At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia has deployed military assets to the Middle East as tensions escalate between Israel and Iran, with both sides continuing missile and drone strikes. Anthony Albanese confirmed the move in parliament, saying it forms part of contingency plans to respond to the growing conflict in the region. He also welcomed the safe return of hundreds of Australians who recently departed Dubai on limited commercial flights. The government is working with agencies and international partners to assist Australians who still wish to leave the Middle East. According to Albanese, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are operating around the clock to support citizens overseas. Six crisis response teams are also being deployed to the region. The announcement came during a visit by Mark Carney, who delivered a rare address to the Parliament of Australia. The two leaders reaffirmed strong ties between Australia and Canada and expressed support for recent US and Israeli actions against Iran. Albanese also confirmed Australia will join Canada’s G7 critical minerals initiative, aimed at strengthening supply chains for resources vital to technology and defence industries. Both leaders highlighted the long-standing partnership between the two nations, built through shared values and cooperation in global conflicts and international initiatives. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor also welcomed Carney’s visit, warning that changing global power dynamics require closer cooperation among Western “middle powers”. Canada and Australia are major global suppliers of key minerals such as lithium, uranium and iron ore, resources increasingly important as Western countries seek to reduce reliance on supply chains dominated by China. Carney’s regional tour also includes visits to Japan and India as part of broader efforts to strengthen international partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික කාන්තා කණ්ඩායමේ ප්‍රධාන පුහුණුකරු ලෙස හිටපු ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩික ජේමි සිඩන්ස් පත් කිරීම නිවේදනය කිරීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනය කැමැත්තෙන් සිටී. සිඩන්ස් 2007 සිට 2011 දක්වා බංග්ලාදේශ ජාතික පිරිමි කණ්ඩායමේ ප්‍රධාන පුහුණුකරු ලෙස සේවය කර ඇති අතර, එය ඔහුගේ ඉහළම ජාත්‍යන්තර පුහුණු අත්දැකීම් සනිටුහන් කරයි. 3 වන මට්ටමේ සුදුසුකම් ලත් පුහුණුකරුවෙකු වන සිඩන්ස් 2015 සිට 2020 දක්වා දකුණු ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායමේ (රෙඩ්බැක්ස්) ප්‍රධාන පුහුණුකරු ලෙසත්, 2011 සිට 2015 දක්වා නවසීලන්තයේ වෙලින්ටන් ෆයර්බර්ඩ්ස් හි ප්‍රධාන පුහුණුකරු ලෙසත් සේවය කර ඇත. ඔහුගේ වසරක පත්වීම 2026 මාර්තු 16 වන දින සිට ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ. ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ පුළුල් පළමු පෙළ ක්‍රිකට් ජීවිතයක් භුක්ති විඳි සහ දකුණු ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව සහ වික්ටෝරියා යන කණ්ඩායම් දෙකටම නායකත්වය දුන් සිඩන්ස්, 2026 ජුනි මාසයේදී එංගලන්තයේ පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත ICC කාන්තා T20 ලෝක කුසලානය සඳහා සූදානම් වීම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා කාන්තා කණ්ඩායම මෙහෙයවීමේ වගකීම භාර ගනු ඇත. ඔහුගේ පළමු පැවරුම 2026 අප්‍රේල්-මැයි මාසවල පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත ශ්‍රී ලංකා කාන්තා බංග්ලාදේශ සංචාරය වනු ඇත. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Heavy rain has lashed North Queensland overnight as a tropical low moves closer to the coast, bringing widespread wet weather across the region. Areas near the Daintree River recorded about 425mm of rain, while nearby Daintree Village received around 300mm. Further north, Cooktown saw totals close to 200mm. The weather system, known as Tropical Low 29U, is currently in the Coral Sea. While it is now unlikely to strengthen into a cyclone, forecasters say it will still bring intense rainfall as it crosses the coast near Innisfail today. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the system will then move inland before tracking south over the weekend. As it does, it will pull in large amounts of tropical moisture, increasing rainfall across northern and eastern parts of the state. Authorities warn that river catchments in northern Queensland are already saturated, raising the risk of further flooding. Heavy rain warnings cover areas from north of Tully to Cape Melville, including Cairns, Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands. Some locations could see 80–240mm of rain within six hours and up to 300mm over 24 hours. The wet weather is expected to spread south to Townsville and Mackay, before reaching southeast Queensland by the weekend. Cities including Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast are forecast to see the heaviest rain on Sunday, with totals of 50–100mm possible. Temperatures in Brisbane are also expected to ease slightly, with a weekend high of around 26°C. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Workers at Amazon-linked warehouses across Australia are set to hold protests on Thursday, as a major union warns broader strike action could follow later this year. Members of the Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU) will stage pickets as the first step in a campaign aimed at improving conditions in the transport industry. TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said the protests are a warning to companies involved in transport and aviation negotiations covering more than 200 workplace agreements. He said tens of thousands of workers could take protected strike action in July if industry standards and pay do not improve. The union claims large companies are driving down wages and conditions in the transport sector. It also raised safety concerns, saying 19 people — including five truck drivers — have died in truck crashes in Australia since the start of 2026. The TWU added that more than 730 transport businesses have become insolvent, a sharp rise compared with last year. Union leaders also criticised the Amazon Flex platform, which allows gig drivers to deliver packages using their own vehicles. They argue the system increases pressure on drivers and undercuts established transport companies. However, Amazon rejected the allegations. The company said delivery partners are paid competitively and in line with government requirements, and insisted driver and community safety remains a top priority. Amazon added that its delivery network continues to provide employment opportunities for thousands of Australians. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A group of Australians stranded in the Middle East due to the escalating conflict has safely returned home, with an Emirates flight landing in Sydney late last night. Emirates flight EK414 departed Dubai International Airport on Tuesday morning and arrived at Sydney Airport just before 10.30pm (AEDT), carrying about 200 passengers. Many families gathered at the arrivals terminal to welcome loved ones after several stressful days. Some travellers had been stranded in Dubai since the latest Middle East tensions erupted over the weekend, forcing airports and airlines to suspend or delay flights. Among those waiting was a mother from Port Stephens, who drove hours to greet her son after he became stuck in Dubai while travelling to Rome. She said the situation had been frightening, with passengers asked to remain inside hotels due to falling debris from intercepted drones and missiles. The returning flight also carried a group of students from Barker College, who were greeted with cheers, flowers and signs by friends and family. Flights from Dubai have slowly resumed after disruptions caused by regional attacks. Airlines including Virgin Atlantic, SriLankan Airlines, Air India and flydubai have also restarted some services. Penny Wong said Australians trying to leave the region should use available commercial flights for now. Authorities estimate around 20,000 Australians are currently in the UAE, with another 115,000 across the wider Middle East. Meanwhile, Qantas announced an additional A380 service from Sydney to London via Singapore this weekend to help stranded travellers reach Europe. The airline also confirmed its Perth–London route will temporarily stop in Singapore due to closed airspace in parts of the Middle East. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. Sri Lanka has appointed Dimuthu Samaranayake as the new Honorary Consul for South Australia. The official Commission of Appointment was handed over by Yasoja Gunasekera at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra on 4 March 2026. Samaranayake, a project management professional in the mining industry, is also actively involved in several Sri Lankan community organisations in Adelaide. During the ceremony, High Commissioner Gunasekera highlighted the importance of strengthening Sri Lanka’s ties with the state of South Australia, particularly in areas such as trade, investment and tourism. Samaranayake said he looks forward to supporting the Sri Lankan community of around 10,000 people in South Australia and improving consular services in coordination with the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra and the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Melbourne. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australian exporters are being hit with sharp new shipping fees as global carriers introduce “war risk” and “emergency conflict” surcharges linked to tensions in the Middle East. The added costs come after US and Israeli strikes on Iran and ongoing instability across the region. Some exporters are now paying up to US$4,000 (around A$5,600) extra per refrigerated container. French shipping giant CMA CGM, which owns ANL in Australia, has rolled out an “Emergency Conflict Surcharge” from March 2. The fee ranges from US$2,000 for a standard 20-foot container to US$4,000 for refrigerated and specialised units. It applies to cargo moving to and from Gulf nations including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. German carrier Hapag-Lloyd has also introduced a “War Risk Surcharge”, charging up to US$3,500 for refrigerated containers on affected routes. Industry bodies Freight & Trade Alliance and Australian Peak Shippers Association say businesses were caught off guard, with some fees applying to cargo already in transit. About $5 billion worth of Australian goods are exported to the Middle East each year, much of it agricultural produce such as meat, grain and fresh food. Exporters warn the sudden spike in costs will likely flow through supply chains, adding pressure to food prices and inflation. Shipping companies say the charges reflect higher security, fuel and insurance costs, particularly around key routes like the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Some vessels are being diverted around Africa, extending travel times. While analysts suggest global shipping capacity remains strong, exporters say the immediate financial impact is significant — with little time to renegotiate contracts or adjust pricing. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා විසින් XIV වන ලියෝ පාප් වහන්සේට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණෙන ලෙස නිල ආරාධනයක් කර තිබේ. ඉතාලියේ නිල සංචාරයක නිරත අමාත්‍ය බිමල් රත්නායක මහතා විසින් වතිකානුවේ රාජ්‍ය ලේකම් කාර්යාලයේ උප ලේකම් මිහයිටා බ්ලාජ් පියතුමා වෙත මෙම ආරාධනය භාර දෙන ලදී. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia has endured 10 days of intense, record-breaking rain, with parts of the country drenched by months’ worth of rainfall in less than a fortnight. A rainfall map from Weatherzone shows totals of 100mm to 300mm between February 22 and March 3 across western NSW, northern Victoria, eastern and south-east South Australia, and much of the northern coastline. The Bureau of Meteorology says a slow-moving low pressure system pulled tropical moisture deep into the south-east, driving the widespread downpour. In parts of South Australia, NSW and north-west Victoria, some communities received up to a year’s worth of rain in just a few days. Mildura recorded 150mm over three days more than half its annual average triggering flash flooding. While conditions have eased in many areas, Canberra and Darwin remain under flood watch. Up north, four tropical lows are still hovering near the coast. Systems 28U and 30U sit off the north-west, 31U is in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and 29U is drifting over the Coral Sea. Forecasters say 29U, currently east of Cairns, has a moderate chance of strengthening into a cyclone and could cross the coast between Cairns and Cooktown late Thursday or early Friday. Heavy rain may then spread into central and south-east Queensland over the weekend. Elsewhere, severe weather warnings have been lifted for Adelaide and Melbourne. Adelaide is heading for sunshine and 27°C, Melbourne for a cloudy 22°C, while Sydney can expect showers and a top of 29°C. Authorities are urging residents, particularly in northern regions, to stay alert as conditions remain unpredictable. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. දිවයිනට දැනට පැමිණෙන සියලුම ජාත්‍යන්තර සංචාරකයින්ගේ ආරක්ෂාව, ආරක්ෂාව සහ යහපැවැත්ම සහතික කිරීම සඳහා කැපවී සිටින බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA) නිවේදනය කර ඇත. ඒ අනුව, මැදපෙරදිග සිදුවෙමින් පවතින මිලිටරි උත්සන්න කිරීම් සහ ගුවන් අවකාශය වසා දැමීම් හේතුවෙන්, ඉරානය, ඉරාකය සහ අනෙකුත් මැදපෙරදිග රටවල ජාතිකයින්ට විශේෂයෙන් සඳහන් කරමින්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ බලපෑමට ලක් වූ විදේශිකයන්ට සහාය වීම සඳහා පහත සඳහන් පියවර ක්‍රියාත්මක කර ඇත. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ තත්වය ස්ථාවර සහ ආරක්ෂිතව පවතින අතර, පහත සඳහන් හදිසි ප්‍රොටෝකෝල ක්‍රියාත්මක කර ඇත: වීසා සහන සහ දිගු කිරීම්: ගුවන් ගමන් අවලංගු කිරීම් හේතුවෙන් අතරමං වූ සංචාරකයින්ගේ ගැටළු සමනය කිරීම සඳහා, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය දැනට රට තුළ සිටින සියලුම සංචාරකයින් සඳහා වීසා වලංගු කාලය දින 14 ක් නොමිලේ දීර්ඝ කිරීමට අවසර දී ඇත. පිටත්ව යන අමුත්තන් කළමනාකරණය කිරීම සඳහා ප්‍රමුඛතාවය දීම සඳහා සියලුම SLTDA ලියාපදිංචි සංචාරක සේවා සපයන්නන් (නවාතැන් ආයතන, සංචාරක නියෝජිතයින්, සංචාරක මාර්ගෝපදේශකයින් සහ අනෙකුත් පාර්ශවකරුවන්) වෙත විධිමත් උපදේශනයක් වහාම බෙදා හරිනු ලැබේ. පාර්ශ්වකරුවන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටින්නේ: කාලසටහන් වෙනස්වීම් හෝ නැවත මාර්ගගත කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගුවන් සේවා යාවත්කාලීන කිරීම් සමීපව නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීම, දිගු නවාතැන්, ප්‍රමාද වී පිටවීම සහ අභ්‍යන්තර මාරුවීම් සඳහා සහාය ඇතුළුව නම්‍යශීලී නවාතැන් විධිවිධාන සැපයීම සහ සංශෝධිත ගුවන් ගමන් කාලසටහන් ආදියට අනුකූලව සංචාරක ගමන් විස්තර සහ ප්‍රවාහන කාලසටහන් සකස් කිරීම. කැපවූ 24/7 හදිසි ක්ෂණික ඇමතුම්: භාෂාමය සහ සැපයුම් සහාය ලබා දීම සඳහා 1912 සංචාරක හදිසි ක්ෂණික ඇමතුම් අංකය බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළේ (BIA) TIC (සංචාරක තොරතුරු මධ්‍යස්ථානය) හි සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ. අවශ්‍ය සහාය ලබා දීම සඳහා TIC වෙත ලැබෙන තොරතුරු රැස් කරනු ලැබේ. ගුවන්තොටුපළ සහ ගුවන් සේවා ක්ෂණික ඇමතුම් අංකය (1994): ගුවන් ගමන් තත්ත්වය, ගුවන්තොටුපළ පහසුකම් සහ ගුවන් සේවා මෙහෙයුම් පිළිබඳ නිශ්චිත විමසීම් සඳහා 24/7 ලබා ගත හැකිය. ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවයේ සහාය: ජාතික ගුවන් සේවයේ මගීන්ට නැවත වෙන්කරවා ගැනීම සහ ගුවන් ගමන් තත්ත්වය සඳහා 1979 (දේශීය) හෝ +94 11 777 1979 (ජාත්‍යන්තර) අමතන්න. සම්බන්ධීකරණය සහ අධීක්ෂණය: දත්ත රැස් කිරීම: ඉදිරි දිනවලදී පිටත්ව යාමට නියමිත සංචාරකයින් හඳුනාගෙන ඔවුන්ට සහාය වීම සඳහා SLTDA ලියාපදිංචි සංචාරක නියෝජිතයන් හරහා වාර්තා කිරීමේ යාන්ත්‍රණයක් ස්ථාපිත කර ඇත. වැඩිදියුණු කළ ආරක්ෂාව: ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සියලුම සංචාරකයින් සඳහා ආරක්ෂිත පරිසරයක් සහතික කරමින්, සියලුම ප්‍රධාන සංචාරක කලාප හරහා දෘශ්‍යමාන සහ ආරක්ෂිත පැවැත්මක් පවත්වා ගැනීම සඳහා සංචාරක පොලිසිය සමඟ සමීප සහයෝගීතාවයක්. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A rare “blood moon” will light up Australian skies tonight — and it won’t be seen here again until 2029. A blood moon is a total lunar eclipse. It happens when Earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow that turns the moon a deep red colour. The eclipse begins on the evening of March 3 and continues into the early hours of March 4. While total lunar eclipses are not extremely rare, they are striking to watch. This one will remain in its full red “totality” phase for about one hour. The entire country will see at least part of the eclipse. However, only the east coast will experience the full event from start to finish. In parts of central and western Australia, the early stages may be harder to see because the sun will not have fully set. For the best view, head to a dark location away from city lights with a clear view of the sky. No special equipment is needed — just look up during totality for the brightest red glow. Totality times in each capital city: Sydney – 10:04pm to 11:02pm Canberra – 10:04pm to 11:02pm Brisbane – 9:04pm to 10:02pm Melbourne – 10:04pm to 11:02pm Adelaide – 9:34pm to 10:32pm Hobart – 10:04pm to 11:02pm Darwin – 8:34pm to 9:32pm Perth – 7:04pm to 8:02pm If skies are clear, it will be one of the standout astronomy events of the year. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Weather experts are closely tracking several tropical lows forming north of Australia, with heavy rain expected across the north later this week. Two systems carry a moderate risk of developing into tropical cyclones. The lows are sitting within an active monsoon trough stretching across northern Australia. The setup is already delivering widespread showers and storms, especially along Queensland’s far north and tropical coast. The Bureau of Meteorology says the monsoon has entered an intense phase. Overnight, parts of north-east Queensland recorded between 100mm and 300mm of rain. Major flooding warnings are in place for the Herbert River, with minor flooding along the Daintree River. One system, known as 29U, is positioned over the Coral Sea. It has about a 25 per cent chance of strengthening into a cyclone from Wednesday and could approach the coast between Cairns and Mackay later this week. Another low, 31U, has formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria and is expected to track west across the Northern Territory. It carries a lower chance — around 10 to 15 per cent — of becoming a cyclone. Forecasters say even if the systems remain tropical lows, the combination of multiple systems and the monsoon trough will bring widespread rain and thunderstorms across northern Australia. According to Weatherzone, some models suggest heavy rain could extend into central and south-east Queensland later in the week. If cyclones do form, communities could face intense rainfall, flash flooding, damaging winds and rough coastal conditions. Australia has already recorded nine tropical cyclones this season, which runs from November to April. The next names on the list are Narelle, Oran, Peta and Riordan. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .