Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours

Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours:

FGN32 US-CHINA-2NDLD TRADE China says trade envoy preparing to go to US for talks to end tariff war despite Trump's new threat

Washington/Beijing: China's top trade envoy is preparing to travel to Washington for crucial talks, a Chinese official said Monday despite US President Donald Trump threatening to impose more punishing taxes on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese products, citing slow progress in negotiations.

FGN26 LD LANKA Sri Lanka lifts curfew in Negombo; police says situation under control

Colombo: Sri Lanka on Monday lifted an overnight curfew in the western coastal town of Negombo where clashes erupted between two groups of people over the weekend, days after the Easter bombings by Islamist extremists that killed more than 250 people in the island nation.

FGN18 US-IRAN-2NDLD MILITARY US deploys carrier strike group to Middle East to warn Iran

Washington: Stepping up pressure on Iran, the US has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East to send a "clear and unmistakable" message to Tehran that any attack on American interests or its allies will be met with "unrelenting force". By Lalit K Jha

FGN33 TRUMP-ISRAEL-LD PALESTINE End rocket attacks on Israel, they will bring more misery: Trump warns Palestinians

Washington: The US supports Israel "100 per cent" in its defence against a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by militant groups in Gaza, US President Donald Trump has said, warning Palestinians that such actions would bring them "nothing but more misery". By Lalit K Jha

FGN30 RUSSIA-PLANE-LD BODIES

41 dead in Moscow plane fire; Experts hunt for reason why Moscow: Russian emergency workers have recovered 41 bodies and two flight recorders from the wreckage of a plane that caught fire during an emergency landing in Moscow, officials said Monday as they sought to discover the cause of the disaster. (AP)

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