Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours

FGN45 PAK-CHINA-AZHAR Discussed Azhar issue with China: Pak Foreign Minister Qureshi

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he discussed the issue of Masood Azhar with close ally China, which blocked for the fourth time a proposal at the UN to designate the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief as a 'global terrorist'.

FGN36 CHINA-SCO-INDOPAK India-Pakistan should resolve differences bilaterally: SCO

Beijing: India and Pakistan should resolve their issues bilaterally, the SCO's new Secretary-General has said, asserting that their participation in the security grouping could become "impossible" without a commitment for an "unconditional" fight against terrorism and separatism.

FGN42 US-PAK-TRUMP-MEETING Ready to meet new Pakistani leadership: Trump

Washington/Islamabad: President Donald Trump has indicated his readiness to meet Pakistan's new leadership, amidst the ongoing peace talks between the US and the Taliban facilitated by Islamabad to end the brutal war in Afghanistan, America's longest.

FGN31 EU-3RDLD BREXIT UK secures delay to Brexit Day with strict EU caveats

London: The UK has secured a short delay to the March 29 Brexit deadline after the European Union (EU) leaders reluctantly agreed to offer embattled Prime Minister Theresa May time until May 22 to get the divorce deal through another House of Commons vote next week.

FGN43 CHINA-2NDLD CRASH Seven killed as man drives car into crowd in China

Beijing: A man rammed his car into a crowd of pedestrians in China's central Hubei province, killing six persons and injuring seven others before being shot dead by the police on Friday, in the latest such incident in the country.

FGN35 PAK-OIL-IMRAN Pakistan may soon hit oil, gas jackpot: PM

Islamabad: Pakistan is on the verge of hitting a kind of jackpot in the form of discovering a huge reserve of oil and gas in the Arabian Sea, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, hoping that the discovery will solve the economic problems of the cash-strapped country.

FGN39 GHANA-2NDLD ACCIDENT At least 60 killed in Ghana bus collision: police

Accra: At least 60 people were killed on Friday in a head-on collision between two buses in southern Ghana, police said. (AFP)

FGN27 PAK-QURESHI-SAMJHAUTA Pak weighing options after acquittal of all accused in Samjhauta blast case: Qureshi

Islamabad: Pakistan is studying the verdict on the 2007 Samjhauta train blast case by an Indian court and the acquittal of all the four accused and weighing its options, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.

FGN26 CHINA-EXPLOSION-2NDLD TOLL China chemical plant blast death toll reaches 47; Xi for all-out efforts to rescue victims

Beijing: The death toll in the powerful explosion at a chemical plant in China climbed to 47 on Friday with President Xi Jinping demanding all-out efforts to carry out search and rescue operations.