Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours

     FGN15: US-CHINA-PAK-LD SANCTIONS
     *US sanctions 3 Chinese firms and one from Belarus for providing ballistic missile components to Pakistan
     Washington: The US has slapped sanctions on three Chinese companies and one from Belarus for supplying missile-applicable items for Pakistan's ballistic missile programmes, including its long-range missile programme, the State Department has announced.
    
     FGN25: LANKA-CHURCH PROBE
     *Sri Lanka church reiterates Easter Sunday probe doubts
     Colombo: The Catholic church here on Saturday reiterated its dissatisfaction over the nature of the investigations conducted by the Sri Lankan government in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 270 people, including Indians.*

     FGN16: PAK-SAUDI-SHARIF
     *Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif set to visit Saudi to advance investment talks
     Islamabad: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to visit Saudi Arabia soon, his second trip this month to the friendly Gulf kingdom, to advance investment talks as his cash-strapped government has presented lucrative returns on Saudi investment.*
        
     FGN13: PAK-IMF-BAILOUT
     *Cash-strapped Pakistan makes formal request to IMF for another bailout
     Washington/Islamabad: Pakistan has made a formal request to IMF for seeking the next bailout package in the range of USD 6 to USD 8 billion with the possibility of augmentation through climate financing, a media report said on Saturday.*

     FGN9: IMF-WB-INDIA
     *Role played by India during G-20 presidency appreciated at IMF and WB meeting: Seth
     Washington: During the annual Spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank there was a widespread appreciation of the role played by India during its G-20 presidency in building consensus on a range of key global issues, a top Indian official has said.*
    
     FGN26: SINGAPORE-FM-EXTORTION
     *Singapore’s Indian-origin minister Balakrishnan receives extortion letter with fake and manipulated obscene photos
     Singapore: Singapore’s Indian-origin Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and several members of Parliament have received extortion letters containing fake photos of themselves in obscene situations.**

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