්ටීන් පාර්කෝගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේය. ඊට ප්‍රතිචාර දක්වමින් ක්‍රිස්ටීන් පාර්කෝ තහවුරු කළේ මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශයට පූර්ණ සහය ලබාදීමට IOM සූදානම් බවයි.

On Wednesday night, tragedy struck when an American Eagle flight and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided near Washington DC, resulting in the deaths of all 67 people onboard both aircraft. The flight was approaching Reagan National Airport when the crash happened, sending the wreckage into the icy Potomac River. Investigators have already recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the plane, and they’re being analyzed by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). These could provide crucial details about what went wrong. Preliminary findings suggest that understaffing in the air traffic control tower at Reagan National may have played a role in the disaster. The airport had reportedly been understaffed, with a single controller managing both arrivals, departures, and helicopter traffic, a job that usually requires two controllers. This collision, which killed 64 passengers and crew members on the plane, along with three soldiers on the helicopter, was the first fatal commercial air crash in the US since 2009. It has already stirred up political debate. President Donald Trump called it “preventable” and suggested that staffing changes made under President Joe Biden could have contributed to the accident. However, he didn’t provide evidence for his claims, which were quickly dismissed by his critics, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Despite the political finger-pointing, the NTSB is focusing on getting to the bottom of the crash, with an expected preliminary report in the next 30 days. In the meantime, emergency workers have been tirelessly recovering the wreckage, including body parts and debris, from the Potomac River, braving tough conditions like icy waters and high winds. Among the victims were several members of the US Figure Skating community, as the flight had just come from a development camp in Wichita, Kansas. The crash has deeply shaken the nation, and local leaders, including DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, have expressed their grief. While Reagan National Airport resumed operations, the devastation of the accident continues to resonate with families and the wider public.

වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා දීර්ඝ කාලයක් තිස්සේ පනවා තිබූ තහනම ඉවත් කිරීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය මෑතක දී ගත් තීරණය විශේෂයෙන් මධ්‍යම පාන්තික ජනතාව අතර දුෂ්කරතාවයකට ලක්ව තිබේ. මෙම පියවර පුළුල් වාහන තෝරා ගැනීමක් පොරොන්දු වන අතර, රටේ අධික ආනයන බදු හේතුවෙන් ඒ ආශ්‍රිත පිරිවැය සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස සැලකිල්ලක් දක්වයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ගෝලීය වශයෙන් ඉහළම වාහන ආනයන බදු පනවන අතර, කාණ්ඩය අනුව වාහනයේ වටිනාකමින් 200% සිට 300% දක්වා අනුපාත ඇත. මෙම බදුවලට සුරාබදු, රේගු බදු, සුඛෝපභෝගී බදු සහ 18% ක එකතු කළ අගය මත බද්දක් (VAT) ඇතුළත් වේ, සියල්ල වාහනයේ පිරිවැය, රක්ෂණය සහ භාණ්ඩ ප්‍රවාහන (CIF) වටිනාකම මත ගණනය කෙරේ. මධ්‍යම පාන්තික පාරිභෝගිකයන් සඳහා, මෙම බදු සැලකිය යුතු මූල්‍ය බරක් බවට පරිවර්තනය වේ. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන්, ආසන්න වශයෙන් රුපියල් මිලියන 7.5 ක වරාය මිලක් සහිත නව Honda Vezel සඳහා අමතර බදු අය කෙරෙන අතර එහි මුළු පිරිවැය රුපියල් මිලියන 15 ක් පමණ වේ. එසේම V8 වාහනයක මිල රුපියල් මිලියන 110ක් පමණ විය හැකි අතර බදු පමණක් රුපියල් මිලියන 8කි. ශ්‍රී ලංකා වාහන ආනයනකරුවන්ගේ සංගමය (VIASL) ආනයන බදු වැඩිකිරීම් පිළිබඳව කනස්සල්ල ප්‍රකාශ කර ඇති අතර බදු පැනවීමේ ස්ථර කිහිපයක් හේතුවෙන් ඇතැම් වාහන සඳහා අනුපාත 600% දක්වා ඉහළ යා හැකි බවට අනතුරු අඟවයි. වාහනයක් මිලදී ගැනීමකට මුදල් යෙදවීම තවත් දුෂ්කරතා ස්ථරයක් එක් කරයි. 14% සිට 16% දක්වා ඉහළ පොලී අනුපාත, මධ්‍යම පන්තික පවුල්වල අයවැය තවදුරටත් දිගු කරමින්, ණය අඩුවෙන් ප්‍රවේශ විය හැක. ආනයන පරිමාවන් කළමනාකරණය කර ආදායම් උත්පාදනය කිරීමේ මාධ්‍යයක් ලෙස රජය මෙම ඉහළ බදු සාධාරණීකරණය කරයි. කෙසේ වෙතත්, වාහන හිමිකම හා සම්බන්ධ අධික පිරිවැය සාමාන්‍ය පුරවැසියෙකු සඳහා පුද්ගලික ප්‍රවාහනයේ දැරිය හැකි මිල සහ ප්‍රවේශ්‍යතාවය පිළිබඳ මහජන විවාදයට තුඩු දී ඇත. ආනයන තහනම ඉවත් කිරීම වෙළඳපොලට තවත් වාහන විකල්පයන් හඳුන්වා දෙන අතරම, අධික බදු සහ ඉහළ මූල්‍ය පිරිවැය සංයෝජනය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මධ්‍යම පාන්තිකයින් මත සැලකිය යුතු බරක් අඛණ්ඩව පටවන අතර වාහන හිමිකාරිත්වය බොහෝ දෙනෙකුට අභියෝගාත්මක අපේක්ෂාවක් බවට පත් කරයි.

Far North Queensland has already been drenched with nearly a metre of rain, but the skies aren’t clearing just yet—more heavy downpours and potential flash flooding are on the way. A tropical low off the coast has been hammering the region over the past three days, dumping more than 920mm of rain in some areas south of Cairns. The Bruce Highway was temporarily cut off by floodwaters north of Ingham, and the North Coast Rail Line remains closed due to debris and rising water levels. And the wild weather isn’t over yet. The Bureau of Meteorology is warning that another metre of rain could fall by the end of the week. “There’s a good chance we’ll see heavy, possibly even intense rainfall from as early as Friday evening, continuing into the weekend,” meteorologist Steven Hadley said. The worst-hit areas are expected to be between Cairns, Townsville, and Bowen, with locations like Palm Island, Ingham, Innisfail, Ayr, Home Hill, and Cardwell in the firing line. Six-hour rainfall totals of 100-180mm are likely, with some areas potentially copping up to 220mm. Meanwhile, meteorologists are closely monitoring two tropical lows—one off the east coast and another in the Gulf of Carpentaria. While the risk is currently low, there’s a chance both systems could develop into cyclones this weekend. For now, residents should stay prepared, keep an eye on warnings, and be ready for more wet and wild conditions ahead.

For years, Melburnians have spotted the cheeky "Pam the Bird" tag popping up all over the city—on buildings, roadways, and even landmarks. Now, police say they’ve caught the man behind it. A 21-year-old has been arrested and hit with more than 50 charges, including criminal damage, burglary, shop theft, and even stealing a car. Authorities claim he's responsible for graffitiing sites across the city, from the rail network and the famous ‘Cheese Stick’ on CityLink to a Docklands TV station and Geelong’s concrete silos. One of the most notorious incidents? The heritage-listed Flinders Street Railway Station clock tower, which was defaced last July with the words "MY CLOCK" and the signature bird tag. The cleanup alone reportedly cost over $24,000. More recently, ‘Pam the Bird’ made an appearance on top of the Novotel Hotel at South Wharf earlier this month. In total, authorities estimate the damage from these tags exceeds $100,000. But graffiti isn’t the only thing on the suspect’s rap sheet. Police allege he was also involved in a dramatic incident in Footscray, where a stolen car was driven through a restaurant window just before Christmas. The investigation led to police raids in Yarraville and Abbotsford on January 30, where they seized spray paint, illegal fireworks, abseiling gear, and suspected stolen property. A 39-year-old man from Abbotsford was also arrested, facing over 20 charges related to tagging suburban trains and an office building in Docklands. Both men are now in custody and will face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today.

Authorities in Sydney are investigating whether explosives found in a caravan were meant for an antisemitic attack. Police say the explosives, discovered in the suburb of Dural on January 19, could have caused a massive 40-meter-wide blast, leading to “significant damage.” Thankfully, the threat has been contained. A note with antisemitic messages was also found inside the caravan, raising serious concerns. “This is the discovery of a potential mass casualty event,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said. Deputy Commissioner David Hudson explained that while police aren’t confirming a specific target yet, there are indications the explosives could have been part of an antisemitic attack. “We’ve mitigated the risk as much as possible,” Hudson said. “But we’re urging the public to stay alert and report anything suspicious.” The investigation is now a joint effort between New South Wales Police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn’t mince words, calling the threat “clearly designed to harm people” and “create fear in the community.” He agreed with Premier Minns in describing it as an act of terrorism, though NSW Police haven’t officially designated it as such yet. At least one person is in custody, and authorities are working with the AFP’s Special Operation Avalite, which focuses on antisemitic crimes. This comes at a time when antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in Australia. Just this week, a Jewish school in Sydney was vandalized with hateful graffiti. In December, Melbourne’s Adass Israel synagogue was set on fire, and earlier this month, a Sydney childcare center was also targeted with antisemitic messages before being set alight. Minns reassured the public that this threat will be “met with the full resources of the government.” Authorities are urging Australians to stay vigilant and report any signs of hate-fueled activity.

පොල් කිරි, පොල් පිටි සහ පොල් මිලියන 200කට සමාන ශීත කළ පොල් මද ආනයනය කිරීමට අවසර ඇත්තේ ප්‍රතිඅපනයන කටයුතු සඳහා පමණක් බව වැවිලි කර්මාන්ත හා ග්‍රාමීය යටිතල පහසුකම් සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශය පවසයි. පොල් ගෙඩි මිලියන 200ක් ආනයනය කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් මතුව ඇති ගැටළු සම්බන්ධයෙන් නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමින් අමාත්‍යාංශය මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් කරුණු පැහැදිලි කළා.

Here's something big for regional Aussies—Vodafone just massively expanded its network coverage, bringing a real shake-up to mobile competition outside the big cities. Thanks to a new partnership between Vodafone’s parent company, TPG Telecom, and Optus, Vodafone’s coverage has jumped from 95.4% to 98.4% of the population. That might not sound like a huge leap, but in practical terms, it means Vodafone’s coverage area is now 2.7 times bigger  than before—and in Queensland, it’s a massive 4.1 times bigger ! So, how did they pull this off? Optus is giving Vodafone access to thousands of its mobile towers, while in return, Optus gets to use Vodafone’s mobile spectrum to boost its own network speeds and reliability. It’s a win-win for both networks, but the real winners are regional Australians , who now have more choice and better deals  when it comes to mobile providers. For people living outside metro areas, this could mean big savings . Vodafone is already rolling out discounts—like $10 off most plans—and low-cost providers that use Vodafone’s network (like Kogan Mobile) will also benefit. To put it to the test, I drove 400km into regional NSW  and saw firsthand how much things have improved. I was able to make a call in a spot that used to be a complete dead zone for Vodafone. That’s a real game-changer! Even Optus customers  will see improvements, with faster speeds on both 4G and 5G  in regional areas. Kieren Cooney from Vodafone summed it up best: "With Vodafone expanding across Australia, the days of having limited mobile choice in regional Australia are over. This is the biggest boost to mobile competition in 30 years." Of course, Telstra still leads the pack  in total coverage, especially in super-remote areas. But for most regional towns and cities , this Vodafone-Optus deal is set to give Telstra some real competition . Only time will tell if it’s enough to shake up long-time Telstra customers—but one thing’s for sure: regional Aussies finally have more options  when it comes to staying connected!

Good news might be just around the corner for mortgage holders and small businesses! Economists are growing more confident that interest rate relief could arrive as soon as February, following fresh inflation data that has sent the stock market soaring. Yesterday’s consumer price index (CPI) figures showed inflation dropping to 2.4%, with the Reserve Bank’s (RBA) preferred measure sitting at 3.2%. This better-than-expected result has fueled speculation that the RBA could start cutting rates in just a few weeks. The stock market certainly liked the news—the ASX200 closed at 8447 points, up 0.57% for the day, nearing record highs as investors bet on lower interest rates. Right now, the market is pricing in a 92% chance of a rate cut on February 18 , up from 84% before the inflation data was released. Westpac Changes Its Tune One of Australia’s big four banks, Westpac , has now brought forward its forecast for the first rate cut, shifting from May to February. Westpac’s chief economist, Luci Ellis , who previously worked as an assistant governor at the RBA, said yesterday, "We have just enough evidence to conclude that disinflation has proceeded faster than the RBA expected, so the board will have the required confidence to start the rate-cutting phase in February." NAB is now the only major bank still predicting a May cut, but even those expecting a February move say there’s still a chance the RBA might hold firm. Could the RBA Hold Off? Despite the optimism, some experts are cautious. Ellis notes that the RBA has been shifting its view on the economy, but they could still decide that demand is outpacing supply and keep rates steady for now. AMP’s deputy chief economist, Diana Mousina , also weighed in, saying, "Some will argue that the labour market is holding up in Australia as unemployment is ‘only’ at 4%. But she points out that wages growth has slowed, consumer spending is weak, and economic growth is struggling. Given all that, she believes the RBA will likely cut rates by 0.25% at the February meeting. What’s Next? For now, all eyes are on the RBA’s next move. If they do cut rates, it would be the first time in over three years . But until the final decision is made, nothing is guaranteed. Stay tuned—February 18 could be a big day for Australian borrowers!

ආනයනික භාණ්ඩ කන්ටේනර් 323ක් පරීක්ෂාවකින් තොරව මුදාහැරීම පිළිබඳ වාර්තා පැහැදිලි කරමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා රේගුව සඳුදා නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කළේය. ප්‍රධාන කරුණු අටක් ඇතුළත් ප්‍රකාශයේ භාණ්ඩ නිකුත් කිරීමේදී අනුගමනය කරන ක්‍රියා පටිපාටි විස්තර කෙරෙන අතර ඇතැම් නැව්ගත කිරීම් පරීක්ෂා කිරීමේ ප්‍රමාදයන් පැහැදිලි කරයි. රේගු නිලධාරීන් පැවසුවේ Expo Lanka නමින් කන්ටේනර් කිසිවක් ආනයනය කර නොමැති බවයි. කන්ටේනර් මුදා හැරීම හේතුවෙන් නීතිවිරෝධී ගිනි අවි, රත්‍රං හෝ මත්ද්‍රව්‍ය ආනයනය කිරීමේ අවදානමක් හෝ රේගු ආදායමට කිසිදු හානියක් සිදු නොවන බව ද ඔවුහු තහවුරු කළහ.

If you’re in Far North Queensland, brace yourself—more heavy rain and strong winds are on the way! The Bureau of Meteorology is warning that multiple tropical cyclones could be forming off the coast, bringing even more wild weather to the region. Over the past few days, Cairns and surrounding areas have been hit with torrential rain, with some spots copping over 300mm  of rainfall. And unfortunately, there’s more to come. Senior meteorologist Angus Hines  says today’s main focus will be on the Whitsundays, the Central Coast, and the Bowen area, but really, anywhere north of Mackay could see a drenching. In Gordonvale, just south of Cairns, SES and swift water rescue teams have already been out evacuating locals as floodwaters rise. Roads are a mess too—the Bruce Highway has been cut off in some areas, and the Kuranda Range Road  remains closed after a landslide. The Mulgrave, Russell, and Tully Rivers  are all under flood warnings, and the Bureau says the northern beaches of Cairns, plus coastal communities and nearby islands, could see more flash flooding. And if that wasn’t enough, the cyclone threat is growing . The Bureau’s seven-day forecast shows three  tropical lows in the region that could intensify into cyclones by the weekend. One is sitting off the Cairns coast. Another is further out in the Coral Sea . The third is hovering in the Gulf of Carpentaria , between Queensland and the Northern Territory. With an active monsoon trough  expected to hang around for the next couple of weeks, the chance of a cyclone forming remains moderate . For now, it’s a waiting game—but residents are being urged to stay alert, keep an eye on warnings, and be ready to act if conditions worsen. Stay safe out there!