This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. Melbourne-based finance professional Janaka Dissanayake (ACMA, CGMA) has been recognised as Best New Broker of 2026 at the prestigious LMG Awards, one of the most anticipated and highly regarded events in Australia’s mortgage broking industry. The award is presented by Loan Market Group (LMG), the largest mortgage broker aggregation group in Australia and New Zealand, supporting a network of more than 6,000 brokers and advisers. With thousands of brokers competing nationwide, the Best New Broker award is considered one of the biggest and most competitive honours of the night, recognising exceptional performance, outstanding client service, and strong results among new entrants to the industry. Janaka brings 17 years of experience in the banking and finance sector in Australia. Before becoming a mortgage broker, he spent 15 years working with ANZ, one of Australia’s largest banks, where he gained deep expertise in lending, financial services, and customer relationship management. Drawing on this experience, Janaka transitioned into mortgage broking to provide more personalised lending advice and access to a wider panel of lenders. Based in Melbourne, his business operates as Loan Market in South Morang - VIC, with services available to clients across Australia. He works closely with first-home buyers, families upgrading their homes, refinancers, and property investors to structure loans tailored to their long-term financial goals. Winning the Best New Broker award highlights Janaka’s outstanding performance in a highly competitive field. Despite being relatively new to mortgage broking, his extensive banking background has enabled him to quickly build trust with clients and deliver well-structured lending solutions. Speaking about the achievement, Janaka said: "This recognition is a tremendous milestone. Having spent many years in banking, moving into mortgage broking allowed me to provide more tailored solutions for my clients. Winning one of the biggest awards of the night motivates me to continue helping people achieve their property dreams." Known for his client-first approach, Janaka carefully analyses lending options and negotiates with banks to secure competitive outcomes. His insight into the banking system also gives clients confidence in making informed financial decisions. Looking ahead, Janaka plans to continue growing his mortgage broking business while helping more Australians navigate the property market and build long-term financial security through property ownership. Janaka Dissanayake  Director l Principal Finance Broker M 0488 939 888  A  Suite 27, Level 1/22, 797 Plenty Road, South Morang, VIC 3752 E   janaka.dissanayake@loanmarket.com.au F https://www.facebook.com/loanmarketjd More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australians are being urged to avoid travelling to much of the Middle East as security concerns continue to escalate across the region. The Australian government has raised its travel warning for the United Arab Emirates to the highest level — “Do not travel.” The update from Smartraveller cites the rapidly changing security situation and ongoing military strikes across the region. Authorities also confirmed that dependants of Australian officials stationed in the UAE have been ordered to leave the country as a precaution. Penny Wong said more than 1,800 Australians have already returned home on 12 direct flights from the UAE in recent days. However, thousands remain across the Middle East. Travellers are being advised to leave the region as soon as commercial flights are available, as airspace closures and sudden cancellations continue to disrupt travel. Officials say border crossings by land may also be considered if it is safe to do so. Major airports such as Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport could experience sudden closures due to the ongoing conflict. Australia’s highest travel warning is now in place for several countries, including Iran, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar and Yemen. Other destinations such as Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia are under a “reconsider your need to travel” warning. Officials warn the region faces heightened risks from conflict, terrorism, protests and civil unrest. Public places such as transport hubs, markets, shopping centres and major events may be potential targets. Australians currently in the region are encouraged to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, follow local emergency instructions and keep family informed of their safety. 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. 2026 පෙබරවාරි මාසයේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ලැබුණු විදේශ රැකියා මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ (remittances) ශක්තිමත්ව පවතිමින් ඇමෙරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 729.0ක් ලෙස වාර්තා වී ඇති අතර, එය පසුගිය වසරේ එම මාසයේ ලැබුණු ඩොලර් මිලියන 548.1ට වඩා සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස ඉහළ අගයක් වේ. එහෙත් එය ජනවාරි මාසයේ වාර්තා වූ ඩොලර් මිලියන 751.1ට වඩා සුළු ලෙස පහළ අගයකි. පෙබරවාරි මාසයේදී විදේශගත ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්ගෙන් ලැබුණු මෙම ශක්තිමත් ප්‍රේෂණ හේතුවෙන්, 2026 වසරේ පළමු මාස දෙක තුළ සමස්ත මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ ප්‍රවාහය ඇමෙරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 1,480.1 දක්වා ඉහළ ගොස් ඇත. එය 2024 වසරේ එම කාලය සමඟ සැසඳීමේදී සියයට 32.0ක දැඩි වර්ධනයක් ලෙස දැක්වේ. 2022 දී ආර්ථික අර්බුදය උදාවීමෙන් පසු, විදේශ රැකියා මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ සහ සංචාරක ආදායම් ඉහළ යාම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දුර්වල වූ ආර්ථිකය ස්ථාවර කිරීමට වැදගත් දායකත්වයක් ලබා දී ඇත. ආර්ථික අර්බුදය හා ඒ සමඟ ඇති වූ දැඩි ජීවන වියදම් හේතුවෙන් විදේශ රැකියා සඳහා රට හැර ගිය පුද්ගලයින්ගේ සංඛ්‍යාව ඉහළ යාමත් සමඟ, මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ ආදායම ද ක්‍රමයෙන් වැඩි වීමට දායක වී ඇත. එමෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව 2021 සිට නිල විනිමය අනුපාතයට වඩා ඉහළ වාසි ලබා දෙමින් ක්‍රියාත්මක වූ අවිධිමත් මුදල් හුවමාරුකරුවන්ට එරෙහිව දැඩි පියවර ගෙන තිබීමත්, බැංකු මාර්ග ඔස්සේ ලැබෙන නිල මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ වැඩි වීමට හේතුවක් වී ඇත. විදේශ රැකියා මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ලැබෙන විදේශ විනිමය ආදායම් අතර විශාලතම එකක් වන අතර, 2025 වසරේදී රටට ලැබුණු මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ සමස්තය ඇමෙරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 8,076.2ක් ලෙස වාර්තා වී ඇත. එය සියයට 22.8ක ශක්තිමත් වර්ධනයක් ලෙස සැලකේ. කෙසේ වෙතත්, විදේශ විනිමය හිඟයක් හේතුවෙන් ඇති වූ ආර්ථික අර්බුදයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තවමත් ක්‍රමයෙන් පිටවෙමින් පවතින බැවින්, යම් අවදානම් තත්ත්වයන් තවදුරටත් පවතින බව විශේෂඥයින් පෙන්වා දෙති. ඇතැම් විශ්ලේෂකයන් පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ, ඇමෙරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය සහ ඉරානය අතර නවතම යුද ක්‍රියාමාර්ග හේතුවෙන් මැදපෙරදිග කලාපයේ පවතින ගැටුම් තත්ත්වය, විදේශ රැකියා මුදල් ප්‍රේෂණ ඇතුළු තවත් විදේශ ආදායම් මාර්ගවලටද බලපෑම් ඇති කළ හැකි බවයි. එය තේ ඇතුළු භාණ්ඩ අපනයන ආදායම්වලටද බලපාමින්, දුෂ්කර ලෙස ලබා ගත් බාහිර ආර්ථික ස්ථාවරතාවයට අවදානමක් ඇති කළ හැකි බවද ඔවුහු සඳහන් කරති. එමෙන්ම තෙල් මිල සහ අනෙකුත් භාණ්ඩ මිල තවදුරටත් ඉහළ යන්නේ නම්, එය ආනයන වියදම් ඉහළ යාමටත් උද්ධමනය වැඩි වීමටත් හේතු විය හැකි බවද විශ්ලේෂකයන් අවධාරණය කරති. සති අන්තය වනවිට පවතින තත්ත්වයන් අනුව මෙම අවස්ථාව තවමත් ඉතා වෙනස් විය හැකි තත්ත්වයක පවතී. මැදපෙරදිග ගැටුම් තත්ත්වය දිගටම පැවතේ නම්, එම කලාපයට විදේශ රැකියා සඳහා යන පුද්ගලයින්ගේ සංඛ්‍යාව අඩුවිය හැකි අතර, දැනට එම රටවල සේවය කරන ඇතැම් ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයින්ද නැවත රටට පැමිණීමට පෙළඹිය හැකි බව ද පෙන්වා දෙයි. 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. Police have rescued a schoolboy from a car trapped in fast-moving floodwaters in Queensland as severe weather continues to impact large parts of the state. The dramatic rescue happened on a causeway at Bargara near Bundaberg. Video shared online shows two officers wading through thigh-deep rushing water to reach the vehicle before pulling the boy through a window and carrying him to safety. Heavy rain linked to a tropical low has already battered northern Queensland and is now moving further south. The Bureau of Meteorology warns some areas could receive up to 160mm of rain within six hours. Flood alerts are in place across central Queensland, the Darling Downs and parts of the south-east coast. Much of the state remains on flood watch. Authorities also issued an emergency alert for communities near Policemans Creek, urging residents to move to higher ground due to an immediate risk to life and property. Flash-flood warnings have also been issued for areas including Chinchilla, Jandowae and Sapphire. In the south-east, rainfall totals could reach 250mm in 24 hours in already saturated catchments. Several roads have closed, including sections of the Burnett Highway near Booubyjan, while the State Emergency Service has responded to more than 100 calls for help. Other rescues were reported overnight. A woman was pulled from the roof of her car at Peachester after floodwaters lifted the vehicle and pushed it into trees. Authorities say the severe weather zone stretches from Rockhampton and Clermont in the north down through Gladstone, Bundaberg, Gympie and the Sunshine Coast. Rain is expected to continue through today and tonight before gradually easing as the weather system moves offshore. Flood warnings remain active for numerous rivers across the state. 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. 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 .