Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours

    
     FGN14 SINGAPORE-PM-LD LEE
* Singapore PM Lee to step down on May 15, Deputy PM Wong to succeed
     Singapore: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Monday he will step down on May 15 after nearly 20 years of heading the government of the economically prosperous country as part of the long-planned leadership transition and will be succeeded by his deputy Lawrence Wong. *

     FGN15 UK-RUSHDIE
* I remember thinking I was dying: Salman Rushdie relives brutal knife attack in 2022
     London: Mumbai-born Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie has spoken in gruesome detail about the moment he was attacked by a knifeman on stage in New York in 2022, and said he thought he was dying as his left eye hung down his face “like a soft-boiled egg”. *

     FGN21 PAK-IRAN-PRESIDENT
* Iran President Raisi set to visit Pakistan on April 22 amidst Middle East tensions: Report
     Islamabad: Amidst spiralling tensions in the Middle East, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is set to visit Pakistan on April 22 and hold meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari and the military leadership, according to a media report on Monday. *
    
     FGN18 PAK-BILAWAL-POLITICS
* PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto urges politicians to unite around 'Charter of Reconciliation' to overcome challenges faced by Pakistan
     Islamabad: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has proposed that all politicians should unite around a "Charter of Reconciliation" as he accused them of playing with the cash-strapped country's fate because of their egos, media reports said on Monday. *    

     FGN4 US-MIDEAST TENSIONS-FM
* Blinken calls Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi FMs over Iran-Israel tensions
     Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday reached out over phone to the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had calls with his Saudi and Israeli counterparts, amid signs of an escalating crisis in the Middle East following Iran's strikes on Israel. *

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)