TOP FOREIGN STORIES AT 2130 HOURS

Following are the top foreign stories at 2130 hours today:
FGN 10 INDOUS-PENCE
Washington: Vice President Mike Pence says he is planning to visit India soon and asserts that the Indo-US partnership has never looked brighter with the best days for the two nations yet to come.
FGN11 INDOUS-DEFENCE-PENCE
Washington: The US will help the Indian armed forces to obtain the resources and technology they need to support security in the region, Vice President Mike Pence says.
FGN12 LD RANSOMWARE

'Ransomware' wave seemed aimed at old flaw and Ukraine
San Francisco: A global wave of cyberattacks have exploited an already patched vulnerability in Windows software and appeared to have Ukraine as a primary target, according to computer security specialists. (AFP)

FGN18 CHINA-PAK-2NDLD TERROR
Beijing: China puts up a strong defence of its all- weather ally Pakistan saying it was at the frontlines of the fight against terrorism, a day after India and the US asked Islamabad to rein in cross-border terror.
FGN19 CHINA-SIKKIM-OPED
Beijing: China must force the Indian troops to retreat "by all necessary means" and New Delhi must be "taught the rules", a nationalistic state-run daily here says amidst a standoff in the Sikkim section of the Sino-India border.
FGN20 CHINA-LDALL SIKKIM
Beijing: Amid a standoff in the Sikkim sector of the border, China warns India that future visits of its pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar through the Nathu La pass will depend on whether it will "correct its errors".

FGN21 PAK-INDOUS-TERRORISM
Islamabad: Pakistan accuses the US of "speaking India's language", says it seems the "blood of Kashmiris" is "not at all important" to America, a day after President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Islamabad to rein in cross-border terrorism.
FGN26 NKOREA-SKOREA-PARK
Seoul: North Korea threatens to "impose the death penalty" on the South's former president Park Geun-Hye over an alleged plot to assassinate its leader Kim Jong-Un. (AFP)
FGN28 NEPAL-2NDLD POLLS
Kathmandu: Millions of Nepalese vote in the second phase of the country's first local-level polls in two decades as the Himalayan nation takes a crucial step towards cementing democracy amid political turmoil.

FGN29 CHINA-INDIA-BHUTAN
Beijing: China virtually accuses India of having a "hidden agenda" in the current military stand-off with it in the Sikkim sector where Beijing has a territorial dispute with Bhutan.
FGN30 UN-SYRIA-CIVILIANS
Geneva: As many as 1,00,000 civilians are trapped in Syria's Raqa, as US-backed fighters battle to retake the city from the Islamic State group, the UN rights chief warns. (AFP)
FGN31 RANSOMWARE-EUROPOL
The Hague: A wave of cyberattacks hitting Europe and North America are similar to last month's WannaCry ransomware havoc, but appear potentially "more sophisticated," the European police agency says. (AFP)
FGN33 NETHERLANDS-PM-LD BICYCLE
The Hague: Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives an unusual gift -- a bicycle -- from his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte after the two leaders met here.