They’re two of the most powerful figures in Australian politics, and they’re going head-to-head in the next federal election. One’s already in the top job, and the other’s doing everything he can to take it. But who are  these guys, really? Meet Anthony Albanese Age:  62 Electorate:  Grayndler (Sydney) Party:  Labor Fun fact:  First PM to get engaged while in office Albo's got one of those classic underdog stories. Raised by a single mum in Sydney’s inner west, he was the first in his family to finish high school, then went on to uni and joined the Labor Party through student politics. By 1996, he was elected to parliament, and he’s held his seat ever since. He’s known as the most senior member of Labor’s left faction—big on social justice, climate action, and supporting working-class Aussies. He’s long backed LGBT+ rights, stronger welfare, and is a big believer in the union movement (even though he recently clashed with parts of the CFMEU over corruption allegations). His foreign policy views have caused debate, especially around his support for Palestine. He’s been vocal for years, even saying in 2002 that Israel’s right to self-defence isn’t a "blank cheque." Still, critics from all sides think he hasn’t done enough in the face of recent Gaza and Lebanon conflicts. His stance? Australia backs a two-state solution, full stop. Since becoming PM in 2022, Albanese has focused on cost-of-living help, expanding childcare, and revamping the NDIS. His 2025 election promises include: Easier access to bulk billing A 20% cut in HECS debts Cheaper contraception and menopause treatments More affordable meds on the PBS Not bad for a kid from council housing. Meet Peter Dutton Age:  54 Electorate:  Dickson (Brisbane) Party:  Liberal Background:  Ex-cop and small business owner Family:  Married with three kids Dutton’s path into politics was very different. He joined the Liberal Party at 18, ran for state office (and lost), then became a Queensland cop. He worked with the sex offenders squad and the national crime authority for nearly a decade—something he says still shapes how he views the world. After a few years running a construction business, he entered federal parliament in 2001. He’s held a string of high-profile portfolios, including Health, Immigration, and Home Affairs, and is mostly known for his tough-on-borders  stance. That’s where most of the controversy around him comes from. Critics have called out Dutton over things like: Saying the Fraser gov made a “mistake” by accepting Lebanese refugees Suggesting people in Melbourne were scared to go out because of “African gangs” Claiming some refugees were "trying it on" by alleging rape to get abortions in Australia He’s strongly denied any accusations of racism, saying he’s just enforcing the law and protecting national interests. After trying (and failing) to take the leadership from Malcolm Turnbull in 2018, Dutton eventually rose to Liberal leader when Scott Morrison lost the 2022 election. On the policy front, Dutton’s pushing for: Nuclear power  to replace coal Cuts to government spending and the public service Boosting suburban home construction Matching Labor on bulk billing and cheaper medicines So while the parties are often accused of sounding similar these days, the two men leading them couldn’t be more different—in background, beliefs, and style. Stay tuned—later this week we’ll dive into two more big political players: David Littleproud (Nationals) and Adam Bandt (Greens).

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුවට අනුව, 2025 පළමු කාර්තුවේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංචාරක අංශය සැලකිය යුතු වර්ධනයක් අත්විඳ ඇති අතර, පැමිණීම් සහ ඉපැයීම් වසරින් වසර ආකර්ෂණීය වර්ධනයක් පෙන්නුම් කරයි. 2025 ජනවාරි සිට මාර්තු දක්වා කාලය තුළ සංචාරක පැමිණීම් 722,276 දක්වා ළඟා වූ අතර එය 2024 එම කාල සීමාවට සාපේක්ෂව 13.6% ක වැඩිවීමක් වන අතර එය පැමිණීම 635,784 ක් විය. සංචාරක ක්ෂේත්‍රයෙන් ලැබුණු ආදායම ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 1 ඉක්මවා ගොස්, සම්පූර්ණව USD 1,122.3 මිලියනක් ලෙස වාර්තා විය. මෙය 2024 පළමු තෙමසදී වාර්තා වූ USD 1,025.9 මිලියනයට සාපේක්ෂව 9.4%ක වර්ධනයකි.

If Labor wins another term, every Aussie taxpayer could soon be looking at an automatic $1000 tax deduction , no receipts or accountant required. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dropped the news today at his official campaign launch in Perth, packaging it with a fresh set of cost-of-living policies to match the Coalition's recent economic pitches. A quick and easy $1000 tax break Albanese said this $1000 instant tax write-off  is all about cutting red tape and getting people their money faster. You won’t need to hunt down receipts or dig through online banking records—just tick a box, and you’re done. “This will guarantee everyone can opt for an automatic tax deduction of $1000 on their work expenses,” he said. “No paperwork. No hassle.” The PM added that for those who usually claim more than $1000 in work expenses, the regular claim process will still be available. But for millions of Australians, this streamlined option could save time and effort—and the government says nearly six million people  will benefit. The deduction could kick in as soon as July 1, 2026 , and the average annual tax relief is expected to be around $205 . “We’ve already delivered a tax cut for every taxpayer,” Albanese said, “and now we’re making it easier to get more back at tax time too.” Helping first homebuyers with 5% deposits Labor’s also zeroing in on the housing crisis with a big pitch for first homebuyers. If re-elected, the government plans to expand the existing 5% deposit scheme —and scrap Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) while they’re at it. Right now, buying with less than a 20% deposit usually means paying thousands in LMI. Under Labor’s plan, the government would cover that cost entirely. “You won’t have to pay a single dollar in mortgage insurance,” Albanese said. “Our government will cover it.” Labor also wants to raise the property price caps  to better reflect actual market prices. In Sydney, the cap would jump from $900,000 to $1.5 million ; in Melbourne, from $800,000 to $950,000 . They’d also remove income tests , making the scheme more widely accessible. So, for example, under the plan: A Sydneysider could buy a $1 million apartment with just a $50,000 deposit A Queenslander could buy an $850,000 home with a $42,000 deposit Labor says this will save buyers around $23,000  in LMI and shave years off the time it usually takes to save a deposit. Big investment in new homes And to top it off, Labor’s pledging $10 billion  to build 100,000 new homes , all reserved for first homebuyers. That includes: $2 billion in grants $8 billion in zero-interest loans or equity partnerships Housing Minister Clare O'Neil said this was about easing the pressure on young Australians struggling to get into the property market. “We want to help young Australians pay off their own mortgage, not someone else’s,” she said. If Labor wins the next election, all of these changes could start rolling out from January 1, 2026 . Between the streamlined tax deductions and first homebuyer support, Labor's clearly aiming to pitch itself as the party of practical economic relief—putting more money in people's pockets and helping them get a foot in the door of the property market.

It turns out Israel's military has been testing a pretty advanced weapon system that was made by a defence company based in Canberra, Australia. The tech is called a Remote Weapon System (or RWS), and it's made by Electro Optic Systems – EOS for short. It’s designed for high precision and can apparently hit targets up to two kilometres away. Pretty lethal stuff. Now, this particular system – the R400 – was among a bunch of counter-drone technologies that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tried out earlier this year. But here's where things get murky: even though the system was built by an Aussie company, it was first sent to an EOS facility in the U.S. for assembly, and then reportedly shipped to Israel – all without an official Australian export approval. The Albanese government has been pretty firm for months, saying “no Australian weaponry”  has gone to Israel, especially since the war in Gaza began back in 2023. The Defence Department backed that up again recently, saying that Australia hasn't supplied weapons or ammunition to Israel since the conflict kicked off. Even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed it again on Friday. He acknowledged reports about the R400 but said the company confirmed with Defence that the system wasn't exported from Australia . “Australia does not export weapons to Israel,” he said. EOS itself wouldn’t confirm or deny whether the R400 had been shown off in Israel, saying it doesn’t talk about client stuff or business development publicly. But here’s the kicker – in documents it filed with the Australian Stock Exchange earlier this year, EOS mentioned it had “supported a local prime” in demonstrating its tech during a “high-profile” event in January 2025. They didn’t say where , but a photo in that same update shows Israeli defence officials standing behind the R400 system. That same image also appeared in an announcement from Israel’s Ministry of Defence, which said it had successfully run a series of trials with about 20 advanced counter-drone technologies – some projectile-based, others using drones to stop drones. EOS’s R400 was clearly part of that, and the ministry said the demos earned “high praise.” The R400 itself is no joke. On EOS’s website, it’s described as a high-precision platform equipped with a 30mm cannon and the ability to mount other weapons like machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles. Basically, it’s a modular, plug-and-play system with serious firepower. When asked if EOS got permission to demo this tech in Israel, the Defence Department said again that Australia hasn’t supplied weapons or ammo to Israel since the war began, and actually hasn’t for at least five years. They added that the only export permits granted recently were for items that are being used by Australians (like our Defence or police) and will come back to Australia afterward. Also, they’re reviewing older export permits that were approved before the war – none of which, they say, are for weapons or ammo. When pressed on whether the system was sent through the U.S. first, EOS just said they follow all trade control laws in the countries where they operate, including Australia and the U.S. But Greens Senator David Shoebridge isn’t buying it. He says this whole situation shows the Albanese government hasn’t been truthful about its stance on supporting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. He put it bluntly: “We can see clearly here an Australian-made weapon in the hands of the Israeli military in Israel in January this year. That really puts the lie to these denials we've had from the Albanese government since this appalling conflict started.”

අධිවේගී මාර්ගවල ගමන් කිරීම සඳහා කාඩ්පත් ගනුදෙනු සඳහා පූර්ව පරීක්ෂණ ව්‍යාපෘතියක් මේ සතියේ ආරම්භ කරන බව ප්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශය නිවේදනය කරයි. මෙම පූර්ව පරීක්ෂණ ව්‍යාපෘතිය කොට්ටාව සහ කඩවත අන්තර් හුවමාරු මධ්‍යස්ථානවල ආරම්භ කිරීමට සැලසුම් කර ඇති බව අමාත්‍යාංශය පවසයි. ඒ අනුව අධිවේගී මාර්ගවල ගමන් කිරීමේදී ඩෙබිට් සහ ක්‍රෙඩිට් කාඩ්පත් මෙන්ම QR කේත භාවිතා කරමින් ගෙවීම් සිදුකිරීමට හැකිවනු ඇත. මෙම පූර්ව පරීක්ෂණ ව්‍යාපෘතියෙන් අනතුරුව මේ වසරේ මැයි මාසයේ සිට දිවයිනේ සියලුම අධිවේගී මාර්ගවල කාඩ්පත් ගෙවීම් සිදුකිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වන බව ප්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශය වැඩිදුරටත් පවසයි.

Reserve Bank boss Michele Bullock has taken a calm and cautious tone in the face of growing global market chaos, telling Australians to be patient as the fallout from Donald Trump’s latest trade war plays out. In her first public speech since Trump dropped a bombshell round of tariffs on imports into the US, Bullock said it’s still too early to know exactly how the economic turbulence will ripple across the globe — and she’s not ready to commit to slashing interest rates just yet. “It will take some time to see how all of this plays out,” she told a crowd at the Chief Executive Women annual dinner in Melbourne last night.“The added unpredictability means we need to be patient as we work through how all of this could affect demand and supply globally.” Trump’s massive “reciprocal” tariffs — including eye-watering import taxes of up to 49% on goods from dozens of countries — have shaken global stock markets and sparked speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia would step in quickly with a rate cut. At one point, traders were betting 100% on a rate drop at the RBA’s next meeting in May. But after Trump unexpectedly paused some of the more extreme measures for 90 days — while still hammering China with 125% tariffs — those expectations eased. Australia and others are still facing a 10% “baseline” tariff for now. Some of the big banks aren’t backing down on their predictions, though. NAB is tipping a sharp 50 basis point rate cut next month, bringing the cash rate down to 3.6%, with even more cuts coming throughout the year. By February, they reckon it could drop all the way to 2.6%. Meanwhile, CBA, Westpac and ANZ are forecasting a smaller cut of 0.25%. But Bullock isn’t rushing to match those predictions. She said the RBA is watching how households and businesses respond, and keeping a close eye on both domestic and international financial conditions. “We are mindful of not adding to the uncertainty,” she said.“It’s too early for us to determine what the path will be for interest rates.” Her main message? Steady on. The Reserve Bank’s priorities — keeping inflation in check and people employed — haven’t changed. Bullock also pushed back on comparisons to the 2008 global financial crisis, saying we’re not in the same boat this time around. “First, we’re not currently seeing the same degree of impact as previous market events like in 2008,” she said.“And second, the Australian financial system is strong and well placed to absorb shocks from abroad.” Her comments came just a day after an emergency meeting with Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who echoed the RBA’s mix of confidence and caution. “It’s a really good opportunity for us to confer with, compare notes with and coordinate our efforts with the regulators,” Chalmers said.“We are confident that we can weather these global conditions, but we’re not complacent.” So, no rate cut promises yet — but the RBA is watching the situation closely. Stay tuned.

ඇමරිකාව විසින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පනවා ඇති වෙළෙඳ තීරුබදු විසඳීමට ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා ගන්නා උත්සාහයට සහය පළ කරන බව රජය විසින් කැඳවා තිබූ සර්ව පාක්ෂික සමුළුවට සහභාගී වූ විපක්ෂයේ මන්ත්‍රීවරු ප්‍රකාශ කළහ. සමගි ජන බලවේගයේ (SJB) පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී හර්ෂ ද සිල්වා ආන්ඩුව සහ අනෙකුත් විපක්ෂයේ මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් සමඟ පැවති සාකච්ඡා ඵලදායි ලෙස විස්තර කළේය. මාධ්‍ය වෙත අදහස් දක්වමින් ඔහු කියා සිටියේ ඇමරිකාවේ තීරුබදුවල අභියෝගවලට ප්‍රතිචාර දැක්වීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් එකඟතාවක් ඇති බවයි. “ජනාධිපතිතුමා අපගේ අදහස්වලට ගරු කළ අතර අපි ඉතා ඵලදායී සාකච්ඡාවක් පැවැත්වූවා,” ඔහු පැවසීය. අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් සර්ව පාක්ෂික සමුළුව ජනාධිපති ලේකම් කාර්යාලයේදී පැවැත්වුණේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අපනයන සඳහා ඇමරිකාව විසින් පනවා ඇති තීරුබදු පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කිරීමටයි. මීට පෙර සභානායක අමාත්‍ය බිමල් රත්නායක මහතා අනාවරණය කළේ මෙම ගැටලුව විසඳීම සඳහා ජනාධිපතිවරයා හමුවන ලෙස විපක්ෂයේ පක්ෂ නායකයින් 12 දෙනෙකු කළ ඉල්ලීමකට අනුව මෙම රැස්වීම සංවිධානය කළ බවයි. ඇමරිකාවේ ජනාධිපති ඩොනල්ඩ් ට්‍රම්ප්ගේ පරිපාලනය විසින් ට්‍රම්ප්ගේ සංශෝධිත වෙළඳ ප්‍රතිපත්තියේ කොටසක් ලෙස 2025 අප්‍රේල් 9 වන දින සිට බලපැවැත්වෙන පරිදි ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ භාණ්ඩ සඳහා 44% අන්‍යෝන්‍ය තීරුබදු පැනවීය. බදාදා රාත්‍රියේ ට්‍රම්ප් පීඩාවට පත් රටවල් සඳහා නව තීරුබදු මත දින 90 ක විරාමයක් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කළ නමුත් එක්සත් ජනපදයට චීන අපනයන සඳහා 125% ක බද්දක් පැනවීමෙන් චීනය සමඟ වෙළඳ ආතතීන් උත්සන්න කළේය.

The fallout from a full-blown trade war between the US and China isn’t just a headache for those two—it’s going to send shockwaves around the world, and yep, Australia is definitely in the blast zone. This week, President Donald Trump cranked up tariffs on Chinese imports to a staggering 145% , while giving most other countries a temporary pass for 90 days. In response, China made it crystal clear it’s ready to “fight to the end,” and experts don’t see either side backing down anytime soon. Isaac Goss from Monash Business School put it bluntly: "The most worrying fact is both sides are willing to play tit-for-tat."  He warns that if this keeps escalating, it could basically shut down trade between the two economic giants—and that would shake the global economy. So, how does this hit Australia? China is Australia’s biggest trading partner , especially for resources like iron ore and coal , which are major moneymakers. If China’s economy takes a hit, it’ll need less of those exports—and that’s bad news for Aussie miners, jobs, and growth. Goss warns this could lead to rising unemployment  and even falling prices in some sectors. Why? Because cheaper goods from places like China, Vietnam, and Cambodia—squeezed by tariffs—might flood into countries like Australia as they look for new markets. To cushion the blow, the Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to cut interest rates —possibly at its next meeting in May—and more cuts could follow if things keep sliding. One bit of good news: Goss says superannuation funds should mostly ride it out. Young investors have time to recover from market dips, and older folks are (hopefully) already shifted into safer investments. How can China hit back? The US buys a LOT from China—around $731 billion AUD worth of goods  last year—while it exports much less in return, creating a trade deficit of about $450 billion AUD . That gives China room to hit back in other ways. Experts say China could: Cut cooperation on things like fentanyl (a hot-button issue in the US), Limit agricultural imports (a blow to US farmers), Target American services in China, like finance and law firms. And politically, standing up to Trump actually works in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s favor—he can take the economic hit if it boosts his popularity at home. But it’s not just  about the money These tariffs are also shaking up old alliances. Biden’s previous attempts to build partnerships across Southeast Asia are now under strain, especially since some of those countries were hit hard by earlier tariffs. Even Australia got dragged into the mix. China’s ambassador, Xiao Qian, publicly invited Australia to “join hands” with Beijing to protect global trade. But the offer was politely iced by the Albanese government. PM Anthony Albanese made it clear: “Australia will speak for ourselves.”  The message? We value trade with China, but we’re not getting in the middle of a superpower standoff—especially since we’re still patching things up after years of trade tensions and sanctions. So, for now, Australia’s playing it cautious: eyes on economic resilience, more diversified trade ties, and a whole lot of watching from the sidelines as the US and China lock horns.

Australia isn't jumping on board with China to resist Donald Trump's tariffs, even though his latest tariff escalation could hurt both countries. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles turned down an invitation from China’s ambassador, Xiao Qian, to "join hands" and stand together against Trump’s moves. Xiao argued that the US was using its power to bully other countries and that the best way to fight back was through solidarity. But Marles wasn’t having it, saying Australia would stick to its own interests and focus on diversifying trade with countries like Indonesia, India, the UK, and the UAE. “I don’t think we’ll be holding China’s hand,” Marles said, stressing that Australia doesn’t want to see a trade war between China and the US but needs to prioritize its own national interests. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was a bit more diplomatic, acknowledging that China is a major trade partner and that Australia's trade with China is vital. However, he made it clear that Australia will “speak for ourselves” and won’t be siding with anyone. “There are opportunities for Australia and we intend to seize them,” he said, referring to the potential for trade outside the US-China dispute. With Trump’s decision to impose tariffs that could harm Australia’s exports to China, the Australian government is looking to strengthen its economy by diversifying its trade. Treasury and Reserve Bank of Australia modeling suggests the tariffs could hit Australia hard, depending on how much China does to boost its economy. China has already retaliated with its own tariffs, and Ambassador Xiao hinted that there might be more to come. Marles pointed out that Australia’s focus is on building stronger, more resilient trade relationships worldwide, not just relying on China. The government's approach seems shaped by the tense trade relations with China that began during the Morrison era when Beijing imposed economic punishment on Australia. Despite the trade struggles, Australia remains committed to its economic ties with China, but they aren’t looking to be dragged into a global power struggle between the US and China. This focus on resilience and economic diversification is also a key theme in the lead-up to Australia’s next election, with Trade Minister Don Farrell working on new deals with the EU and other global partners. Despite the economic uncertainties, Treasurer Jim Chalmers assured that the government is prepared. The opposition, however, took aim at the government's handling of the economy, arguing they haven’t got a solid plan to bring Australia’s standard of living back to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon. It’s a tricky balancing act for Australia—trying to protect its interests while navigating the global economic storm brewing between the US and China.

අලුතින් පනවා ඇති අමෙරිකාවේ අන්‍යෝන්‍ය තීරුබදු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංචාරක ක්ෂේත්‍රයට දීර්ඝකාලීන ඍණාත්මක බලපෑමක් ඇති කරනු ඇතැයි රජය අපේක්ෂා නොකරන බව සංචාරක නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය මහාචාර්ය රුවන් රණසිංහ මහතා පවසයි. රජයේ මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්වෙමින් නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා කියා සිටියේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඉහළ වෙළඳපල සංචාරකයින් දිවයිනට ගෙන්වා ගැනීම කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කර ඇති බවත්, ඔවුන්ගේ වියදම් බලයට තීරුබදු විශාල වශයෙන් බලපාන්නේ නැති බවත්ය. වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දක්වමින් නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා ප්‍රකාශ කළේ, "දිගු කාලීනව එක්සත් ජනපදය මෙම තීරුබදු සමඟ කොපමණ කාලයක් යනවාද යන්න සලකා බැලිය යුතුයි. සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරය සලකා බැලීමේදී [ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ] නැගී එන වෙළඳපොළ ඉන්දියාවයි. අපි දැන් ප්‍රචාරණ ව්‍යාපාරයක් සැලසුම් කර තිබෙනවා. අපි එය ඉතා ඉක්මනින් ඉන්දියාවේ ඉහළම වෙළෙඳපොළ ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් ආරම්භ කරනවා. "අපි සැලසුම් කරන්නේ ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන්ම සංඛ්‍යා කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු නොකර, සංචාරකයෙකු සඳහා ලැබෙන ආදායමයි. එබැවින්, සංචාරකයෙකුට උපයන ආදායම වැඩි දියුණු කළ හැකි තාක් සංචාරකයින් මිලියන 3 සිට මිලියන 4 දක්වා හොඳ විය හැකිය." මෙම තීරුබදු පැනවීමෙන් පසුව පුද්ගලයන්ගේ ඉවත දැමිය හැකි ආදායම කෙරෙහි බලපෑමක් ඇති වන බව සඳහන් කළ මහාචාර්ය රණසිංහ, තවමත් ඉහළ වෙළඳපල කාණ්ඩය යහපත් වනු ඇති බව පැවසීය. “අපි ක්‍රමානුකූලව එය දෙස බලා සිටින අතර, රටේ සංචාරක නිෂ්පාදන වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම සහ සංවර්ධනය කිරීම, ඉහළ වෙලඳපොලවල් කරා ළඟාවීම සඳහා," ඔහු වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය. සංචාරක නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංචාරක ක්ෂේත්‍රය සඳහා වැඩිවන ආයෝජන පිළිබඳව ද අදහස් දක්වමින්, "සංචාරක ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ ආයෝජනවල පැහැදිලි වර්ධනයක් දක්නට ලැබේ. 2024 දී එම ක්ෂේත්‍රයට ඩොලර් මිලියන 40 කට ආසන්න ආයෝජනයක් ලැබී ඇත. ඔබ පසුගිය මාස තුන ගතහොත් මේ වන විට අපි ඩොලර් මිලියන 25 කට ආසන්න ප්‍රමාණයක් ලබාගෙන තිබෙනවා."

Donald Trump is back in the headlines — and this time, he's threatening to slap fresh tariffs on pharmaceuticals, a move that could seriously hit Australia where it hurts. Pharmaceuticals had just  been spared from last week’s sweeping new "reciprocal" tariffs. But in a speech this morning, Trump said that exemption might not last much longer. Speaking at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner, he dropped this bombshell: “We’re going to be announcing, very shortly, a major tariff on pharmaceuticals,” he said. “And when they hear that, they will leave China, and they will leave other places because more of the product is here.” That might sound like a blow aimed at China — but it could end up hurting Australia just as much. Pharmaceuticals are one of our biggest exports to the US, worth about $1.6 billion a year. And while Trump didn’t name Australia directly, he did take a swipe at countries that cap the price of medicines — something we do through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). He criticized the idea of governments saying, "you can't charge more than $88 otherwise you can't sell your product,"  which is basically how the PBS works. In response, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came out swinging, promising the PBS isn’t going anywhere. “Our PBS is an essential part of who we are,” he said. “We will never negotiate on it. We will never undermine it.” Opposition Leader Peter Dutton agrees — both major parties are united on this one. But the market didn’t take the news lightly. Shares in CSL, one of Australia's biggest pharmaceutical companies, dropped about 5% today after Trump’s announcement. This all comes as Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day”  tariffs — including a massive 104% tariff on Chinese goods — kicked in earlier today. The baseline 10% tariff on Australian goods started over the weekend, but the real sting came this afternoon with higher rates on dozens of countries: 46% on Vietnam, 32% on Taiwan, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan, and 20% on the EU. Asian markets didn’t take it well. Japan’s Nikkei dropped around 5% today, and there’s a growing sense of unease across global financial markets. Back home, Treasurer Jim Chalmers hit pause on the election trail to hold an emergency meeting with Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock and key financial officials to talk strategy. “It’s a really good opportunity for us to confer with, compare notes with and coordinate our efforts with the regulators and others involved in the market right now,” he said. Despite the chaos, Chalmers says Australia’s economy is strong enough to ride it out — but admits the government is keeping a close eye on everything. “We are confident that we can weather these global conditions, but we’re not complacent.” So yeah… buckle up. It’s shaping up to be a bumpy economic ride.

ඉන්දීය අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය නරේන්ද්‍ර මෝදිගේ සංචාරයේදී ඉන්දියාව නැවත වරක් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සමඟ ගොඩබිම් සම්බන්ධතා ව්‍යාපෘතියක් යෝජනා කර ඇති නමුත් ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය තවමත් ඒ පිළිබඳව කැමැත්තක් ලබාදී නැති බව වාර්තා වේ. 2002 දී එවකට ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය ඉන්දියාවේ තමිල්නාඩුවේ රාමේෂ්වරම් සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ තලෙයිමන්නාරම අතර ගොඩබිම් පාලමක් යෝජනා කළේය. ඒ රාම් සේතු හෙවත් ආදම්ගේ පාලම නමැති පුරාණ ගොඩබිම් සම්බන්ධය පදනම් කරගෙනය. සැලැස්මට අනුව, මාර්ග සහ රේල් පාලම් සම්බන්ධතා සංවර්ධනය කිරීමට යෝජනා කරන ලදී. පසුව, දෙරටම මෙම ව්‍යාපෘතිය පිළිබඳව නැවත සාකච්ඡා ආරම්භ කරනු ලැබීය. එය පෙර රජයේ සමයේ නිකුත් කරන ලද ඒකාබද්ධ ප්‍රකාශනයට පවා ඇතුළත් වූ අතර, පසුගිය වසරේ ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා නව දිල්ලියට ගිය අවස්ථාවේ නිකුත් කරන ලද ඒකාබද්ධ ප්‍රකාශයට ඒ පිළිබඳව ඇතුළත් වී නොතිබුණි. අගමැති මෝදිගේ නවතම සංචාරයේදී ඉන්දීය පාර්ශ්වය එය යෝජනා කළේය. වාර්තා වූ පරිදි ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය එයට ක්ෂණික ප්‍රතිචාරයක් නොදැක්වීය. අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මෝදි, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙන් ආපසු යන අතරමගදී, ඉන්දියානු සාගරයට ඉහළින් සැතපුම් 30ක් (කිලෝමීටර් 48ක්) විහිදෙන ස්වභාවික හුණුගල් විශාල දාමයක් වන ආදම්ගේ පාලම ලෙසද හැඳින්වෙන රාම් සේතු දර්ශණය විය. මෙම පෞරාණික ගොඩබිම් පාලම එහි භූ විද්‍යාත්මක, ඓතිහාසික සහ මිථ්‍යා වැදගත්කම සඳහා සමරනු ලබයි. පුරාණ හුණුගල් පාලම රාම් දෙවියන් විසින් ඉදිකරන ලද්දක් ලෙස සැලකේ. මේ අතර, යෝජිත ආර්ථික හා තාක්ෂණ සහයෝගිතා ගිවිසුම (ETCA) ප්‍රකාරව පමණක් ඇඟලුම් අපනයන කෝටාව ඒකක මිලියන 50 දක්වා වැඩි කරන ලෙස ශ්‍රී ලංකාව කරන ඉල්ලීම සලකා බැලීමට ඉන්දියාව සූදානම් බව වාර්තා වේ. එක්සත් ජනපදය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අපනයන සඳහා සියයට 44 ක තීරු බදු පැනවීමත් සමඟ, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මේ වන විට එක්සත් ජනපද තීරුබදු සමඟ පොරබදමින් සිටින ව්‍යාපාරවලට සහාය වීම සඳහා නව මාර්ග සෙවීමේ ක්‍රියාවලියක යෙදී සිටී. ඉන්දු - ලංකා නිදහස් වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම යටතේ අපනයනය සඳහා වන කෝටාව දැනට පවතින මිලියන 8 සිට ඒකක මිලියන 50 දක්වා පුළුල් කරන ලෙස ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඉන්දියාවෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටි බව විදේශ අමාත්‍ය විජිත හේරත් පසුගියදා ප්‍රකාශ කර ඇතැයි වාර්තා වේ. කෙසේ වෙතත්, මෙම ඉල්ලීම ශ්‍රී ලංකාව විසින් ආර්ථික හා තාක්ෂණ සහයෝගිතා ගිවිසුම (ETCA) සාකච්ඡාව මඟින් ඉදිරිපත් කළ එකක් බවද වාර්තා වේ. ආර්ථික හා තාක්ෂණ සහයෝගිතා ගිවිසුම (ETCA) සාකච්ඡා නැවත ආරම්භ වූ විට පමණක් ඉන්දියාව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මෙම ඉල්ලීම සලකා බැලීමට සූදානම් බවයි වාර්තා වේ.