BBC News with Jonathan Izard.

The Middle East envoy Tony Blair has told the BBC that he believes the International outcry which followed Israel's raid on aid flotilla at the end of May persuaded it to

accelerate

the substantial easing of the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel has dropped restrictions on all consumer goods. Mr Blair said it was a big shift in policy and should improve the life of Gazans.

"Obviously, it's a big change to move from a list in which only some things permitted can come into Gaza to a prohibited list of the things coming as a matter of course unless prohibited.

That should change the numbers of items coming into Gaza from around about just over a hundred to thousands of items being able to come in. So, obviously, that makes a big difference and should’ve been

implement

ed to make a big difference to lives of Gazans."

However, construction materials are still only allowed for projects controlled by the UN. Hamas, which controls the territory, says it's nowhere near enough as the ban on exports from Gaza remains.

The European Union says it's withdrawing trade

concession

s from Sri Lanka, after the government failed to guarantee that it will implement charters on civil, political and children's rights as well as

outlaw

ing torture. Sri Lanka will lose

preferential

access to European markets next month. Sri Lankan exports to the EU were worth $1.5 billion last year. The EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said she hoped talks would resume.