British Tamils protesting outside Marlborough House in London earlier today

Commonwealth Day events in London saw protests by British Tamils, who opposed the presence of Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena.

A Commonwealth Day service was held at Westminster Abbey and was attended by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, alongside representatives of Commonwealth Nations including President Sirisena.

“The UK looks forward to supporting the new Sri Lankan Government as it implements its planned reforms, and as it works towards building a more democratic and accountable government, that will help Sri Lanka grow into a stronger and more prosperous nation for all its people.”

“The UK expects to see progress on Sri Lankan commitments to set up a credible domestic reconciliation and accountability processes ahead of the UN Human Rights Council in September 2015 and the publication of the report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka.”

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "eagerly looking forward" to meeting Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena and said he was confident is upcoming visit will strengthen the relationship between the countries further.

"I embark on my first visit to Sri Lanka with great joy and confidence that this visit will make India's relations with Sri Lanka even stronger, in the larger interest of our people. Robust ties with Sri Lanka signifies the importance India attaches to the South Asian neighbourhood," he said on Twitter on Sunday.

"Our ties with Sri Lanka have stood the test of time. We have a shared history, heritage and values. And yes, both our Nations share a love for cricket!"

"I consider it my good fortune that I would be the first Indian prime minister to visit Jaffna, where I would be laying the foundation stone for the iconic Jaffna Cultural Centre that will come up adjacent to the historic Jaffna Public Library."

The ban on Sri Lankan fishing imports into the EU could be removed in a few months, according to MEP Jan Zahradil, Vice-Chair of the EU Committee on International Trade (INTA), who is currently in Colombo.

Mr Zahradil said his visit was aimed at removing "irritants" in trade, and the EU parliamentary group ‘Friends of Sri Lanka’, of which he is a member, wanted to assess how to help Sri Lanka on removing the ban fishery exports and resuming the GSP plus export scheme which the island lost owing to human rights issues.

"Once monthly progress reports are sent to the European Commission we could try to put this on the agenda as a special point and can help solve this issue as soon as possible, perhaps in a horizon of months and not let it last for too long," he said during a meeting Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka.

China expressed its displeasure at the Sri Lankan governments decision to suspend the Chinese funded $1.4bn 'Port City' project.

Investor China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) told media it had received official communication from the government requesting the suspension.

Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang was quoted by Xinhua as saying at a recent emergency meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera that Sri Lanka should respect bilateral agreements and contracts and protect the interests of its investors.

Xinhua said the Association for Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation, a civic group in Sri Lanka, has urged the government to withdraw the suspension order as the Chinese-funded Port City has created job opportunities and benefited the local economy.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned that Indian fishermen who venture into Sri Lankan waters will get shot by the Sri Lankan navy, in an interview with a Chennai-based TV channel.

“This is our waters,” said Mr Wickremesinghe. “If someone tries to break into my house, I can shoot. If he gets killed… law allows me to do that."

Justifying the frequent reports of attacks by the Sri Lankan security forces on Indian fishermen, the Sri Lankan prime minister added "they (the Sri Lankan Navy) have to shoot because they were poaching on Sri Lankan waters."

"On the fishermen issue, As far as I'm concerned, I have very very strong lines. This is our waters," continued Mr Wickremesinghe.

“Why are you coming into our waters? Why are you fishing in our waters? Stay on the Indian side…There will be no issue…No one will shoot anyone else,” he said. “You stay on the Indian side, Let our fishermen stay on the Sri Lankan side… Otherwise don’t make accusations of human rights violation by the Navy. You came in there.”