වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා නිකුත් කර ඇති බලපත්‍ර අවලංගු කිරීමට රජය තීරණය කර ඇති බවට පසුගියදා සිදුකෙරෙන ප්‍රකාශ ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරන බව ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය අනිල් ජයන්ත ප්‍රනාන්දු මහතා පවසයි. අද පාර්ලිමේන්තුව අමතමින් නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ප්‍රනාන්දු කියා සිටියේ බලපත්‍ර මගින් වාහන ආනයනය කිරීම අවලංගු කර නොමැති නමුත් මෙම වසර සඳහා වාහන ආනයනය සීමා කර ඇති බවයි. වාහන බලපත්‍ර ප්‍රතිලාභය අවලංගු කිරීමට රජයට හැකියාවක් නොමැති බවද ඔහු වැඩිදුරටත් අවධාරණය කළේය. “වාහන බලපත්‍ර සම්බන්ධයෙන් ස්ථිර තීරණයක් නොමැති අතර නිලධාරීන්ට හෝ අවශ්‍ය සුදුසුකම් ඇති අයට ප්‍රතිලාභ අහිමි නොකළ යුතුය. මේ ප්‍රතිලාභ ලබා දෙන විට පසුගිය කාලයේ ගත් ක්‍රියාමාර්ගවලට වැරදි තීරණ ඇතුළත් වෙන්න පුළුවන්. ඔවුන්ට සාධාරණ වැටුපක් හෝ වරප්‍රසාදයක් නොලැබෙන නිසා සමහර විට මෙම බලපත්‍ර හෝ වෙනත් දේවල් ලීවරය සඳහා යොදාගෙන ඇත. කෙසේ වෙතත්, ඒවා වෙන වෙනම පරීක්ෂා කළ හැකිය, ”ඔහු පැවසීය. නිකුත් කර ඇති බලපත්‍ර සංඛ්‍යාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගත් කල, දත්ත අනුව සැලකිය යුතු ප්‍රමාණයක් බලපත්‍ර 15,000 සිට 20,000 දක්වා ප්‍රමාණයක් පවතින බව නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ප්‍රනාන්දු මහතා පැවසීය. “අපි විදේශ විනිමය සංචිත සලකා බලා බලපත්‍ර විවෘත කළහොත්, මේ වසරේ අප තබා ඇති ආර්ථික ඉලක්ක වෙත ළඟා වීමට අපට නොහැකි වනු ඇත. ආර්ථිකය පුළුල් කිරීමට නොහැකි වනු ඇත. ඒ නිසා එය ප්‍රතිපත්තිමය ප්‍රශ්නයක් නොව ප්‍රමුඛතා ප්‍රශ්නයක් වන අතර එය අවලංගු කිරීමට තීරණයක් ගෙන නැහැ,” ඔහු පැහැදිලි කළේය. පසුගිය දා ‘සිරස සටන’ වැඩසටහනට එක්වෙමින් ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක කියා සිටියේ මේ වසරේ බලපත්‍ර යොදා වාහන ආනයනය කිරීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන බවයි.

A powerful storm has left a trail of destruction in Western Australia's Pilbara region, completely leveling six homes and damaging another 10 in the historic town of Marble Bar. The storm hit around 6:15 p.m. AWST, bringing chaotic winds of up to 113km/h. These winds wreaked havoc on the small town, which lies southeast of Port Hedland. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has confirmed the extent of the damage and warned that asbestos, due to the town's age, could pose additional risks to residents. “We advise the community to take care when examining damage around their property,” a DFES spokesperson said. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported. However, more than 60 homes were left without power. Horizon Power crews have been working tirelessly, restoring electricity to 50 homes so far and aiming to reconnect the remaining 15 today. Emergency teams are on-site, providing aid to affected residents and assessing the damage. A storm warning remains in effect, urging people to stay inside, keep doors and windows shut, and steer clear of damaged areas. Hazards such as live wires, fallen trees, and weakened structures pose ongoing risks. Marble Bar, often called Australia’s hottest town due to its world-record heatwave of 160 days in 1924, is now facing another extreme challenge. Residents are urged to remain vigilant and prioritize safety during this difficult time. Stay safe, Marble Bar!

A pay dispute between ground handling workers and their employer led to a four-hour strike at major Australian airports on Friday. While delays were expected, the impact was less severe than anticipated, with only minor disruptions reported at Sydney Airport’s international terminal. A global provider of airport services, expressed disappointment over the strike. A company spokesperson said, “We are deeply disappointed that the Transport Workers’ Union has chosen to withdraw from the in-principle agreement we reached in December and issued a new notice for industrial action.” The December deal reportedly included an 11% pay rise over two years, with most workers getting an immediate 8.5% boost, along with improved conditions. But the union has since upped its demands, now asking for an 11% immediate pay rise and an additional 6% within six months. Dnata argued these revised demands are “entirely out of step” with its financial outlook and warned that meeting them could put 5,000 jobs at risk. The strike saw over 1,000 ground workers, including baggage handlers and ramp service staff, walk off the job at airports in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane. These workers support major airlines like Emirates, American Airlines, Delta, and China Eastern. Transport Workers’ Union National Secretary Michael Kaine said the industrial action follows almost a year of stalled negotiations. Workers are calling for better pay, overtime and shift penalties, more job security, and higher guaranteed hours. “These jobs used to be full-time, permanent positions directly employed by airlines,” Kaine said, pointing to former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce as the one who introduced outsourcing and split the work across multiple companies. “Workers now have only 24 hours guaranteed a week, making it nearly impossible to secure loans for homes or personal needs,” he added. Kaine praised the workers’ “brave action” to fight for better standards in the aviation industry, saying nearly the entire workforce backed the strike. Dnata, however, insists its offer provides “the highest average earnings in the Australian ground handling industry.” The company urged the union to return to negotiations, with a spokesperson saying, “We remain committed to achieving a fair outcome that supports our employees, but we will not jeopardise the stability of our business and operations.”

If you're planning to do some shopping over the Australia Day weekend, it’s a good idea to check ahead as trading hours may vary for major stores. Here’s what you can expect: Woolworths In NSW, ACT, and Tasmania, most stores will stay open on January 26 and 27, but it’s best to double-check individual store hours online. In Victoria, most stores will be open, except for Bourke Street and Collins Square. In Queensland, expect most stores to be open on January 26, with a few exceptions in smaller towns. WA and SA/NT will have some closures, too, so be sure to check the Woolworths website. Coles Coles will have regular hours on January 26 with slight adjustments at a few stores. On January 27, most NSW and VIC stores will operate as usual, while other states may have different opening hours, especially in Queensland and SA. For instance, some stores in Queensland’s tourist areas will open from 7am to 9pm, while others will open later. SA’s metro stores will be closed, except for the CBD. ALDI Most ALDI stores will be open on January 26, but you might want to check the store locator for specific hours closer to the day. Target All Target stores will be open on January 26, but note that all SA stores will be closed on January 27. Check local store hours online for updates. Kmart Kmart is generally open on both January 26 and 27, but store hours may vary. There are also some SA store closures on January 27, so check your local store for the latest info. BIG W BIG W will be open on both days in most areas, but in SA, a few stores will be closed on January 26. Check the store listings online for any changes. Westfield Most Westfield shopping centres will be open on January 27 with altered hours, except for those in SA which will be closed on the public holiday. Bunnings Bunnings stores will be open throughout the long weekend, but their Trade Centres will be closed. It’s best to check online for the exact trading hours of your nearest store. Liquor Stores Major liquor stores like Dan Murphy’s, BWS, and Liquorland will generally be open both days, but store hours may vary, so make sure to check online closer to the date. With the public holiday falling on January 27, it’s always good to plan ahead so you don’t get caught out by any changes in store timings!

A top economist is backing the government's proposed super tax changes, calling them "much-needed reform." The plan involves doubling the tax rate on superannuation balances over $3 million, from 15% to 30%. This change is set to kick in on July 1, although it's not yet law. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said that the new tax will only affect about 80,000 people, or 0.5% of super accounts in Australia. He explained that the tax will apply only to future earnings, not the existing balance, and will raise around $2 billion in its first full year. While some critics argue that the increase would unfairly drain super accounts, The Australia Institute's chief economist Greg Jericho believes the change is necessary to create balance in Australia's superannuation system. Jericho pointed out that the wealthiest 10% will receive over $20 billion in super tax concessions this year, while 23% of Australian retirees end their working lives in poverty. The Australia Institute also highlighted how some wealthy farmers and small business owners have been using their super accounts to avoid paying taxes by transferring assets like farms and properties into them. Jericho argues that superannuation tax breaks should encourage savings, not allow the richest to sidestep taxes.

ජනවාරි පළමු සති දෙක තුළ සංචාරක පැමිණීම 100,000 සීමාව ඉක්මවා ගිය අතර, එය වසරින් වසර (YoY) 22%ක වැඩිවීමක් වාර්තා කළේය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ (SLTDA) තාවකාලික දත්ත පෙන්නුම් කළේ දිවයිනේ මුළු ජාත්‍යන්තර අමුත්තන් 112, 415 ක් පිළිගෙන ඇති බවයි. දෛනික පැමිණීමේ සාමාන්‍යය දැනට 8,029 ක් වන අතර සතිපතා සාමාන්‍යය 56,207 ක් පමණ වේ. ඉන්දියාව විශාලතම සංචාරක ගමනාගමනය උත්පාදනය කරන අතර, මුළු සංචාරක පැමිණීම්වලින් 17.2% ක් වේ. දෙවන ස්ථානය රුසියානු සමූහාණ්ඩුව වන අතර එය සමස්ත සංචාරක පැමිණීමෙන් 15.3% කට දායක විය. එක්සත් රාජධානිය ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරය සඳහා තුන්වන විශාලතම ප්‍රභවය ලෙස ශ්‍රේණිගත කර ඇති අතර, මුළු පැමිණීම් වලින් 8.2% ක් ගෙන එයි, ජර්මනිය ඉතා සමීපව පසුපසින් සිටින අතර, එය පැමිණීමෙන් 6.6% කි. අනෙකුත් ප්‍රධාන සංචාරක ස්ථාන වන්නේ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව, ප්‍රංශය, චීනය, එක්සත් ජනපදය, නෙදර්ලන්තය සහ පෝලන්තයයි.

Just two days into his presidency, Donald Trump has already made headlines with his bold moves in the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence (AI). Among his first actions was revoking regulations from the Biden era and announcing a massive US$500 billion (A$797 billion) investment into a new company, Stargate, dedicated to advancing AI technology. These decisions, like many made in the U.S., are set to ripple globally, with Australia feeling the effects as a close ally. While some experts see opportunities in this hefty investment, others are raising red flags over the potential dangers of deregulation. The Optimists: Opportunities for Growth Professor Michael Blumenstein from the University of Technology Sydney is excited about the potential benefits of Trump’s AI push, particularly its connection to space exploration. “These announcements have significant implications for Australia,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll inspire our nation to take a more ambitious approach to AI research and technology development, benefiting both locally and globally. Plus, they could reignite investment in our space industry.” However, he noted that while Australia leads in AI research, it has yet to translate that into real-world innovation. The Worriers: Risks of Deregulation Dr. Fan Yang from Melbourne Law School isn’t so optimistic. She expressed concerns about Trump’s deregulation of key areas like AI safety, equity, and disinformation, warning that such moves could worsen harm to vulnerable communities. “Australia isn’t well-prepared to deal with these changes from the U.S.,” she explained, highlighting our reliance on American tech infrastructure and voluntary AI safety standards. She also criticized the lack of strong local policies, pointing to the abandoned Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation Bill as an example of Australia’s limited readiness. Ethical Challenges in Collaboration Associate Professor Niusha Shafiabady from the Australian Catholic University is worried about the impact on Australia’s collaborations with the U.S., particularly on sensitive projects like defence. “In Australia, we have mandatory guidelines for safety and ethical AI applications,” she said. “If the U.S. doesn’t follow similar standards, it’s going to make working together much harder. We might even have to block certain projects coming from the U.S.” She emphasized the importance of ethical guidelines, calling them “indispensable” for fostering trust and effective partnerships. Betting Big on AI: A Necessary Risk? Greg Sadler, CEO of the Australian AI charity Good Ancestors Policy, thinks Trump’s investment makes sense, even if it’s risky. “The growth in AI capabilities has been dramatic,” he said. “Australians are already more worried about AI risks than any other nation, and the government will need to tackle these concerns head-on.” He argued that Australia should prioritize creating an AI Safety Institution as part of its commitment to global AI ethics, as outlined in the Seoul Declaration. The Takeaway While Trump’s AI policies are shaking up the industry and sparking debate, they highlight the need for Australia to find its own balance between innovation and safety. Whether these developments lead to growth or chaos remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the AI race is far from over, and Australia must prepare to navigate this new frontier.

ජනාධිපති ලේකම් ආචාර්ය එන්.එස්. අමාත්‍යාංශ සඳහා උපදේශකවරුන් පත්කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් කුමානායක මහතා සියලුම අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම්වරුන් දැනුවත් කර තිබේ. වාහන, ඉන්ධන, දුරකථන සහ අනෙකුත් පහසුකම් සඳහා ප්‍රතිපාදන සමඟ අමාත්‍යවරුන් සහ නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් සඳහා සහායක කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය පිළිබඳ විස්තර මෙම දැනුම්දීමේ ඇතුළත් වේ.

Australia Post had its busiest holiday season yet, delivering a staggering 2,800 parcels every minute in November and December as Aussies embraced online shopping to save money. In total, nearly 103 million parcels were delivered across the country, with 7.8 million households making at least one online purchase during the festive period. The most popular shopping category? Health and wellness, which saw a 20.5% jump compared to last year. Vitamins, protein powders, and dietary supplements were among the top buys. Athleisure gear followed closely, growing by 15.8%, while tools and gardening items saw a 14.6% rise. Interestingly, the Northern Territory, Tasmania, and South Australia experienced the highest year-on-year growth in online shopping. Nationally, the online shopping hotspots were Mackay and Toowoomba in Queensland, and Point Cook in Victoria. December 9 marked the busiest day for parcel deliveries, just as everyone was gearing up for Christmas celebrations. Gary Starr, Executive General Manager for Parcel, Post, and eCommerce Services at Australia Post, credited the record-breaking figures to recent investments in upgraded facilities. He added that this surge presents a golden opportunity for retailers to leverage Australians’ growing love for online shopping, especially during big sales events. It seems Aussies are more comfortable than ever clicking “add to cart”—and Australia Post is keeping up with the demand!

Australian authorities are investigating whether "overseas actors or individuals" are funding local criminals to carry out antisemitic attacks in the country. This comes after a string of recent incidents, including one where a childcare centre in Sydney was set on fire and vandalized with anti-Jewish graffiti. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded by calling an emergency cabinet meeting, which led to the creation of a national database to track antisemitic crimes. The federal police taskforce investigating these incidents, set up in December, has already received over 166 reports. Albanese noted that some of the crimes seem to be committed by individuals who aren't motivated by personal ideology but may be paid to act. While it's still unclear where the funds are coming from, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) believe cryptocurrencies might be involved due to their anonymous nature. AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw also mentioned that they're looking into whether young people, possibly radicalized online, are being recruited for these crimes. However, Kershaw emphasized that while there is intelligence, it is not yet solid evidence. Just last week, a Sydney man became the first person charged under the federal taskforce, Special Operation Avalite, after allegedly making death threats against a Jewish organization. Albanese condemned the recent attack on the childcare centre, calling it both cowardly and disgusting, and emphasized that it was a hate crime directed at the Jewish community. He also stated that it was an attack on Australian society as a whole. Israel's deputy foreign minister criticized the Australian government for not doing enough to address antisemitism, but Albanese defended his government, saying they've taken action from day one and that some were trying to politicize the issue. The Jewish Council of Australia also condemned the recent attacks, stressing the need for cooperation, education, and dialogue to combat prejudice and promote understanding. Many of the recent incidents have occurred in Sydney, involving graffiti, arson, and vandalism at synagogues and other Jewish sites. New South Wales has set up its own taskforce to tackle these crimes, with more than 35 people already charged. Meanwhile, in Victoria, over 70 people have been arrested for similar offences, including a recent attempt to set fire to a synagogue.

ආර්ථිකය ස්ථාවර කිරීම සහ මූල්‍ය ආයතන ආරක්ෂා කිරීම ඉලක්ක කරගත් පාලන ක්‍රියාමාර්ග හේතුවෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට අලුතින් ආනයනය කරන වාහනවලට සාපේක්ෂව වැඩි මිලකට වාහන ආනයනය කරන බව ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. වාහන ආනයනය සම්බන්ධයෙන් සමබර ප්‍රවේශයක් අවශ්‍ය බව සිරස සටනේදී අදහස් දැක්වූ ජනාධිපතිතුමා අනතුරු ඇඟවූයේ වාහන මිල සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස පහත වැටීම බැංකුවලට සහ ලීසිං සමාගම්වලට දැඩි ප්‍රතිවිපාක ගෙන දිය හැකි බවත් එය මූල්‍ය අර්බුදයකට මඟ පෑදිය හැකි බවත්ය. විදේශ විනිමය සංචිත ඵලදායී ලෙස කළමනාකරණය කිරීම සඳහා, 2025 දී වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.2 ක් වෙන් කිරීමට රජය සැලසුම් කරයි. ඊට සාපේක්ෂව, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව 2018 දී වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.9 ක් සහ 2019 දී ඩොලර් බිලියන 1.4 ක් වියදම් කර ඇත. තවත් ආර්ථික අර්බුදයක් ඇති කළ හැකි විදේශ සංචිත ක්ෂය වීම වැළැක්වීම සඳහා වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා සීමාවන් පවත්වා ගැනීමේ වැදගත්කම ජනාධිපතිතුමා අවධාරණය කළේය. “නියාමනයකින් තොරව ආනයනය කිරීමෙන් අපගේ විදේශ සංචිත සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ඉවත් කළ හැකිය. දැඩි ඩොලරය පිටතට ගලායාමට තුඩු දිය හැකි ආනයන පෙබරවාරි මාසයේදී සංකේන්ද්‍රණය නොවී වසර පුරා බෙදා හැරීම සහතික කළ යුතුයි. ”ජනාධිපති දිසානායක ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. 2025 පෙබරවාරි මාසයේදී වාහන ආනයනය නැවත හඳුන්වා දීමට රජය සූදානම් වන නමුත් හදිසි ගලා ඒම වැළැක්වීම සඳහා දැඩි පාලනයන් ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ. සීමිත ආනයන පරිමාවන් සමඟින් මෙම ක්‍රියාමාර්ග නිසා නව වාහන සඳහා භාවිත කළ හැකි විකල්පවලට සාපේක්ෂව ඉහළ මිලක් ලැබෙනු ඇති බව ජනාධිපතිතුමා වැඩිදුරටත් පැහැදිලි කළේය. නිකුත් කර ඇති බලපත්‍ර භාවිත කරමින් වාහන ආනයනය කිරීමට ඉඩ නොතබන බව ද ජනාධිපතිවරයා තහවුරු කළේය.

Recent tests have highlighted alarming water quality issues at Sydney's northern beaches. Debris balls, discovered onshore and prompting the closure of nine beaches, were found to contain faecal matter, E. coli bacteria, and saturated fatty acids, according to the Northern Beaches Council. Initially, hydrocarbons detected in the debris were thought to be from oil and petrol spills. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is conducting a detailed analysis to identify the source of this contamination. Experts believe that Sydney's sewerage infrastructure, which predominantly employs primary treatment and outfall pipes rather than comprehensive secondary treatment, may be a significant factor. In response, Sydney Water has unveiled plans to modernize its wastewater network over the next decade, aiming to mitigate future incidents and improve overall water quality. The Northern Beaches Council has begun cleanup operations on the affected beaches and is awaiting the EPA's detailed findings. Authorities are urging the public to avoid direct contact with unusual debris and to follow safety advisories regarding beach closures. This incident underscores the pressing need for infrastructure upgrades and enhanced pollution management to protect Sydney's iconic beaches and the health of beachgoers.