At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. China’s ambassador to Australia has issued a strong warning to the federal government: back off from trying to take back the Port of Darwin — or risk damaging diplomatic ties. Ambassador Xiao Qian, who recently visited the port, didn’t mince words. He labelled the Albanese government’s move to scrap the long-term lease held by a Chinese company as “ethically questionable.” To rewind a bit: the Chinese company Landbridge was granted a 99-year lease to run the Port of Darwin back in 2015. Now, the federal government — under both Labor and the Coalition — has been pushing to bring the port back under Australian control. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said they’ve been working “for some time” to reclaim the port. But Ambassador Xiao isn’t impressed. He says trying to cancel the lease now that the port is profitable isn’t fair. “It is ethically questionable to lease the port when it was unprofitable and then seek to reclaim it once it becomes profitable,” Xiao said in a statement. He went on to say that Landbridge shouldn’t be penalised for investing in the port, and that this kind of move could sour the broader relationship between Canberra and Beijing. “China and Australia are comprehensive strategic partners,” Xiao added. “We should be building mutual trust — not creating roadblocks.” Xiao also emphasised that the lease deal was totally legitimate at the time and pointed out that Landbridge had poured significant investment into the port’s development. What he’s really calling for now is a “fair, transparent, and predictable business environment” for Chinese companies operating in Australia — suggesting this push to take the port back sends the opposite message. So, what’s next? That’s still up in the air. But this is shaping up to be a real test of how Australia balances national interest, foreign investment, and its complicated relationship with China. 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. 2025 පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ සිට ආනයන ඉහළ යාමෙන් පසුව, වාහන අවසරයේ ප්‍රමාදයන් පිළිබඳ මෑත කාලීන ගැටළු විසඳීම සඳහා හම්බන්තොට ජාත්‍යන්තර වරාය සමූහය (HIPG) පුළුල් ක්‍රියාවලීන් මාලාවක් දියත් කර ඇත. මෑත මාස කිහිපය තුළ අලුත්ම සහ භාවිතා කළ වාහන 9,151 කට වඩා වරාය හරහා රටට ඇතුළු වී ඇති අතර, එමඟින් වරාය මෙහෙයුම් කෙරෙහි සැලකිය යුතු පීඩනයක් එල්ල වී තිබේ. ප්‍රතිචාර වශයෙන්, හම්බන්තොට ජාත්‍යන්තර වරාය සමූහය (HIPG) නිෂ්කාශන ක්‍රියාවලිය විධිමත් කිරීම අරමුණු කරගත් පද්ධති වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම් සහ ක්‍රියා පටිපාටි වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම් ක්‍රියාත්මක කර ඇත. ප්‍රධාන වැඩිදියුණු කිරීමක් වන්නේ අභ්‍යන්තර වරාය ගෙවීම් වලින් රේගු නිෂ්කාශනය විසන්ධි කිරීමයි, එමඟින් වරාය ආශ්‍රිත ගෙවීම් අවසන් වීමට පෙර පවා වරායෙන් මුදා හැරීමෙන් පසු වාහන රේගු පරීක්ෂණ බොක්ක වෙත යාමට ඉඩ සලසයි. මෙම සමාන්තර සැකසුම් මඟින් බාධක සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස අඩු කරනු ඇතැයි අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ. නව ක්‍රමය යටතේ, රේගු විධිවිධාන සපුරා ඇත්නම්, සම්පූර්ණ ලියකියවිලි ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමෙන් පැය 24ක් ඇතුළත වාහන නිෂ්කාශනය කළ හැකිය. මෙයට සහාය වීම සඳහා, හම්බන්තොට ජාත්‍යන්තර වරාය සමූහය (HIPG) එහි ලේඛන මධ්‍යස්ථානයේ (සතියේ දිනවල රාත්‍රී 8:30 දක්වා සහ සෙනසුරාදා දිනවල ප.ව. 1:00 දක්වා විවෘතව පවතී) සහ එහි පාරිභෝගික සේවා අංශයේ (සතියේ දිනවල ප.ව. 10:00 දක්වා විවෘතව පවතී) මෙහෙයුම් වේලාවන් දීර්ඝ කර ඇති අතර එමඟින් ආනයනකරුවන්ට සහ වාප්පු ලිපිකරුවන්ට ලිපි ලේඛන සහ ගෙවීම් සම්පූර්ණ කිරීමට වැඩි කාලයක් ලබා දී ඇත. මීට අමතරව, හම්බන්තොට ජාත්‍යන්තර වරාය සමූහය (HIPG) දින 10ක ප්‍රමාද ගාස්තු රහිත සහන කාලයක් ලබා දෙන අතර එමඟින් ආනයනකරුවන් මත මූල්‍ය පීඩනය ලිහිල් වේ. ගාස්තු අදාළ වන්නේ 11 වන දින සිට පමණි. 24/7 CCTV නිරීක්ෂණ සහ ඉහළ තීව්‍රතාවයකින් යුත් ආලෝකකරණයක් සහිත කැපවූ රේගු පරීක්ෂණ බොක්කක්, පිටාර ගැලීමේ ධාරිතාවක් සහිත ආරක්ෂිත වාහන අංගන සහ වරායේ සිට වෙළඳපොළට සුමට සංක්‍රමණ සඳහා පහසුකම් සැලසීම සඳහා වාහන සැකසුම් ස්ථාන ඇතුළුව සැලකිය යුතු යටිතල පහසුකම් ආයෝජන ද සිදු කර ඇත. වාප්පු ලිපිකරුවන් සහ රියදුරන් සඳහා මූලික පහසුකම් සහිත නම් කරන ලද රැඳී සිටින ප්‍රදේශ ස්ථාපිත කර ඇත. 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 massive 3000-kilometre-long rainband is stretching right across the country — and it’s bringing more rain to already saturated and remote areas, especially in outback Australia. Forecasters are warning that roads could be cut off later this week, just as communities are still trying to recover from the devastating floods in NSW. This huge rain system is on its way to northern WA, the Northern Territory, and parts of Queensland. According to Weatherzone, while the south is being hit with icy, wintry weather, the north and centre of the country are about to cop some serious rainfall thanks to this big north-west cloud band. Meanwhile, it’s chilly in the south-east. Adelaide has just seen its heaviest rain in nine months, and snow is expected to fall over the mountains. On top of that, strong winds that swept through South Australia have kicked up dust that’s now blanketing Sydney — so much so that the city’s air quality has been rated “very poor.” Not great news for anyone with asthma or allergies. It’s been a wild 24 hours weather-wise. Winds reached over 120km/h across parts of southern Australia. Mount Hotham in Victoria recorded gusts of 126km/h, Thredbo in NSW hit 115km/h, and both Mount Buller and Falls Creek saw winds up to 110km/h. Even Melbourne had a blowy day, with gusts between 60km/h and 80km/h. Rain totals have been pretty hefty too. Mount Lofty and the Adelaide Hills in South Australia picked up between 30mm and 50mm, which, for some drought-hit areas, was the wettest day since winter or early spring last year. Victoria saw a more modest 5mm to 15mm. As for today, NSW is still in the firing line. The Mid North Coast, northern Hunter, Northern Tablelands, Illawarra, Blue Mountains, and South Coast are all expecting damaging winds, with gusts possibly exceeding 90km/h. On top of that, areas already soaked from earlier floods — like the Hunter and northern NSW — have copped another 20mm to 40mm of rain, though the good news is that’s expected to clear by this afternoon. There are still wind and high tide warnings in place for South Australia and Victoria, but things should ease later today. And across the board, conditions should settle down overnight and into tomorrow. If you’re in an affected area, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) website for the latest updates and warnings. Stay safe, and maybe keep that umbrella handy a little longer. 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. ඊශ්‍රායලය, ඉන්දියාව, රුසියාව සහ යුක්රේනය වැනි රටවල්වලින් බොහෝ විදේශිකයන්, ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA) විසින් නියම කර ඇති මාර්ගෝපදේශ වලට විරුද්ධව නිකුත් කරන ලද වීසා භාවිතයෙන් ව්‍යාපාර මෙහෙයවීම හා රැකියාවල නිරත වීමේ සිද්ධි වර්ධනය වෙමින් පවතී. සංචාරක අමාත්‍යාංශයේ නිලධාරියෙකු සඳහන් කළේ, සංචාරකයන් ලෙස හෝ ආයෝජන හා හෝටල් කර්මාන්තයේ රැකියාවන් සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණෙන විදේශිකයන්ට වීසා නිකුත් කිරීම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය (SLTDA) විසින් දැඩි මාර්ගෝපදේශ පද්ධතියක් සකස් කර ඇති බවයි. සූපවේදීන්, කළමනාකරුවන් සහ චිකිත්සකයින් වැනි කාණ්ඩවල ආගන්තුක සත්කාර කර්මාන්තයේ සේවය කිරීම සඳහා විදේශීය ජාතිකයින්ට වීසා නිර්දේශ කරනු ලබන්නේ SLTDA විසිනි. "SLTDA විසින් නිර්දේශ කරනු ලබන පරිදි ආගමන බලධාරීන් විසින් ඔවුන්ට නේවාසික වීසා ලබා දෙනු ලැබේ. යම් ප්‍රමිතියකට වඩා ඉහළ හෝටල් සහ අවන්හල් සඳහා පමණක් විදේශීය ජාතිකයන් සේවයේ යෙදවීමට අවසර ඇත. එහෙත් කුඩා අවන්හල්වල පවා රැකියා කරන විදේශිකයන් අපට හමු වේ. ඔවුන්ගේ සේවායෝජකයින්, කලින් පැමිණි හොඳින් ස්ථාපිත විදේශිකයන්, SLTDA මාර්ගෝපදේශ මඟ හරිමින් ආගමන බලධාරීන්ගෙන් තම අනාගත සේවකයින් සඳහා වීසා ලබා ගන්නා බව ඔහු පැවසීය. තවද, විදේශීය ජාතිකයෙකු සංචාරක සංවර්ධන බද්ද ගෙවිය යුතු අතර, ඔහු හෝ ඇය කර්මාන්තයේ ආයෝජනය කිරීමට කැමති නම්, අනෙකුත් මාර්ගෝපදේශ සපුරාලීමට අමතරව IRA (ජාත්‍යන්තර නේවාසික ගිණුම) හි අවශ්‍ය තැන්පතුව පවත්වා ගත යුතුය. නිර්නාමිකව සිටීමට කැමති අමාත්‍යාංශ නිලධාරියා පැවසුවේ එවැනි විදේශීය ජාතිකයන් නීති රීති උල්ලංඝනය කරමින් වසරක නේවාසික වීසා බලපත්‍රයක් ලබාගෙන ඇති අවස්ථා ඇති බවයි. "සැක සහිත ආගමන නිලධාරීන්ගේ සහාය ඇතිව ඔවුන්ට එය කළ හැකිය. මෙය වසර ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ අඛණ්ඩව පවතී. දැන් අපි වීසා සැකසීමේදී දූෂණයට තුඩු දෙන හිඩැස් ඉවත් කිරීමට පියවර ගනිමින් සිටිමු," ඔහු පැවසීය. මෙම විදේශීය ජාතිකයන් සංචාරකයින් ලෙස පැමිණෙන ඔවුන්ගේ රටවල සෙසු ජාතිකයින්ට සේවා සපයයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිලාභ ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරමින් ඔවුන්ගේ විද්‍යුත් ගනුදෙනු ක්‍රම භාවිතා කරමින් ගෙවීම් සිදු කරනු ලබන බව ඔහු පැවසීය. අදහස් දැක්වීමක් සඳහා විමසූ විට, මහජන ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍ය ආනන්ද විජේපාල පැවසුවේ වීසා රෙගුලාසි උල්ලංඝනය කළහොත් විදේශිකයන් පිටුවහල් කරන බවයි. "මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් අපි පියවර වේගවත් කරමු," ඔහු පැවසීය. 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. Households across parts of Australia are about to see a jump in their electricity bills — almost 10% in some areas — and it’s got experts urging people to check if they’re getting the best deal. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) just released its latest “default market offer” (DMO), which is basically the maximum price power companies can charge customers who haven’t shopped around for a better plan. Think of it as a safety net — a kind of baseline offer to protect people from being overcharged. But it’s not necessarily the cheapest option out there. Starting July 1, 2025, the biggest increases are coming for households in New South Wales, where electricity prices on standing offer plans are set to rise by between 8.3% and 9.7%. In south-east Queensland, the hike is a bit smaller — between 0.5% and 3.7% — and for South Australia, it’s between 2.3% and 3.2%. Small businesses aren’t being spared either, with increases ranging from 0.8% to 8.5%, depending on the location. So, what’s causing this? According to AER chair Clare Savage, it mostly comes down to rising costs in wholesale electricity and the infrastructure (like transmission lines) that keeps power flowing. She admits the news isn’t great, especially when families are already feeling the pinch from other rising living costs. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to stick with the DMO rate. There are better deals out there — and energy retailers are required to help you find them. Savage recommends reaching out to your power company to ask if you’re on their best offer. “I strongly encourage all consumers to avoid staying on an old or uncompetitive plan,” she said. “Contact your retailer to see if you can get a better offer or shop around.” And here’s a handy tip: by law, your energy provider must tell you on your bill at least every 100 days if they can offer you a better deal. So, keep an eye on that front page — it could save you some serious cash. Don’t just take your current rate for granted. A quick call or a bit of research online could lead to a cheaper electricity bill. 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 ලංකාවට පනවා ඇති තීරුබදු සම්බන්ධයෙන් සාකච්ඡා මැයි 27 වන දින වොෂින්ටනයේදී ආරම්භ වීමට නියමිත බව රජයේ ආරංචි මාර්ග පවසයි. මෙම සාකච්ඡා දෙරට අතර ද්විපාර්ශ්වික වෙළඳ සබඳතා ශක්තිමත් කිරීම සඳහා අඛණ්ඩව දරන උත්සාහයන්ගේ කොටසක් වනු ඇත. මුදල් හා සැලසුම් නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය හර්ෂණ සූරියප්පෙරුම මහතාගේ නායකත්වයෙන් යුත් දූත පිරිසක් මෙම සාකච්ඡා සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නියෝජනය කරනු ඇත. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සහ ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය අතර අඛණ්ඩ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික මැදිහත්වීම සහ ආර්ථික සංවාදය පිළිබිඹු කරමින් මෙය දෙවන වටයේ සාකච්ඡා සනිටුහන් කරයි. ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපද රජය වෙනුවෙන් ජාත්‍යන්තර වෙළඳ ප්‍රතිපත්ති සහ සාකච්ඡා අධීක්ෂණය කරන එක්සත් ජනපද වෙළඳ නියෝජිත කාර්යාලයේ (USTR) ආරාධනයෙන් මෙම සාකච්ඡා පැවැත්වේ. ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය අපනයන තීරුබදු පැනවූ රටවල් ගණනින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ද එකකි. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. If you're catching a train or the metro in Sydney today, you won’t need to tap on — it’s a fare-free day across the network. Premier Chris Minns made the announcement after what can only be described as a chaotic week for Sydney’s train system. A major power failure last Monday caused mass cancellations, delays, and frustration for thousands of commuters. Here’s what happened:A part of a train’s rooftop power connector got tangled in overhead wires near Homebush around 2:30pm, bringing chaos to about 80% of the network. Trains didn’t fully return to normal until Wednesday morning, and then the heavy rain kicked in, making things even worse. “It’s the least we could do,” Minns said, announcing today’s free travel. What’s free and what’s not? Free: All Sydney train and metro services Normal fares still apply: Buses, ferries, and light rail So if you’re commuting by train today, go ahead and leave your Opal card in your pocket. One example of last week's chaos? Lewisham Station in the Inner West was temporarily skipped by services because its underground passage was flooded. What's next? Minns also announced plans for an independent review into the city’s transport system. The goal? To take a hard look at: Maintenance backlogs Service punctuality How well commuters are kept informed during disruptions After last week’s train mess, today’s free rides are a small but welcome gesture for Sydney commuters. If you’ve got a train to catch, enjoy the free trip — you’ve earned it. 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 ලංකාව තුළ නව COVID-19 ප්‍රභේදයක් පැතිරීමේ තර්ජනයක් නොමැති බව සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය මහජනතාවට සහතික කර තිබේ. සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් වෛද්‍ය අනිල් ජාසිංහ මහතාට අනුව, වසංගත රෝග විද්‍යා ඒකකයේ දත්ත මත පදනම්ව දේශීය වශයෙන් නව ප්‍රභේදයක් අනාවරණය වී නොමැත. “තෝරාගත් රෝහල් පුරා නිරීක්ෂණ සහ පරීක්ෂණ අඛණ්ඩව සිදුවෙමින් පවතින අතර, COVID-19 රෝගීන්ගේ සැලකිය යුතු වැඩිවීමක් දක්නට නොලැබේ,” අමාත්‍යාංශය වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය. මෑත කාලීන මාධ්‍ය වාර්තා මගින් සමහර ආසියානු රටවල ආසාදන වැඩිවීමක් දක්නට ලැබුණි, නමුත් වෛද්‍ය ජාසිංහ පැහැදිලි කළේ මෙය ප්‍රතිශක්තිය අඩුවීම සහ වෙනත් සාධක නිසා විය හැකි බවත්, අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම නව ප්‍රභේදයක් නොවන බවත්ය. විභව පැතිරීම් කලින් හඳුනා ගැනීම සඳහා රසායනාගාර සහ ශ්වසන නිරීක්ෂණ පද්ධති ක්‍රියාකාරීව ක්‍රියාත්මක වන බව අමාත්‍යාංශය තහවුරු කළේය. “ඉන්ෆ්ලුවෙන්සා හෝ COVID-19 වැනි ශ්වසන රෝගවල සුළු වැඩිවීමක් වරින් වර සිදුවිය හැකි වුවද, මහජනතාවට සමස්ත අවදානම අඩු මට්ටමක පවතී,” අමාත්‍යාංශය තවදුරටත් පැවසීය. 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 is being hit hard by a wave of respiratory illnesses, and the flu is leading the charge. In fact, we’ve seen record-breaking inter-seasonal flu numbers since the start of the year — way before the typical winter peak. But surprisingly, the flu still flies under the radar. “It’s the underdog of infectious diseases,” says Prof Julie Leask from the University of Sydney.“People don’t take it seriously enough, and that’s a big reason why vaccination rates remain low.” How many cases are we talking about? As of this week, Australia has recorded 83,402 flu cases in 2025 — that’s over 10,000 more than this time last year. And it’s not just the flu circulating. So far this year, we’ve also seen: 67,141 COVID-19 cases 52,611 cases of RSV (a virus that targets the lungs, especially in young kids and older adults) According to infectious diseases expert Prof Paul Griffin from the University of Queensland, this is the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in Australia outside of the winter months. “Flu numbers in January, February, March, and April this year are well above anything we’ve seen in the past five years,” Griffin says. What does this mean for the winter flu season? That’s the big question — and the answer isn’t clear yet. “We don’t know exactly what the rest of the season will look like,” Griffin says.“But we already know this surge, combined with low vaccination rates, means the flu is having a bigger impact than it should.” So, how are the vaccination rates looking? In short: not great. Despite the clear risk, flu shot uptake remains low across all age groups, especially among kids. Here’s a quick look at the numbers: Only 11.7% of children aged 6 months to 5 years have been vaccinated — and they’re among the most vulnerable. Just 7.6% of kids aged 5–15 have had the jab. Among adults: 12.8% of 15–50 year olds 21.2% of 50–65 year olds Only 46.9% of those over 65 (despite being a high-risk group) What can you do to protect yourself? Griffin says it loud and clear: get vaccinated. “With flu numbers this high, vaccination is our best defence — and uptake is nowhere near where it needs to be.” Leask adds that the key is to build the habit. People who get vaccinated one year are much more likely to continue the habit every year after that. She says healthcare workers can play a big role by starting those conversations early. And beyond the shot? Griffin recommends: Good hand hygiene Using air purifiers Wearing a mask, especially if you’re high-risk or in crowded indoor spaces This year’s flu season is off to a roaring (and early) start. The best thing you can do? Book that flu shot, encourage your loved ones to do the same, and take those simple extra steps to stay healthy. 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. In a dramatic and controversial move, the Trump administration has revoked Harvard University's ability to enrol international students, sparking global concern — including from Australia. Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., Kevin Rudd, said the embassy is actively working with the U.S. government to understand the decision and how it will affect Australians currently studying at Harvard. “We’re seeking further details on the decision,” Rudd said. At the heart of the controversy is a sudden announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which claimed that Harvard had created an "unsafe campus environment" and allowed what they described as “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to harass Jewish students. The department also accused the university of collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party, saying Harvard had trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024. Based on these accusations, the Trump administration stripped Harvard of its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification — a key designation that allows international students to obtain visas to study in the U.S. What does this mean?Harvard can no longer enrol any new foreign students, and the thousands who are already enrolled must either transfer to another school or leave the country. That includes about 116 Australian students currently studying across various Harvard programs. Harvard Calls the Move 'Unlawful' Harvard isn’t taking this quietly. In a strong statement, the university called the decision “unlawful”  and said it’s working urgently to provide guidance and support to its international student community. “This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission,” the university said. The situation escalated after a letter in April from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded Harvard hand over information on foreign students allegedly involved in campus protests or “violent activity.” According to her, Harvard’s failure to comply led to the sanctions. In her latest communication, Noem said Harvard could reverse the decision — but only if the school provides a trove of records within 72 hours. That includes surveillance footage, audio, and any records of international students allegedly involved in protests or what the administration considers “dangerous” conduct. “This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” Noem said. What's Next? The decision has stunned the academic world and could have wide-reaching implications for higher education in the U.S. Harvard alone enrols nearly 6,800 international students — more than a quarter of its entire student body — from over 100 countries. For Australia, the focus now is on supporting the 100+ students caught in the crossfire and navigating what this means for future enrolments. Stay tuned — this story is developing fast, and with Harvard expected to challenge the decision, things could change quickly. 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. වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 450 ක් පමණ වටිනා ණයවර ලිපි (LC) දැනටමත් විවෘත කර ඇති බව මහ බැංකු අධිපති ආචාර්ය නන්දලාල් වීරසිංහ මහතා පවසයි. බ්‍රහස්පතින්දා මහ බැංකුවේ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී ඔහු ප්‍රකාශ කළේ ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 200 ක් පමණ වටිනා වාහන දැනටමත් රටට ආනයනය කර ඇති බවයි. 2025 දී වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 1 ක් දක්වා වෙන් කිරීමට අපේක්ෂා කරන බව රජය නිවේදනය කර තිබේ. 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. If you’re in Sydney today, especially in the south-west, brace yourself – the weather is wreaking havoc across the city. Non-stop rain overnight has led to flash flooding, and now authorities are warning residents in low-lying areas to prepare for possible evacuations. Some parts of the city have been absolutely drenched: Sydney Olympic Park and North Parramatta both recorded 118mm of rain Hornsby saw 116mm, and Auburn wasn’t far behind at 115mm Even the city’s core got hit – Observatory Park saw 72mm and Sydney Airport got 60mm And that rain is now turning into a serious flood risk. Residents along Cobbitty Road and Cut Hill Road in Cobbitty have been told to get ready to evacuate. The Nepean River is rising, and emergency services are warning people not to wait until it’s too late. "If you remain in the area, you may become trapped without power, water, and other essential services," the NSW SES  said."It may be too dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you." Other areas on alert include: Cooks River at Tempe Bridge Georges River at Milperra and Liverpool Hawkesbury River at Windsor and North Richmond And Gronos Point, where people are being told to prepare to isolate due to rising water It’s not just homes being affected — travel across Sydney is a mess. At Sydney Airport: Runways were temporarily shut down this morning because of the weather, and now delays and cancellations are hitting flights.Qantas and Virgin services are among those impacted, and flights into Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, and Port Macquarie are also disrupted. Port Macquarie Airport is completely shut down. If you’re flying today? Check with your airline. Things are changing quickly. On the train lines: Floodwaters shut down parts of the network earlier today.The North Shore Line between Central and Town Hall was impacted, but it’s now back up and running.There were major delays on the Leppington, Liverpool, Inner West, and Airport & South lines due to flooding near Bardwell Park and Bexley North, but those waters are starting to recede and things are slowly returning to normal. Still facing issues? The Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line is still delayed, thanks to flooding near Oatley and a broken-down train at Bondi Junction. “We’ll have engineers doing checks in the next hour or two,” said Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland . “We’re hoping to reopen that line later today.” The Central Coast & Newcastle Line and the Hunter Line are also affected — with flooding near Cockle Creek and Sandgate causing disruptions. And if you were planning to head out for Vivid Sydney tonight? Officials are asking people to consider postponing their trip. “Services later this evening may still be disrupted,” said Howard Collins from Transport for NSW. “If you can, maybe plan to visit on a different night.” Oh, and one more wild scene — in Parramatta, the wharf is starting to flood, and water is rising right up to the opal gates. So if you’re in Sydney today — stay dry, stay safe, and keep an eye on updates. This storm’s not done with us yet. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .