Following are the top foreign stories at 1715 hours

FGN16 CHINA-INDIA-LD SATELLITE China reacts guardedly to India's ASAT missile test; hopes nations will uphold peace in space

Beijing: China on Wednesday reacted guardedly to India's anti-satellite missile test and expressed hope that all countries will uphold peace and tranquillity in the outer space. By K J M Varma

FGN15 UK-LD BREXIT UK MPs take charge of Parliament for historic Brexit debate

London: In a parliamentary first for the UK, MPs will take charge of the House of Commons business on Wednesday for a historic debate on the kind of Brexit that could command a majority to try and find a solution to the current deadlock over Britain's exit from the EU. By Aditi Khanna

FGN13 LANKA-INDIA-DRILL India, Sri Lanka hold joint military drill to boost counter-terror cooperation

Colombo: India and Sri Lanka have begun a two-week joint military exercise in the island nation with an aim to bring synergy and cooperation including in the field of counter-terrorism between the two armed forces, officials said Wednesday.

FGN12 PAK-HINDU-GIRL Pak man claims Hindu woman embraces Islam, marries him; FIR says she is minor, abducted

Islamabad: A Pakistani man has claimed that a Hindu woman, who authorities said was a minor and abducted by four armed men, has converted to Islam and married him in Sindh province, amidst uproar over a similar case involving two teenage girls from the minority community.

FGN11 UK-TIPU-LD AUCTION Tipu Sultan's silver-mounted gun fetches 60,000 pounds at UK auction

London: A collection of rare artefacts from Tipu Sultan's armoury, including one of his personal swords, discovered by a couple in their attic in the English county of Berkshire has been auctioned for around 107,000 pounds. By Aditi Khanna

FGN2 KOVIND-CROATIA-DIASPORA India will take all 'necessary measures' to protect & secure itself: Prez Kovind in Croatia

Zagreb: India will take all "necessary measures" to protect and secure itself, President Ram Nath Kovind has said in Croatia, referring to the IAF strikes on a terrorist camp in Pakistan's Balakot following the Pulwama attack by a JeM suicide bomber.

FGN9 US-GUPTA Felt like I was political prisoner: Rajat Gupta

New York: India-born former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, who served 19 months in US jail for insider trading, has blamed the prosecution led by Indian-American former New York Attorney Preet Bharara for conducting the case in an "disingenuous and untruthful" manner, saying he felt like a "political prisoner". By Yoshita Singh

FGN3 PAK-LD SHARIF Nawaz Sharif walks out of prison after 3 months on medical grounds

Lahore: Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was released from jail on Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court granted him six weeks' bail to receive medical treatment within the country. By M Zulqernain PTI CPS