This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka, your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans in Australia and beyond. Rising Sri Lankan squash talent Sithumli Mendis has delivered a stellar performance on the international stage, securing two prestigious podium finishes during her April 2026 tour in Melbourne, Australia. Representing Sri Lanka, the young athlete captured third-place finishes in the Girls' Under-17 category at both the Australian Junior Open and the Oceania Junior Open Squash Championships, cementing her status as a formidable competitor in the region. Competing against a highly competitive 32-player draw at the Australian Junior Open, Mendis showcased her resilience and tactical prowess. Her campaign opened with a thrilling five-set victory over New Zealand’s Maebh Manning, followed by a commanding straight-sets win against Australia’s Chelsea Paule. In a major tournament upset, she then dispatched top seed Olivia van Zon in the quarterfinals. Mendis ultimately sealed the Second Runner-Up position with a decisive victory over New Caledonia’s Agathe Buchon-Laynaud. Mendis carried her exceptional momentum into the 2026 Oceania Junior Championships, held from April 17th to 19th. Navigating a massive tournament field of over 400 participants, she consistently outperformed heavily favored opponents. Her remarkable run featured high-profile victories over the reigning Australian Junior Open U17 champion, Isabella Wilcox, and Australia’s 3/4 seed, Kayla Clarke. After advancing to the semifinals, Mendis secured her second bronze of the tour by overcoming Australia’s No. 2 ranked player, Ruby Foo, in the third-place playoff. Sri Lanka Squash commended Mendis for her outstanding achievements. Securing two international podium finishes in a single, highly competitive overseas tour is a rare feat that underscores her talent, determination, and commitment to athletic excellence. As she continues to develop her game and conquer higher-seeded opponents, Sithumli Mendis is rapidly establishing herself as a promising ambassador for Sri Lankan sports on the global stage, bringing immense pride to her country. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. The ANZAC Day long weekend brings commemorations and strict trading rules that vary by state. Essential services like pharmacies, petrol stations and cafes mostly stay open. But many large retailers face limits, especially on April 25. Here’s a simple breakdown: Saturday, April 25 – ANZAC Day NSW Most big retailers must stay closed all day. Small shops and essentials (cafes, chemists, petrol stations, florists) can open. Victoria Shops must stay closed until 1pm. Smaller and essential stores can trade earlier. Tasmania Non-exempt stores cannot open before 12:30pm. Fines may apply for breaches. Staff must agree in writing to work. Queensland Major retailers are closed all day. Small and essential businesses can open from 1pm. Alcohol sales are restricted before 1pm unless served with meals. South Australia Rules depend on location. Some large stores (like in Adelaide CBD) can open from 12pm to 5pm. Small shops and essentials can trade freely. ACT & Northern Territory No major trading restrictions. Businesses can operate as usual (standard alcohol rules still apply in NT). Western Australia Large retailers must stay closed unless specially approved. Small and essential shops can open as normal. Monday, April 27 (Public Holiday in some states) NSW, WA, ACT No trading restrictions. Most businesses can open normally. Some may reduce hours. Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, SA, NT No public holiday. Business resumes as usual. Expect limited shopping options on ANZAC Day morning, especially at major stores. Smaller businesses and essential services are your best bet if you need something. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Sri Lankan community informed with timely updates. ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු රජයට ගෙවිය යුතු ගෙවීම් සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිදුවන අක්‍රමිකතා පිළිබඳව තමන් දන්නා බව කොළඹ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු මහ කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලය X හි පළ කරන ලද නිවේදනයක දැක්වේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකා බලධාරීන් මේ වන විට මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් විමර්ශනය කරමින් සිටින බවත්, විමර්ශනයට සහාය වන ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු නිලධාරීන් සමඟ සම්බන්ධීකරණයෙන් කටයුතු කරන බවත් මහ කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලය පැවසීය. පරීක්ෂණ දිගටම කරගෙන යන විට ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ණය තිරසාරභාවයට නැවත පැමිණීමට සහාය වීමට කැපවී සිටින බව නිවේදනයේ තවදුරටත් සඳහන් වේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මුදල් අමාත්‍යාංශය පවසා ඇත්තේ අනවසර ප්‍රවේශයක් ලබාගෙන විදේශ මුදල් ගෙවීමක් සම්බන්ධ සොරකමක් සිදු කළ සයිබර් හැකර්වරුන් විසින් විදේශ සම්පත් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ පරිගණක පද්ධතිය හැක් කර ඇති බවයි. මුදල්, සැලසුම් සහ ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශය බදාදා පැවසුවේ සොරකම සම්බන්ධයෙන් නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ආයතන සහ අනෙකුත් අදාළ ආයතන වෙත දැනටමත් පැමිණිලි කර ඇති බවයි. Source : Daily Mirror More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. A developing El Niño in the Pacific Ocean could bring warmer and drier conditions to much of Australia in the months ahead. Forecasters say this event has the potential to become a “super” El Niño, driven by a large pool of unusually warm water sitting deep below the central Pacific. Some areas are already recording temperatures more than 6°C above normal beneath the surface. If this warm water rises, it could trigger a full El Niño event. Global forecasting models also support an increased chance of it forming later this year. Typically, El Niño leads to less rainfall and higher temperatures across eastern Australia during winter and spring. Clearer skies can mean cooler mornings, but overall conditions tend to be drier. These patterns can increase evaporation and raise the risk of drought in some regions. Alpine areas may also see reduced snowfall, shortening the ski season. However, experts caution that impacts are not guaranteed. Even strong El Niño events don’t always bring severe conditions, while weaker ones can still have significant effects. Source : 9 News 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. ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු ණයක් ලෙස ගෙවන ලද ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 2.5 කට (ආසන්න වශයෙන් රු. මිලියන 800) වැඩි මුදලක් අතුරුදහන් වීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් විමර්ශනය කිරීම සඳහා මුදල්, සැලසුම් සහ ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් පස් දෙනෙකුගෙන් යුත් තාක්ෂණික කමිටුවක් පත් කර ඇත. අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද නිවේදනයකට අනුව, කමිටුව භාණ්ඩාගාරයේ නියෝජ්‍ය ලේකම්වරුන් දෙදෙනෙකුගෙන් සමන්විත වන අතර ඒ. එන්. හපුගල සහ එස්. එස්. මුදලිගේ සම සභාපතිත්වය දරනු ඇත. ජාතික සැලසුම් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් කේ. ටී. අයි. ප්‍රේමරත්න, නීති කටයුතු දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අතිරේක අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් ඒ. කේ. ඩී. ඩී. අරන්දර සහ තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ කළමනාකරණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සහකාර අධ්‍යක්ෂ ඊ. ඩී. ශිරන්ත යන අය අනෙකුත් සාමාජිකයින් වේ. ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවට ප්‍රේෂණය කරන ලද අරමුදල් අතුරුදහන් වීමට හේතු විය හැකි විද්‍යුත් තැපෑල හරහා ලැබුණු වංචනික ගෙවීම් උපදෙස් පිළිබඳ අවදානම විමර්ශනය කිරීම කමිටුවට පැවරී ඇති බව අමාත්‍යාංශය පැවසීය. සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් පුළුල් පරීක්ෂණයක් පවත්වා එහි වාර්තාව හැකි ඉක්මනින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලෙස කමිටුවට උපදෙස් දී ඇත. Source : Daily Mirror More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.

At AusNewsLanka, we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Westpac has lifted its fixed home loan rates, adding pressure on borrowers amid rising global uncertainty. The bank increased fixed rates by 0.15 percentage points for both owner-occupiers and investors. The change applies to all new fixed loans and customers switching from variable to fixed rates from today. Westpac said the move reflects higher funding costs and keeps its rates in line with market conditions. Its lowest fixed rate now sits at 6.39%. The update follows a recent warning from the bank that interest rates could climb further, potentially reaching their highest level in nearly two decades by 2026. According to Westpac’s outlook, borrowers may face up to three more rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Rates have already risen from 3.60% at the end of 2025 to 4.15% after two increases this year. The revised forecast is linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which are expected to disrupt fuel supply and slow recovery. Westpac now anticipates a longer period of economic pressure than previously expected. Source : 9 News 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 taken another step to strengthen its artificial intelligence sector through a new partnership under the National AI Plan. This marks the second agreement aimed at boosting the country’s AI capability while promoting safe and responsible innovation. The plan outlines the government’s goal to unlock AI opportunities, share the benefits across the economy, and protect the public. A key focus is working closely with leading technology companies to build skills, attract investment, and improve safety standards. These partnerships are non-binding but set clear expectations aligned with Australia’s national interests. They also signal a long-term commitment to collaborate with industry leaders and grow the local AI ecosystem. As part of this effort, the government is working with Microsoft, a major player in cloud computing and AI tools widely used across Australia. In 2023, Microsoft announced a $5 billion investment to expand its data centre network in Australia, increasing capacity from 20 to 29 sites. The company has also supported digital skills development through initiatives like the Datacentre Academy. Under the agreement, Microsoft plans to: Continue investing in AI and cloud infrastructure in Australia Align with government expectations for data centres and AI systems Help plan future infrastructure needs Work with the government on AI safety and workforce skills Support public sector AI initiatives and explore further collaboration The government says it remains open to similar partnerships with other global tech leaders to strengthen Australia’s position as a trusted hub for AI innovation. Source : Australian Government 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. Rising fuel prices are pushing up the cost of lawn care across Australia, with households now spending around $960 a year to keep their yards in shape. New research from Money.com.au shows the average cost sits at about $80 per month, covering mowing, fuel, and lawn care products. Younger Australians are feeling the biggest impact. Millennials spend the most at roughly $120 a month, followed by Gen Z at $100. Gen X households average about $70, while Baby Boomers spend closer to $40. Finance expert Sean Callery says the costs can quickly build up, especially with added expenses like equipment upkeep and occasional professional services. He suggests simple ways to cut costs, such as mowing less often, handling basic tasks yourself, maintaining tools properly, and buying supplies during discounts. With fuel prices and interest rates both on the rise, many households are facing increased pressure on everyday expenses. Source : Realestate.com 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. 2026 වෙසක් උත්සවය සඳහා වන නිල වැඩසටහන රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන, පළාත් සභා සහ පළාත් පාලන අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත. ඒ අනුව, අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලය විසින් මැයි 27 සිට ජුනි 2 දක්වා වෙසක් සතිය ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත. රට පුරා වෙසක් උත්සවය උත්කර්ෂවත් ලෙස සැමරීමට කටයුතු සූදානම් කරමින් පවතින බව අමාත්‍යාංශය පැවසීය. සමස්ත ලංකා ශාසනාරක්ෂක මණ්ඩලයේ මඟ පෙන්වීම යටතේ, බුද්ධශාසන, ආගමික හා සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ බෞද්ධ කටයුතු දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව සමඟ සහයෝගයෙන් මෙම වැඩසටහන ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරේ. Source : Daily Mirror 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 burst of unusual pre-winter warmth is set to sweep across southern Australia this week. Cities including Adelaide, Melbourne, and Hobart will see several days of temperatures above 20°C leading into the weekend. Adelaide is expected to peak between 27–28°C through to Sunday before cooling. Melbourne will remain slightly milder, with temperatures in the mid-20s, while Hobart will also enjoy warmer conditions, reaching the low to mid-20s until early next week. These readings are well above the usual averages for this time of year, according to Weatherzone. The warm spell is being driven by northerly winds circulating around a high-pressure system, pushing heat from inland Australia toward the south. Dry weather is also expected to continue across these regions for the rest of the week. Source : 9 News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

Your perfect day deserves the perfect setting From intimate moments to grand events, we create unforgettable experiences tailored just for you. For reservations, call: 0449 999 982  9-11 Miles Street, Mulgrave VIC 3170   www.epicurex.com.au  120 Free Parking Spaces Available

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Supermarket giant Woolworths is set to defend its pricing practices in court, rejecting claims it misled shoppers with fake discounts. The case, brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, alleges both Woolworths and Coles briefly raised prices on everyday items before promoting them as discounted. Regulators say some “discounted” prices were equal to or even higher than original shelf prices. The matter is now before the Federal Court of Australia, which will deliver a ruling after hearing arguments from both retailers. The ACCC claims Woolworths’ conduct involved hundreds of products over nearly two years, affecting millions of purchases. However, the court will focus on a smaller group of key items, including popular snacks and grocery staples. Woolworths denies any wrongdoing. The company says it acted in good faith during a period of high inflation following COVID-19 and worked with suppliers to keep prices down through its “Prices Dropped” program. The watchdog argues the alleged practices made it harder for consumers to compare prices and make informed choices. The case comes as supermarkets face growing scrutiny over pricing and profits, especially with fresh inflation pressures linked to rising global fuel costs. Coles and Woolworths together control around two-thirds of Australia’s grocery market, keeping the spotlight firmly on how prices are set. Source : 9News Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .