Following are the top foreign stories at 1730 hours

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India extends USD 1 billion line of credit for development of Russia's Far East Vladivostok: India on Thursday announced an "unprecedented" USD 1 billion line of credit for the development of Russia's Far East with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing that New Delhi will walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Moscow in its quest for the development of the resource-rich region.

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Modi meets Malaysian PM, discusses Kashmir and raises Zakir Naik's extradition Vladivostok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raised the issue of Zakir Naik's extradition with his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad as India stepped up efforts to seek the controversial radical preacher's return to face terrorism and money laundering charges.

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Sanctions no hinderance for expanding Indo-Russian economic ties: Modi Vladivostok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the sanctions imposed by the US on Russia have no effect on India bolstering cooperation with Moscow in strategic sectors like energy and defence.

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PM Modi meets Mongolian President Battulga in Russia Vladivostok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga and the two leaders discussed a range of issues of bilateral interest, including strengthening of cultural, spiritual and people-to-people ties.

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PM Modi meets Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in Russia, discuss Indo-Pacific region Vladivostok: India and Japan agreed to further deepen cooperation in the strategic Indo-Pacific region where China has been flexing its military muscles, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in-depth talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe here on Thursday.

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Russia, India eying prospects for joint shipbuilding venture: Putin Vladivostok: Russia and India are looking into the possibility of launching a joint ship building venture, Russian President Vladimir Putin said here on Thursday.

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Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with Indonesian counterpart Jakarta: In his first bilateral visit to an ASEAN country, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi and they agreed to step up cooperation in connecting Aceh and Andaman and Nicobar islands to promote trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts.

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US backs India for declaring Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim and Lakhvi terrorists Washington: The US has backed India's move to declare four notorious criminals, including JeM chief Masood Azhar, LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, as terrorists individually under a new anti-terror law, expanding possibilities of cooperation between the two countries to combat the scourge of terrorism.

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Pak most dangerous country, its leaders don't care about their people: Mattis Washington: Terming Pakistan as the "most dangerous" country for its nuclear capabilities and radicalisation, former US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis has said the tragedy for Pakistani people is that they do not have leaders who care about their future. By Lalit K Jha

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UK in effective general election mode amid Brexit turmoil London: The UK on Thursday went into what Downing Street has branded as the first day of a general election campaign, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson failing to get his motion for a snap poll through the House of Commons. By Aditi Khanna

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Nearly 300 arrested in connection with Easter attacks in Lanka Colombo: Nearly 300 people have been arrested in connection with the deadly Easter Sunday attacks by the Islamist extremists that killed 258 people, Sri Lankan police said on Thursday. IND

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