This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. දේශපාලන බලය ලබාගැනීම සඳහා මෙතෙක් සිදු වූ දැවැන්තම ඛේදවාචකය සිදුවූයේ 2019 පාස්කු ඉරිදා බව ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා පවසයි. පොළොන්නරුවේ පැවති මැතිවරණ රැලියක් අමතමින් ඔහු කියා සිටියේ 2019 පාස්කු ඉරිදා තමයි බලය ඇල්ලීමට යොදාගත් ලොකුම ඛේදවාචකය සිදු වුණේ. පසුගිය වසර පහ හමාරක කාලය තුළ පාස්කු ඉරිදා ප්‍රහාරය සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිදුකෙරුණු පරීක්ෂණ පිටුපස සැබෑ මහ මොළකරුවන් වසන් කිරීම අරමුණ වූ බවද ජනාධිපතිවරයා වැඩිදුරටත් කියා සිටියේය. "2019 දී බලයට පත් වූ රජයට සහ ඉන් පසුව ඇති වූ රජයට - සැබෑ අපරාධකරුවන් නීතිය හමුවට ගෙන ඒමට කිසිදු අදහසක් නොතිබුණි," ඔහු පැවසීය. බලයට පත්වී මාස හයක් ඇතුළත වත්මන් එන්පීපී රජය පාස්කු ඉරිදා ප්‍රහාරයෙන් විපතට පත් වූවන්ට වගවීම සහ යුක්තිය සහතික කිරීම සඳහා පියවරෙන් පියවර ගෙන ඇති බව ඔහු පැවසීය. 2019 පාස්කු ඉරිදා ප්‍රහාරය සම්බන්ධයෙන් විමර්ශනය කරන ජනාධිපති කොමිසමේ වාර්තාව වැඩිදුර විමර්ශන සඳහා අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට (CID) නිල වශයෙන් භාර දී ඇත. මහජන ආරක්‍ෂාව පිළිබඳ අමාත්‍ය ආනන්ද විජේපාල මහතාට අනුව ජනාධිපති දිසානායක මහතාගේ නියෝගයකට අනුව ජනාධිපති ලේකම්වරයා විසින් වාර්තාව භාරදී 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. The Lyrid meteor shower will present a night skywatching show from April 17 to April 26. If you’re up for a late-night adventure (and maybe a little chilly stargazing), the Lyrid meteor shower  is about to hit its peak – and you might  just catch a shooting star or two. Or even 20. What is the Lyrid meteor shower? The Lyrids  are one of the oldest known meteor showers – we’re talking 2700 years  of people watching them light up the sky. They happen every April as Earth drifts through the dusty trail left behind by Comet Thatcher  (no relation to Margaret – this one’s cosmic) When those bits of space debris hit our atmosphere at a screaming 47km per second, they burn up and create quick, bright streaks across the sky. Occasionally, you’ll see an extra-bright one called a fireball . Pretty cool, right? When can I see it? Tonight and tomorrow night  (that’s April 21 and 22) are peak times for us here in Australia. Expect 10 to 20 meteors an hour , but only if the sky cooperates. Your best bet? Head out in the very early hours of the morning  – we’re talking 3am to 5am kind of vibes. Yep, it’s an effort. But hey, stardust doesn’t wait for anyone. How to get the best view Here’s the checklist: Get as far away from city lights  as possible. Light pollution is the enemy. Look north to north-east , just above the horizon. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust  to the dark – no phones, no flashlights! Bring a blanket or a comfy chair , dress warm, and just relax and scan the sky. And yes, make a wish when you see one – it’s basically mandatory No telescope required  – your eyes are all you need. Miss it? No worries. If clouds ruin the party or sleep wins the battle, there’s another chance coming up: the Eta Aquarids  will peak around May 6 and 7 . More shooting stars, more wishes. So grab a mate, set your alarm, and look up – the universe is showing off again. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

We’re talking a cyclone up north, big surf in the east, and a hot-to-cool flip in the south. But don’t stress — there’s still plenty of nice weather in the mix. Let’s break it down state by state, region by region. Warm, sunny start for the south-east... then a cool change If you’re in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney or Hobart , the weekend kicks off hot .We’re talking summer-style heat with temps in the high 20s and even low 30s. Adelaide was pushing 34°C midweek, and Melbourne hit 31°C — not bad for April! That warmth sticks around for Friday and Saturday , but by Sunday , a cool change starts sweeping in across SA and VIC. Sydney  gets to enjoy one more warm day though, with a steamy 29°C  forecast — just shy of the city’s Easter Sunday record. Then, boom — by Easter Monday , much cooler weather is in full swing across the south-east, with temps dropping up to 10 degrees. So don’t put those jackets away just yet. Cyclone up north — but it’s moving away... sort of Cyclone Errol  has been spinning around off the northwest WA coast. It’s a category 4  now, but the forecast says it’ll weaken back to a category 2  or lower before it reaches land. The tricky part? It’s expected to turn around and head back toward the coast  by Friday. Most populated towns like Broome and Derby  should be out of the worst of it, but areas like Kuri Bay, Cockatoo Island, and Beagle Bay  could cop heavy rain and possible localised flooding — especially on Good Friday . As always with cyclones, the track can shift, so locals should keep an eye on the BOM updates. Tropical low action in the Top End & Cape York Another tropical low is brewing — this one could bring enhanced rainfall  to parts of the eastern Top End  and western Cape York Peninsula  over the weekend. Exact timing and impact is still a bit murky, but showers and possible storms are on the cards for Saturday and Sunday . Darwin  looks mostly unaffected — sticking with its classic 33°C and humid with a chance of showers  forecast. Same for Cairns , sitting around 30°C with the odd shower  across the weekend. Big swell alert for the east coast Surfers, get ready — but play it safe.Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tam  is sending powerful swell  toward the NSW and southern Queensland coasts , with waves up to 5 metres  from Thursday through Saturday . Great news if you’re chasing barrels, but the BOM’s urging caution, especially if you're planning time on or near the water. These waves are big and potentially dangerous. Cooler and wetter in southern WA Western Australia  will feel that Easter chill  first.A cold front  is sliding in Thursday night into Friday , bringing cooler temps, showers , and maybe even storms  in the southern interior. That cool change will then head east, hitting SA and VIC by Sunday, and dropping temperatures right through to Monday . Sadly, if you were hoping for solid rain in dry parts of SA and western VIC , the system will probably only bring patchy showers  — some areas might get lucky, others not so much. Overall Easter wrap-up? Friday & Saturday : Warm, sunny for most, especially in the south-east. Sunday : Heat hangs on in Sydney & QLD; cool change moving into SA, VIC & TAS. Monday : Cooler weather dominates the southern half of the country. North : Wet weather possible thanks to cyclones/tropical lows. East Coast : Large swell from ex-cyclone Tam — caution at the beach. So, whether you’re planning a beach trip, family BBQ, or road trip, pack a bit of everything — sunscreen, jumper, umbrella — and keep an eye on local forecasts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he won’t be rattled by a tense run-in with far-right activists at his hotel — and he’s not planning on ducking out of public appearances during the election campaign either. A video doing the rounds on alt-right social media yesterday shows two men confronting Albanese in the lobby of his Melbourne hotel, demanding answers about immigration and housing. In the clip, one of them interrupts the PM while he’s chatting with a staff member and goes straight in:“There are hundreds of thousands of Australians who can't afford housing... when are you going to put Australians first?” A staffer steps in and asks for the man’s name — but moments later, security moves in and physically guides him away. A second man quickly joins in, yelling after the PM:"Albo, how do you feel about the rise in immigration, mate? Do you think it's fair?" The video was shared by a group calling themselves the Melbourne Freedom Rally , who say they were behind the stunt. What’s raising eyebrows, though, is how the protesters even knew which hotel the prime minister was staying at — that kind of info is usually kept tightly under wraps for security reasons. Albanese brushed off questions about that part.“I’ve got faith in the AFP,” he said today. “As I’ve said before, I’m not going to get into discussions about security — that’s just not helpful.” As for whether this will change how he campaigns? Nope. “I’ve always made an effort to get out and speak with people,” he said. “I walked around the Adelaide mall the other day — it was great. I’ve done the same in Perth. I go into uncontrolled environments. I think that’s really important.” So despite the drama, Albo’s keeping calm and carrying on.

ඉදිරි පළාත් පාලන මැතිවරණයට අදාළ නිල ඡන්ද දැන්වීම් පත්‍රිකා අද (අප්‍රේල් 16) තැපැල් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව වෙත භාරදීමට නියමිත බව තැපැල්පති රුවන් සත්කුමාර මහතා පවසයි. නිල ඡන්ද දැන්වීම් පත්‍රිකා නිවෙස් වෙත බෙදා හැරීමේ විශේෂ දිනයක් ලෙස අප්‍රේල් 20 වැනිදා නම් කර ඇති බව ඔහු ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. "නිල ඡන්ද දැන්වීම් පත්‍රිකා අද භාරදීමට නියමිත අතර දිස්ත්‍රික් මට්ටමින් ඒවා ලැබීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වෙමු. සෑම නිවසකටම නිල ඡන්ද කාඩ්පත් බෙදා හැරීමට අප්‍රේල් 29 දක්වා කාලය තිබේ," ඔහු පැවසීය. "මේ අතර මෙම ලිපි ලේඛනවල ඇති වැදගත්කම සැලකිල්ලට ගනිමින් අප්‍රේල් 20 විශේෂ බෙදාහැරීමේ දිනයක් ලෙස නම් කර ඇත. මේවා නිල ලේඛන බැවින් ඒවා ලැබීමෙන් පසු අත්සන් කළ යුතුය. එබැවින් ඒවා භාරගෙන අත්සන් කිරීමට නිවසට පැමිණ සිටින ලෙස කාරුණිකව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු." "අප්‍රේල් 29 දිනට පෙර ලබාදිය නොහැකි ඕනෑම ඡන්ද පත්‍රිකා සඳහා ළඟම ඇති තැපැල් කාර්යාලයට ගොස් අනන්‍යතාවය තහවුරු කර ගෙන ලේඛන ලබා ගැනීමෙන් ඒවා ලබා ගැනීමට ලබන්නන්ට අවස්ථාව සලසා දී ඇති බව" ඔහු වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය. මේ අතර ලියාපදිංචි තැපැල් ඡන්ද පත්‍රිකා ඇතුළත් වෙන් කර ඇති පැකට් තැපැල් කාර්යාල වෙත ලබාදීම ඊයේ (අප්‍රේල් 15) සිදුකෙරිණි. සත්කුමාර මහතා පවසන පරිදි දිස්ත්‍රික්ක හයක් පුරා පිහිටි පළාත් පාලන ආයතන නවයකට අදාළ ලියාපදිංචි තැපැල් ඡන්ද පත්‍රිකා පැකට් තැපැල් සේවය වෙත ලැබී ඇත. මේ වන විට ලැබී ඇති ලියාපදිංචි තැපැල් ඡන්ද පත්‍රිකා ඇතුළත් වෙන් කර ඇති පැකට්වලින් සියයට 70කට අධික ප්‍රමාණයක් මේ වන විට සාර්ථකව බෙදා හැර ඇති බවද ඔහු සඳහන් කළේය.

Electricity bills have been quietly climbing over the past decade — by anywhere from $100 to a whopping $850 depending on where you live in Australia. And for a lot of people, that extra cost is really starting to bite. Take Brisbane mum of two, Daniella. She nearly fell over when she opened her latest power bill — it was over $7000 . Naturally, she rang her electricity provider straight away and asked, “What on earth is going on?” They admitted it was probably a mistake and offered to drop the bill to $1600. But Daniella wasn’t having it — she said the numbers still didn’t add up. So she stood her ground and got A Current Affair  involved. Not long after that, the power company wiped the bill entirely, saying yep, it was likely an error after all. And Daniella’s not alone in feeling the pressure. With costs rising across the board, more Aussies are turning to services that promise to help them save on power bills. One of the newer options is Hipages Energy , which says it can automatically switch you to a better deal and save you around 20%  in the first year. They use a government-backed data scheme to do it securely, and according to Hipages CEO Roby Sharon-Zipser, the average person could save about $250  a year. Not bad for something you don’t have to think about. “We do all the flipping, switching, and monitoring,” he said. “Just give us a few details and your recent energy bills, and we’ll take it from there.” The service is free to use — Hipages just earns a small commission from the energy companies they work with, kind of like a mortgage broker. There’s even a bonus offer: if they can’t  find you a better deal, they’ll make up the difference with gift vouchers , up to $1000 . But there’s a catch — and money-saving expert Joel Gibson says it’s worth knowing. While it can definitely help, the service doesn’t compare every single energy provider out there. It works with a panel of 13, and only switches you to one if they’re part of that group. So his advice? “Give it a go, but do it with your eyes open.” Still, with 80% of Aussies not on the cheapest energy plan, it might just be worth a look.

අධික වේගයෙන් රිය පදවන රියදුරන් හඳුනාගැනීම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසිය නව වේග කැමරා භාවිත කිරීම ආරම්භ කර තිබේ. උපාංග ද්විත්ව කැමරා සහ රාත්‍රී දර්ශන තාක්‍ෂණයෙන් සමන්විත වන අතර රියදුරුගේ ඡායාරූපය, වාහන අංකය සහ වේගය තථ්‍ය කාලීනව ග්‍රහණය කරයි. මාර්ග ආරක්ෂාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම සහ අනතුරු අවම කිරීම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසිය උසස් වේග තුවක්කු හඳුන්වා දී ඇත. එක්සත් ජනපදයේ නිෂ්පාදිත මෙම උපකරණ රාත්‍රියේදී පවා කිලෝමීටර් 1.2 ක දුරින් වාහන හඳුනා ගත හැකිය. පටිගත කරන ලද වීඩියෝ දර්ශන උසාවියේ සාක්ෂියක් ලෙස සේවය කළ හැකි අතර, මාර්ග නීති කඩ කිරීම් පිළිබඳ පැහැදිලි සාක්ෂි ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට බලධාරීන්ට ඉඩ සලසයි. පොලිසිය මෙම උපකරණ 30ක් රට පුරා යොදවා ඇති අතර එක් ඒකකයකට රු. මිලියන 3.3 කි. පොලිස් කොට්ඨාශ 45ම ආවරණය වන පරිදි අමතර ඒකක 15ක් ඇණවුම් කර ඇත.

Tropical Cyclone Errol has officially formed off the north-west coast of WA, and while it’s not an immediate threat to land, the system’s taking a pretty interesting path. Right now, Errol’s a Category 1 storm and was sitting about 475km north-north-west of Broome last night, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. It’s currently heading west — but forecasters say it’s going to do a U-turn. Yep, they reckon it’ll swing back towards the Kimberley by Thursday, and not only that, it's expected to intensify to a Category 3 system before making that turn. Now, it’s still too early to say whether it’ll actually make landfall. But the Bureau is keeping a close eye on it, especially because even if the cyclone doesn’t hit directly, its outer winds could be felt along a 400km stretch of coastline by Friday night — from just north of Broome up to a little beyond Kuri Bay. The good news? It looks like Errol will weaken again once it starts tracking back towards the coast — potentially back down to Category 1 by the time those outer winds are brushing past. “Tropical Cyclone Errol is well to the north of Broome and moving west,” the Bureau said.“It is expected to continue moving west and intensify during Wednesday. From Thursday, Errol is expected to turn southeast towards the coast and weaken.” So for now, it’s a bit of a wait-and-watch situation. No need to panic, but folks in the Kimberley should definitely keep an eye on updates — especially as the weekend gets closer.

If you live in rural or regional Australia and you’re keen to earn a bit of extra cash while doing something meaningful for your community, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) wants to hear from you! They’re on the lookout for people in regional and remote areas to help out with the upcoming federal election. No experience? No worries. There are heaps of roles available — from helping out at polling booths and counting votes, to more behind-the-scenes admin and logistics work. Here’s where they’re looking for help: Queensland : Capricorn Coast, Far North, Northern regions, Mount Isa, Western and South West areas, plus Mackay, Isaac and the Whitsundays South Australia : Limestone Coast, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and the Far North Western Australia : Pilbara, Gascoyne, Wheatbelt, Kimberley, South West and Goldfields-Esperance Victoria : Loddon, Mallee, Grampians and Gippsland Tasmania : Western Tassie New South Wales : Central West, Riverina, Central Coast, Mid North Coast and Orana Northern Territory : Katherine and Alice Springs AEC Commissioner Jeff Pope says enrolment numbers are breaking records this time around, which means more help is needed — especially outside the big cities. “We’ve got most of the metro spots filled,” he said. “Now we really need people in the regions to step up.” And if you’re wondering whether polling places might close if there’s a worker shortage — don’t stress. “We’ve never not opened a polling place and we expect to open every planned polling place again this election,” Pope said. So if you're 18 or older, an Australian citizen, and politically neutral, it’s a great chance to earn some extra money and help make sure democracy runs smoothly in your local area. Sound like something you’d be into? Time to put your hand up!

අධිවේගී මාර්ග ජාලය අලුත් අවුරුදු සමයට සමගාමීව පසුගිය දින තුන තුළ රුපියල් මිලියන 134 ක ආදායමක් උපයා ඇති බව අධිවේගී මාර්ග නඩත්තු හා කළමනාකරණ අංශය පවසයි. අප්‍රේල් 11, 12 සහ 13 යන දිනවල අධිවේගී මාර්ග භාවිත කර ඇති මුළු වාහන සංඛ්‍යාව 387,000 ක් බව නිලධාරියෙක් පැවසීය. මෙම මුදලින් පළමු දින දෙක තුළ (අප්‍රේල් 11 සහ 12) වාහන 297,736කින් රුපියල් මිලියන 100ක් එකතු කර ඇත.

Tragic news out of far west New South Wales this morning — a man has died after the small plane he was flying crashed at an airstrip near White Cliffs. The crash happened around 7:15am at the White Cliffs Aerodrome, which is more than 250 kilometres north-east of Broken Hill. Emergency services rushed to the scene, but sadly, the pilot — who was believed to be the only person on board — died at the scene. He hasn't been formally identified yet. Police have locked down the area and are now investigating the cause of the crash, with help from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Crews from NSW Ambulance, Fire and Rescue, the Rural Fire Service, and the State Emergency Service were also on site. This is yet another heartbreaking incident for the outback community. Less than three months ago, a nine-year-old boy was killed in a separate tragedy when a ute rolled on a property on Glendara Road. As with all fatal incidents like this, a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Good news if you're hitting the road over Easter or the Anzac Day long weekend – petrol prices across Australia are on the way down, and in some places, they’re dropping fast. According to the NRMA, global oil prices have been tumbling lately – partly thanks to US President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs, which shook up the market. The Aussie benchmark for oil, known as Tapis crude, has taken a dive, and just over the past week, oil prices have dropped by $US10 a barrel. That’s helped push the wholesale price of regular unleaded fuel down to 157.6 cents per litre – a drop of 8 cents. This means you can expect bowser prices to keep sliding right through the holiday season. In Sydney, for example, prices have hit the bottom of the cycle, sitting at around 168.5 cents per litre – and they’re tipped to go even lower. About 73% of Sydney servos are now selling regular unleaded for under 170 cents per litre. Perth drivers are also in luck – today (yep, today ) is the cheapest day of the week to fill up, with regular unleaded going for 165.8 cents per litre. Melbourne, on the other hand, not so lucky just yet. Prices there have peaked at a steep 199.1 cents per litre – higher than anyone expected. So if you're heading out of town, the NRMA reckons you're better off filling up in regional areas where it’s cheaper. In Brisbane and Adelaide, prices are falling too, but more slowly. Brisbane’s sitting at about 177 cents per litre, and Adelaide at 172.1. All of this is thanks to a combo of Trump’s tariff moves and an expected boost in oil supply from OPEC+ next month, which has traders a bit jittery – and that’s working out in favour of Aussie drivers for once. NRMA’s Peter Khoury summed it up nicely: “Nobody could have predicted how wild things have gotten with this global trade war, but what we do  know is that relief is finally on the way for Aussie families.” Here’s where things stand right now across the capital cities: Adelaide : 172.1 cpl and dropping Brisbane : 177 cpl, falling slowly Melbourne : 199.1 cpl, top of the cycle – avoid filling up here if you can Perth : 165.8 cpl – best to fill up today Sydney : 168.5 cpl, bottom of the cycle Canberra : 178.9 cpl, slowly falling Darwin : 180 cpl, also falling slowly Hobart : 180.5 cpl, gradually dropping So, if you're planning a road trip – now’s a good time to top up the tank, depending on where you are!