Whilst admitting that there was international pressure on Sri Lanka to go for a ceasefire with the LTTE, the country’s Prime Minister declared the government will not bow to international calls for a truce.

India has urged the Sri Lankan government to ‘seize the opportunity provided by LTTE's ceasefire offer to bring about a pause in hostilities’, indicating another shift in its policy on its southern neighbour and the ongoing conflict.

The BJP accused the Congress led ruling alliance of being insensitive to the sufferings of Sri Lankan Tamils and added the Indian government had not taken even 'a single meaningful step' to persuade the island government to ensure the safety of the Tamil civilians.

One of the Indian government's key southern allies is struggling, only weeks before a general election, posing a potential problem for the Congress party as it seeks to retain power and build a stable post-poll coalition.

A Tamil man set himself on fire outside Britain's Parliament was taken to a hospital with superficial burns, according to British authorities said.

The Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement, an umbrella organisation of outfits like PMK, MDMK, VCK, CPI and the Tamil Nationalist Movement, has launched campaign to collect 20 million signatures for a petition calling to save Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The gathering momentum of global Tamil protest against Sri Lanka’s genocidal war has included acts of self immolation by Tamil activists in India and Europe. This form of protest appears at first sight to be exceptional and unusual; in need of explanation when sitting alongside the other more accepted forms of public dissent.

The United Nations Agreement on Human Rights states, amongst other things, that individuals have the “right to life”, “the right to equality before the law” and “the freedom of assembly and association”.

The position taken by UN Security Council Friday, February 27, indicating no go beyond ‘hearing’, and the considerate briefing of John Holmes largely endorsing and trusting Colombo’s agenda and assurances for civilians, are read between the lines by international political observers as a ‘knowing wink’ at Colombo to pursue its offensive.

Sri Lanka may need a bailout from international donors to help pay its debts as the island’s 26- year civil war draws to a close.

Sri Lanka’s credit rating outlook was downgraded to negative following the ‘marked’ decline in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Tamils across the world held demonstrations and rallies highlighting the ongoing genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka and urging the international community to intervene to stop the suffering of their kin and kith back home.

The Tamil case for genocide has been extensively discussed in a series of articles in this paper among others. We have shown structural similarities between the genocide of the Tamils and other historic genocides including the Nazi and Rwandan examples.

A new sea route to deliver urgently needed relief to tens of thousands of civilians people in Vanni has been opened following food convoys through land route remain suspended for more than a month.