Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours

Washington/Houston: Hundreds of enthusiastic Indian-Americans have gathered at iconic locations across 20 US cities and organised unity marches to send a message of welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi days ahead of his State Visit here. ****

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PM Modi’s visit marks important point in India-US relationship: Prominent American senators

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State Visit to the US marks an important point in the bilateral relationship and is a key symbol of the two nations growing closer together, according to top American senators. ****

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Joint India-US effort needed to address state-subsidised dominance of China’s strategic industries: First Solar CEO

Washington: India’s comprehensive approach, which combines incentives, smart trade measures, and tangible deployment targets, serves as a template for like-minded nations whose solar manufacturing industry have been decimated by China’s state-subsidised global dominance, First Solar CEO Mark Widmar has said. ****

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President Xi meets Blinken; Says agreement reached on ‘some specific issues’ with US

Beijing: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping who said that an agreement on “some specific issues” has been reached during the extensive talks between the top diplomats of the two countries amidst tense ties. ****

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Ahead of PM Modi’s trip, joy, excitement grip many Indians in the Big Apple

New York: If a mood of happiness and excitement has gripped a large chunk of Indian Americans ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, Vijay Sharma’s restaurant, in the heart of this pulsating city, is feeding that appetite. ****

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Defence innovation summit to accelerate US-India co-development and co-production

Washington: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State Visit to the US, a select group of eminent defence sector firms from the two nations will participate in an innovative summit which would serve as a bridge and is expected to catapult the defence industrial cooperation between them like never before. ****

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Pakistani authorities arrest 12 human trafficking suspects following Greece boat tragedy

Karachi: At least 12 persons suspected of human trafficking were arrested from different parts of Pakistan as the federal government tightened its noose around human smugglers following the recent Greece boat tragedy that highlighted the plight of Pakistanis trying to enter European countries illegally, an official said on Monday. ****

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Will not surrender even if they put me in jail’, says Pak ex-PM Imran

Lahore: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has said he will continue fighting for the rule of law in the country, asserting that he will neither strike a deal nor surrender even if the government puts him in jail.