Sri Lanka will apply for the EU trade concession, GSP+ before the end of this year, the country's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Harsha De Silva, said when addressing the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

“Before the end of the year we will make formal application and regain GSP Plus by the middle of 2016,” he was quoted by Economy Next as saying, adding that the consensus resolution adopted at the UN Human Rights Council had "helped repair strained foreign relations".

The World Bank says Sri Lanka must manage pressure on its currency and raise revenue to reduce its fiscal deficit, in a new report on South Asia.

“Structural challenges include increasing fiscal revenue and narrowing a persistent current account deficit linked to structural competitiveness issues in the export sector,” the bank said in its bi-annual South Asia Economic Focus report.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and parties across the state have criticised the United Nations Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka as “weak” and that it will not lead to justice for those that were killed by Sri Lankan security forces.

"The resolution passed yesterday will in no way render justice to Sri Lankan Tamils. This resolution is in favour of Sri Lankan government and adversarial to Sri Lankan Tamils," said Ms Jayalalithaa in a statement. "This weak resolution adopted by perceiving a change of heart of the Srilankan government will not do any good to Srilankan Tamils," she added.

She went on to express his disappointment at the Indian central government for not acting on the Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution passed last month calling on the Indian central government to back an international investigation into the mass atrocities. “I had clearly stated in the Tamil Nadu Assembly that the Indian government had the duty to prevent a resolution asking Sri Lanka itself to probe into war crimes … However, that the Central government has not taken any positive steps over this issue has caused unhealable wound," she said.

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa said it was the duty of the government to look after “the interests of our war heroes” in a statement criticising the response to a UN Human Rights Council resolution passed last week.

A Sri Lankan navy officer and former police constable have been taken into custody over the murder of Tamil National Alliance MP Nadaraja Raviraj in 2006, reports The Sunday Leader.

A Navy Petty Officer identified as Senevi and a former police constable named Manamperi were reportedly arrested by Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID), accused of carrying out the assassination.

The Sunday Leader also reported that the weapon used to gun down the parliamentarian, was reportedly given to paramilitary leader Pillaiyan by Sri Lankan Colonel Shammi Karunaratne, who is currently being detained over the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda.