After delays due to Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred , Prime Minister Anthony Albanese  has finally called the 2025 Federal Election  for Saturday, May 3 . Both major parties have been campaigning for months, but now, it’s official. Albanese visited Governor-General Samantha Mostyn  today to request the election, kicking off the race for Australia’s leadership. So, what does this mean for you? Here’s a quick guide to everything Australian voters need to know. Who Needs to Vote? Short answer: everyone over 18 . If you're an Australian citizen , voting is compulsory , and failing to do so will land you a $20 fine . You’ll also need to enrol or update your details  by 8pm on April 4, 2025 , if: You just turned 18. You moved house since the last election (2022). You’ve returned from living overseas. You can check your enrolment status online to make sure you're good to go. When and How Can You Vote? Election Day:   Saturday, May 3, 2025 Early Voting:  Opens around two weeks before Election Day  (exact dates TBD). If you can’t make it on the day, you can vote early  if you: Are outside your electorate. Are traveling. Live more than 8km  from a polling place. Can’t leave work. Are seriously ill, pregnant, or caring for someone who is. Have a disability or care for someone with one. Are in hospital or prison (serving less than three years ). Have religious beliefs preventing you from attending. The details for early voting locations  aren’t out yet, so check the Electoral Commission’s website  closer to the date. Voting from Overseas or Interstate If you’re overseas, you can vote at an overseas voting centre  or by post —otherwise, you’ll cop the $20 fine . If you’re in a different state  on Election Day, you’ll need to vote at an interstate voting centre . More details will be available online closer to May 3. How to Vote on Election Day Polling places are usually in schools, churches, community halls, or public buildings —locations will be confirmed online. What You’ll Get: 📄 House of Representatives ballot  – a small piece of paper where you number EVERY box  in order of preference. 📄 Senate ballot  – a larger sheet where you can either: Number at least six boxes   above the line  for parties/groups. Number at least 12 boxes   below the line  for individual candidates. Remember, Albanese and Dutton must win their own electorates  to remain in the running for Prime Minister. Who’s Running? The two major parties battling it out are: Australian Labor Party (ALP)  – led by Anthony Albanese  (current PM). Coalition  – a Liberal-National  alliance led by Peter Dutton . Current numbers in Parliament: Labor:  77 seats (majority). Coalition:  58 seats (its lowest since 1983). Greens:  4 seats. Independents:  10 seats (record high). Others:  Centre Alliance & Katter’s Australia Party hold one seat each . What’s "Caretaker Mode" and Why Does It Matter? Now that the election is called, Parliament is dissolved —literally marked by cannon fire in Canberra . This puts the government into caretaker mode , meaning: No major policy decisions that could bind the next government . No big appointments or contracts. No significant international negotiations. Basically, the government is on pause  until after the election. However, decisions made before caretaker mode  but announced later  still count. This election is shaping up to be a huge  showdown between Albanese and Dutton . Whether Labor keeps its majority or the Coalition makes a comeback remains to be seen. For now, make sure you’re enrolled, check your polling place details, and get ready to vote  on May 3 . It’s game on!

කම්කරු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ රාජ්‍ය සේවාවන්හි කාර්යක්ෂමතාව සහ වේගය ඉහළ නැංවීම සඳහා එය ඩිජිටල්කරණය කිරීම පිළිබඳ විශේෂ සාකච්ඡාවක් අද පැවැත්වුණා. අමාත්‍ය වෛද්‍ය අනිල් ජයන්ත ප්‍රනාන්දු, නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය මහින්ද ජයසිංහ සහ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය එරංග වීරරත්න යන මහත්වරුන්ගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් කොළඹ පිහිටි අමාත්‍යාංශයේදී මෙම සාකච්ඡාව පැවැත්විණි. සාකච්ඡාව අතරතුර, සහභාගිවන්නන් ඩිජිටල්කරණ ව්‍යාපෘතිය ඵලදායි ලෙස ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම පිළිබඳ අවබෝධය බෙදා ගත්හ. ප්‍රධාන අවධානය යොමු කළ ක්ෂේත්‍ර අතරට මහජනතාව සඳහා සේවා විධිමත් කිරීම, රැඳී සිටීමේ කාලය අවම කිරීම සහ ඩිජිටල් පරිවර්තනය හරහා මාර්ගගත සේවා ප්‍රවේශය පුළුල් කිරීම ඇතුළත් විය. විශේෂයෙන්ම කම්කරු දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, මහ බැංකුව සහ සේවක අර්ථසාධක අරමුදලේ සේවාවන් සඳහා පහසුකම් සැලසීම සඳහා ඒකාබද්ධ ඩිජිටල් වේදිකාවක් පිහිටුවීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව ද අවධාරණය කෙරිණි. මෙම ඩිජිටල්කරණ මුලපිරීම වඩාත් කාර්යක්ෂම සහ පරිශීලක-හිතකාමී රාජ්‍ය සේවා අත්දැකීමක් පෝෂණය කරන අතරම ප්‍රතිලාභ සහ සේවා අපේක්ෂා කරන පුරවැසියන් සඳහා කාලය සහ ශ්‍රමය ඉතිරි කිරීම අරමුණු කරයි.

A tourist submarine carrying 45 people on a cruise through the coral reefs of the Red Sea sank off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt, leaving six Russians dead, officials confirmed. Rescue teams managed to save the remaining passengers, though more than two dozen were injured. Authorities haven’t yet determined what caused the vessel to go down, but it happened about a kilometer offshore, according to the Russian consulate. The submarine, named Sindbad , was on one of its usual underwater tours—these trips last about 40 minutes and take passengers around 25 meters below the surface, offering panoramic views of marine life. There were 45 tourists on board, along with five Egyptian crew members when it sank. Major-General Amr Hanafi, the governor of the Red Sea region, confirmed that all six fatalities were Russian. Of the 39 people rescued, 29 were injured and taken to hospitals. Thankfully, no one is still missing. Hurghada is a popular spot for diving and underwater tourism, thanks to its beautiful coral reefs. But this incident is raising serious concerns about safety. The company operating the submarine has yet to make a statement. Russia’s Tass news agency  reported that at least two of the victims were children. Initially, the Russian consulate said all the tourists onboard were Russian, but later, the governor clarified that there were also Indian, Norwegian, and Swedish passengers. Footage released by the governor’s office showed Hanafi visiting survivors in the hospital, including two of the Egyptian crew members. One Russian tourist had a bandage on his head, while a family with two young daughters reassured him they were okay. Meanwhile, an Indian passenger was seen desperately asking about his daughter, who doctors said was in critical condition. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first accident of its kind. Just last November, a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea after warnings of rough waters, leaving four people dead and 33 others rescued. While tourism is a huge part of Egypt’s economy, many companies have started limiting trips on the Red Sea, not just because of safety concerns but also due to the ongoing regional conflicts.

After months of speculation, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has officially called the federal election for May 3 , kicking off what’s set to be a fiery campaign. Both major parties have been in campaign mode for most of the year, but today, Albanese made it official, visiting Governor-General Samantha Mostyn  to request the election. The announcement comes just days after the government handed down the federal budget and—interestingly—just hours after Peter Dutton’s budget reply speech , which many believe was an attempt to steal the spotlight. What’s at Stake? Speaking this morning, Albanese reflected on the challenges Australia has faced in recent years, saying: "In uncertain times, we cannot decide the challenges that we will face, but we can determine how we respond." Labor is putting a strong focus on Medicare, cost of living relief, and childcare support  in this election, while also warning about the potential for misinformation and election interference  during the campaign. Social media platforms have been scaling back fact-checking , which raises concerns. Albanese had a simple message for anyone looking to spread false information: "Back off." The big budget promise  from Labor? Tax cuts, set to kick in from July 1 next year —but only if they win the election. Meanwhile, the Coalition is promising to halve the fuel excise for 12 months  if Dutton takes the top job. Who’s in the Lead? Right now, Labor holds 77 seats  in the House of Representatives compared to the Coalition’s 53 . Earlier this year, polls showed big swings towards the Liberals and Nationals , suggesting Labor could be at serious risk of losing power after just one term —something that hasn’t happened in Australia since 1931 . However, recent polls have been more favorable for Albanese , meaning the race is far from over. A hung parliament  is still a real possibility, but Albanese is determined to win a majority and serve a full term if re-elected. As for Dutton? He hasn’t personally responded to the announcement yet, but the Liberal Party’s Instagram  summed up their mood in just two words: “It’s on.” And with that, Australia is officially heading to the polls on May 3 . Buckle up!

On Wednesday, the former U.S. president announced a massive 25% tariff on all cars imported into the United States  — a huge jump from the current 2.5%. “What we’re going to be doing is a 25% tariff for all cars that are not made in the United States,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “We start off with a 2.5% base... and go to 25%.” He says the new tariffs will kick in next week, on April 2 , and the U.S. will start collecting the duties the following day . And in true Trump fashion, he dubbed April 2 “liberation day.” Trump’s promising that this move will spark economic growth  — calling it “very exciting” — but not everyone’s on board. What’s behind this? Trump’s been banging this drum for a while — claiming the U.S. is getting ripped off by trade partners and that tariffs are the fix. Earlier this year, he floated the idea of a 25% auto tariff, but now he’s putting it into motion. And apparently, that’s just the start — he’s also expected to unveil a bunch of "reciprocal tariffs"  soon, targeting goods from countries the U.S. thinks are taxing American products unfairly. So… who’s affected? Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany  are some of the biggest car exporters to the U.S. — and they’re not thrilled. Canadian PM Mark Carney  hit back hard, calling the move a “direct attack” on Canadian workers . “We will defend our workers, our companies, and our country,” Carney said. The European Union  also condemned the move, while industry groups  sounded the alarm. Candace Laing , head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, didn’t mince words: “Throwing away tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border... this tax hike puts plants and workers at risk for generations, if not forever.” What could this mean for you? A study by Anderson Economic Group found that these kinds of blanket tariffs could raise U.S. car prices by up to $12,000  — especially if Canada and Mexico get hit. Even U.S. investors are spooked — automaker stocks dropped , and equity index futures slid  after the news broke, signaling Wall Street’s not too happy either. And while Trump insists tariffs are already “pouring money” into the country, a recent Harris poll  tells a different story: 90% of Democrats , 69% of independents , and even 57% of Republicans say they’re worried about how tariffs will hit their wallets . But in classic Trump style, he brushed off concerns, posting: “Have no fear, we will WIN everything!!!” on Truth Social Trump’s all in on tariffs — but critics say it could backfire, raising prices, killing jobs, and shaking up the auto industry big time. Let’s see how this one plays out.

ඉන්දියානු තේ මණ්ඩලය විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද දත්ත වලට අනුව, 2024 දී ඉන්දියාව තේ කිලෝග්‍රෑම් මිලියන 254ක් අපනයනය කර ඇති අතර එමඟින් ලෝකයේ දෙවන ඉහළම අපනයනකරු බවට පත්විය. ගෝලීය තේ අපනයනයේ ප්‍රථම ස්ථානය කෙන්යාව රැකගනිද්දී ඉන්දියාව ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අභිබවා දෙවන ස්ථානයට පත් විය. 2024 දී කෙන්යාව තේ 500Mkg කට වඩා අපනයනය කර ඇත. 2023 දී ඉන්දියාව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තේ අපනයනයේදී 231Mkg පමණ ප්‍රමාණයක් සමඟ කරට කර සිටි නමුත් 2024 දී ඉන්දියාව තවත් 24Mkg ක් අපනයනත් සමඟ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අභිබවා ගියේය. ඉන්දියාවේ 2024 සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන 2018 ට පිටුපසින් එහි දෙවන හොඳම අපනයන ආන්තිකය වූයේ තේ 256Mkg පමණ අපනයනය කළ විටය. ඉන්දියාවේ 2024 තේ අපනයනය රුපියල් කෝටි 7,112 කි. 2018 වසර හැර පසුගිය වසර කිහිපය තුළ ඉන්දියාවේ අපනයන අගයන් 200-225Mkg පමණ වූ අතර, මෙම ආකර්ෂණීය වර්ධනය තේ කර්මාන්තයට 2030 වන විට 300Mkg සීමාවට ළඟා වීමට බලාපොරොත්තුවක් ලබා දී ඇත. ඉන්දියාව සාමාන්‍යයෙන් සෑම වසරකම තේ 1,400Mkg නිෂ්පාදනය කරයි. අපනයනයෙන් වැඩි ප්‍රමාණයක් පැමිණ ඇත්තේ ඕතඩොක්ස් අංශයෙන් වන අතර, මෑත කාලයේ දී යුනියන් සහ ප්‍රාන්ත රජයන් විසින් දියත් කරන ලද විවිධ යෝජනා ක්‍රම මගින් එහි වර්ධනයට සහාය වී ඇත. "මධ්‍යයේ හිතකර අපනයන ප්‍රතිපත්තිය සහ ප්‍රාන්ත ආන්ඩුවල සහාය ඇතිව, ඉදිරි වසරවලදී කර්මාන්තය සිය අපනයන කූඩය වැඩි කිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වේ" යනුවෙන් ඉන්දීය තේ සංගමයේ මහලේකම් ප්‍රබීර් කුමාර් භට්ටාචාර්ජි පැවසීය.

Looks like things are heating up in Canberra — speculation is swirling that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese could call the 2025 federal election as early as tomorrow . While most were expecting an announcement this weekend , right after the budget, there’s now talk that Albo might pull the trigger even sooner , possibly to shift the spotlight away from the Coalition’s budget reply , which drops tonight . If he does make the call tomorrow, Aussies could be heading to the polls on May 3 . And here's where it gets interesting — the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet  briefly posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the government was in “caretaker mode”  — which only happens once the election is officially called and the House of Reps is dissolved. But... the post was quickly deleted . Bit of a slip-up or a sign of things to come? Possible election dates: May 3  (if he calls it tomorrow) May 10 May 17  is the absolute latest This could all be a tactical move  by Albanese to cut the oxygen from Peter Dutton’s budget reply , which is expected to dominate headlines later tonight. And speaking of Dutton — he’s already trying to win voters over, announcing that a Coalition government would cut fuel excise costs for a year . Basically, a move to bring down petrol prices during a cost-of-living crunch. Treasurer Jim Chalmers  wasn’t having it though — he’s already come out and said the government won’t be matching that promise . So, buckle up — things could get very political, very quickly. If tomorrow’s the day, we’re officially in election mode .

මෙරට පුරවැසියන් සඳහා බදු ගෙවන්නන්ගේ හැඳුනුම් අංක මිලියන 6.8ක් (TIN) මේ වන විට නිකුත් කර ඇති අතර එමඟින් ඔවුන්ට රජයේ සේවාවන් ලබාගැනීමට පහසු වී ඇතැයි දේශීය ආදායම් කොමසාරිස්වරුන්ගේ සංගමයේ සභාපති සහ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ කොමසාරිස් එම්.ඒ.ප්‍රියංකා පැවසීය. දේශීය ආදායම් කොමසාරිස්වරුන්ගේ සංගමයේ වාර්ෂික සමුළුව සහ නිලවරණය අමතමින් මාධ්‍ය වෙත අදහස් දක්වමින් ඔහු කියා සිටියේ රටේ සෑම පුරවැසියෙකුටම රාජ්‍ය සේවා ලබාගැනීමට පහසුවන පරිදි ඩිජිටල් හඳුනාගැනීමේ කේතයක් ලබාදෙන බවයි. “අවුරුදු 18ට වැඩි මුළු ජනගහනයෙන් මිලියන 17 කට ආසන්න ප්‍රමාණයකට TIN නිකුත් කර ඇත,” ඔහු පැවසීය. "TIN නිකුත් කිරීම මිනිසුන් ව්‍යාකූල කර ඇති අතර, අනුගමනය කරන ලද ක්‍රියා පටිපාටිය ද සංකීර්ණ විය," ඔහු පැවසීය. එබැවින් TIN එකක් ලබා ගැනීමේ වටිනාකම පිළිබඳව ජනතාව දැනුවත් කිරීම සහ දැනුවත් කිරීම අවශ්‍ය බව ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ කොමසාරිස්වරයා වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය. වයස අවුරුදු 18 ට වැඩි පුද්ගලයින් සඳහා TIN එකක් ලබා ගැනීමෙන් සෑම කෙනෙකුම බදු ගෙවීමට බැඳී සිටින බවක් අදහස් නොවන බව ඔහු පැවසීය.

If you’re in parts of Queensland right now, especially the north and central west, you might want to start keeping a close eye on the sky—and your local alerts. A severe weather warning is in place, with heavy rain expected to hit areas like the Channel Country, Maranoa and Warrego regions, the Northern Goldfields, and Upper Flinders. The Bureau of Meteorology is warning that flash flooding is likely, so people in low-lying areas are being told to move to higher ground just to be safe. Who's in the warning zone? Residents in Charleville, Cunnamulla, Quilpie, Tambo, Blackall , and Carnarvon National Park  are in the firing line right now. The Bureau says you can expect around 30 to 60mm of rain in just six hours, with some areas possibly copping up to 120mm. And over 24 hours, that could rise to a whopping 180mm in some spots. The cause? A low-pressure system mixing with a very moist tropical air mass—basically a perfect storm for heavy downpours. They’re also saying we might see severe thunderstorms later today or overnight, with "intense rainfall" possible. So yep, more warnings could pop up at short notice. And several flood watches are already out for catchments in western and central Queensland. More rain on the way According to meteorologist Helen Reid, this rain isn't going anywhere just yet. Expect widespread rain to hang around for the next few days, especially from the Queensland central coast down to the NSW border. The heaviest falls are expected on Friday and Saturday , with some coastal areas forecast to get between 100mm and 200mm . And since a lot of ground is already saturated, that could mean more flash and river flooding—particularly in north-east NSW  and south-east Queensland . In Brisbane , residents in flood-prone zones are being asked to prepare now. Sandbags are available for pickup at these council depots: Darra, Morningside, Newmarket, Zillmere , and Lota . The Bureau expects heavy rain to continue through the weekend, with up to 70mm  predicted for Saturday  alone. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check local alerts and weather updates regularly.

මේ වසර (2025) ඇතුළත ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට වාහන බදු අඩු කිරීමට නොහැකි වනු ඇතැයි ජනාධිපති ආර්ථික උපදේශක දුමින්ද හුලංගමුව මහතා පැවසීය. රූපවාහිනී සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්වෙමින් දුමින්ද හුලංගමුව කියා සිටියේ ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල (IMF) සමඟ ඇති බදු ගිවිසුමට අනුව මේ වසර තුළ වාහන බදු අඩු කළ නොහැකි බවයි. දුමින්ද හුලංගමුව වැඩිදුරටත් කියා සිටියේ වාහන මිලෙහි වෙනසක් සිදු වීමේ හැකියාවක් ද නොමැති බවයි. වාහන බද්ද හරහා රජයේ ආදායම් ඉලක්කය පිළිබඳව අදහස් දැක්වූ ඔහු, එම ඉලක්කය සපුරා ගැනීම පිළිබඳව විශ්වාසය පළ කළ අතර, ඔවුන් අනාවරණ කළේ රුපියල් 300 - රුපියල් බිලියන 350ක ආදායමක් අපේක්ෂා කරන බවයි. "පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ සිට ආනයනය කිරීමට අවසර දී ඇති බැවින් අප ගමන් කරන්නේදැයි කීමට ඉක්මන් වැඩිය. වාහන නිෂ්කාශනය කළ විට පමණක් තීරුබදු ගෙවනු ලබන බැවින් ක්‍රියාවලිය නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට අපට තවත් කාලයක් අවශ්‍ය වේ," ඔහු පැවසීය.

Australia is shifting over $100 million in foreign aid to support the Indo-Pacific, following Trump’s massive US aid cuts. With the US pulling the plug on around $54 billion  in overseas development funding, Australia is stepping in to fill some of the gaps —especially in neighboring regions facing economic, health, and climate challenges. What’s changing? Australia’s official development assistance (ODA) budget  will hit $5.1 billion in 2025-26 , an increase of $135.9 million  from this year. However, $119 million  is being reprioritised  to focus on urgent needs in Pacific and Southeast Asia . Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong  said these were “hard strategic decisions” , especially after Trump’s administration decided to pause US foreign aid  and later slash  the budget. Who’s getting less funding? Three major institutions are seeing cuts: Global Partnership for Education  and the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Malaria, and TB  → Reduced to $16.4 million UN Development Program  → Losing $13 million in core funding  (but Australia is still contributing $189.5 million to UN agencies  overall) Where is the money going? Indo-Pacific region  → Three-quarters of the aid budget  will focus here $1 billion over five years  → Building economic resilience $370 million over three years  → Humanitarian aid for Myanmar , where US cuts have led to food shortages Health funding  → Essential services for HIV and tuberculosis Climate action  → Helping the region cope with extreme weather events Why does this matter? Wong emphasized that Australia’s development program is key to regional stability . “In these uncertain times, we’re making sure more of our aid goes to the Pacific and Southeast Asia, where Australia’s interests are most at stake,”  she said. But not everyone is on board. Opposition leader Peter Dutton  hasn’t ruled out cutting foreign aid —something that’s sparked internal debate among Liberal backbenchers . Many are pushing back , warning against slashing aid to fund big-ticket defense projects . What do experts say? Tim Costello, head of Christian aid group Micah , welcomed Australia’s aid shift but warned that Trump’s decision could cost millions of lives . “With USAid being absolutely smashed by Elon Musk and Donald Trump … some millions of people are going to die. That’s not metaphorical.” The Australian Council for International Development  also stressed the importance of maintaining aid funding, arguing that any cuts would have immediate humanitarian and diplomatic consequences —not to mention, allow other countries to increase their influence in the region . The US aid cuts at a glance Trump paused  all foreign aid in January for a 90-day review Marco Rubio  (US Secretary of State) announced in March that 83% of USAid programs will be canceled That means $54 billion in funding gone Australia’s response? Wong immediately asked the Foreign Affairs Department  to assess the fallout and identify programs needing urgent funding . Already, $5 million has been allocated  to keep HIV programs running in PNG, Fiji, and the Philippines —which were at risk after US cuts. Australia is stepping up, but the global aid landscape is shifting dramatically . With the US pulling back, there’s growing pressure on other nations to fill the void—especially in regions like the Pacific and Southeast Asia , where stability and security are at stake.

2025 අයවැය යෝජනාවලට අනුකූලව රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ වැටුප් සංශෝධනයක් නිවේදනය කරමින් රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන අමාත්‍යාංශය 10/2025 චක්‍රලේඛය නිකුත් කර ඇත.