International news brief: US passes USD 280 billion Industrial Policy bill, SL extends emergency

Washington, July 28: The US Senate on Wednesday (local time) passed a USD 280 billion Industrial Policy bill to counter China and bolster American competitive edge and national security.

"Today the Senate passed a historic bill that will lower costs and create jobs. As Americans are worried about the state of the economy and the cost of living, the CHIPS bill is one answer: it will accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in America, lowering prices on everything from cars to dishwashers," read President Joe Biden's statement.

Only early election can end economic, political crises: Imran

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan reiterated that "only early election can end economic, political crises in Pakistan." The PTI chief opined that timely elections would have saved the country from the economic crisis that it is facing today, reported The Express Tribune.

The ousted prime minister claimed that there is only one way for Pakistan to come out of the prevailing situation and that is to ensure fresh general elections in the country.

Blinken to speak to Russia's Lavrov for first time since Ukraine war broke out

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said that he will speak with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a phone call in the coming days and pressed him to respond to an offer Washington has made to secure the release of American citizens detained by Moscow. Speaking at a news conference at the State Department, Blinken said, "in the coming days, I expect to speak with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov for the first time since the war (in Ukraine) began and address the release of Brittney Griner & Paul Whelan. We gave a substantial proposal weeks ago to facilitate their release."

Singapore allows ex-Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to extend stay by 14 more days
The Singapore government has allowed former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to extend his stay in the country for another 14 days after he fled the crisis-hit island nation, according to a media report on Wednesday.

The report on the extension of Rajapaksa's visit pass came a day after Sri Lanka's Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said the ex-president was not hiding and is expected to return to the country from Singapore.

Sri Lanka extends state of emergency for a month

Sri Lanka's parliament on Wednesday voted to approve the proclamation of the state of emergency imposed earlier in July, allowing it to extend it. In the voting held today, 120 Sri Lankan parliamentarians voted for imposing emergency regulations and 63 voted against it.

The state of emergency was declared by then-acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe with effect from July 18 under the Public Security Ordinance in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, Xinhua news agency reported.