Following are the top foreign stories at 2000 hours

FGN27 CHINA-IRAN-TRUMP China rejects Trump's call to break away from Iran deal

Beijing: China on Thursday rejected US President Donald Trump's call to "break away" from the Iranian nuclear deal and work for a new one, saying the agreement is a "hard won outcome" adopted by the UN and "all parties" should abide by it. By K J M Varma

FGN41 UK-2NDLD ROYALS Britain stunned as Prince Harry & Meghan 'step back' from royal roles without consulting Queen

London: Britian's Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle have stunned the nation by announcing plans to step back as senior royals to divide time between the UK and US, a move being viewed as a split within the UK's royal household.By Aditi Khanna

FGN24 WB-LD INDIA Growth in India projected to 'decelerate' to 5% in 2019-2020: World Bank

Washington: India's growth rate is projected to decelerate to five per cent in 2019-20 amid enduring financial sector issues, according to a World Bank report, which said the country's GDP was likely to recover to 5.8 per cent in the following financial year. By Lalit K Jha

FGN13 US-INDIA-LD OFFICIAL Trump admin doesn't want to degrade India's defence capabilities: US official on CAATSA

Washington: The Trump administration does not want to degrade India's defence capabilities, a senior US official has said, asserting that there will be a case-by-case analysis on where punitive measures under the CAATSA could be applied on countries buying significant military equipment from Russia. By Lalit K Jha

FGN33 PAK-IMRAN-IRAN-QURESHI Khan directs Qureshi to visit Iran, Saudi, US as part of Pak's efforts to defuse tensions in Gulf

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to visit Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US as part of Pakistan's efforts to defuse the tensions in the Gulf region following the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike. By Sajjad Hussain

FGN32 PAK-CONVERSION Pak's Council of Islamic Ideology terms forced conversion 'un-Islamic'

Islamabad: Amidst increasing reports of forcible conversion of minorities in Pakistan, including that of Hindus and Sikhs, a constitutional body tasked with giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the lawmakers has said that such a practice was "un-Islamic and unconstitutional."

FGN6 AUS-BUSHFIRE Australia bushfire crisis: 24 killed, over 6 mn hectares of land burned

Melbourne: Australia's raging bushfire crisis, one of the worst in its history, has killed 24 people, burned over six million hectares of land, reduced to ashes hundreds of homes and pushed many species towards extinction, officials said on Thursday. By Natasha Chaku

FGN40 IRAN-PLANE-LDALL PROBE Iran says Ukrainian plane turned back before crashing

Tehran: Iranian authorities have said a Ukrainian airliner, which crashed outside Tehran with the loss of all 176 people on board, had turned back after suffering a problem, as Ukrainian experts joined the investigation on Thursday. (AFP) RUP RUP