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.

The medical care system Vanni is on the verge of complete collapse and the doctors are in deep despair due to lack of lifesaving medicines and necessary equipment required treat patients, according to the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) in Mullaiththeevu district.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) based in New York has accused the SLA of ‘slaughtering’ civilians with indiscriminate shelling in its attempt to finish off the LTTE.

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.

Voice of Tigers, the official radio of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Sunday, March 1 said Sri Lankan armed forces have killed 2,018 Tamil civilians in January and February in Vanni and that 700 of the victims were children.

An international medical and humanitarian aid organization has released a statement highlighting the lack of medical facilities for the civilians living in LTTE controlled Vanni and in IDP camps government controlled territories.