The new 15% Value Added Tax (VAT), put forward by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in parliament, will take effect from May 2, according to the finance ministry.

The increase will see the VAT rate rise from being between 8% and 12.5% to 15% and will affect the supply of telecommunication services, , import or supply of telecom equipment or machinery, high tech equipment including copper cables for telecom industry and the supply of healthcare services.

The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada called on the government to ensure it seeks justice for victims of genocide and to work towards reconciliation for the Tamil nation, in a statement released on Friday.

Rona Ambrose, leader of the Official Opposition, met with members of the Tamil community to discuss concerns they had on issues that affected the Tamil people.

The Conservative candidate for the London mayoral election on May 5th, Zac Goldsmith celebrated the achievements of the Tamil community in the city, as he marked Tamil new year this week joining Hindu Tamil worshippers at the Shree Ganapathy temple.

Demonstrators gathered outside Sri Lankan government offices in the North-East earlier this week to protest against an attack by Sinhala fishermen on Tamil officials.

The Tamil government officials were visiting Kokkuthoduvai village on Sunday when the Sinhala fishermen, who have reportedly been settled in the area under a controversial settlement scheme, attacked them.

Fellow Grama Sevaka officers demonstrated against the attack in Mullaitivu, denouncing the assault and call for an end to military interference in civil administration.

British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said “there remains much to be done” to implement a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka, in a written statement to parliament this week.

Responding to a question from parliamentarian Wes Streeting, Mr Swire said “Sri Lanka has made encouraging progress towards fulfilling its commitments to UNHRC Resolution 30/1 but we recognise there remains much to be done”.

Human rights violations by Sri Lanka's security forces reported in 2015 include harassment, arbitrary detention, torture and rape, according to the US Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices.

The report, released by Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, details several reported violations from the Tamil-dominated North-East of the island and said widespread impunity for the crimes committed during the armed conflict and other crimes committed following the end of the conflict, particularly for cases of torture, sexual violence, corruption, and human rights abuses, continued.

"The major human rights problems reported during the year included harassment of civil society activists, journalists, and persons viewed as sympathizers of the banned terrorist group the LTTE as well as arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence committed by police and security forces," the report says.

The report notes surveillance of Tamil civilians and seizure of private land. It also said there was "evidence of government-aided settlement of Sinhalese families from the south in traditionally Tamil areas".