News in Brief-2024-06-01

24 dead in India as temperatures soar
BHUBANESWAR, May 31: At least 24 people died of suspected heatstroke in India's eastern states of Bihar and Odisha on Thursday, and the heatwave in the region is expected to continue until Saturday, authorities said. India has been experiencing a blisteringly hot summer and a part of capital Delhi recorded the country's highest ever temperature at 52.9 degrees Celsius (127.22°F) this week, though that may be revised with the weather department checking the sensors of the weather station that registered the reading. A total of 14 people died in Bihar on Thursday, officials said, including 10 people involved in organising the seven-phase national elections that are currently underway. Parts of Bihar are voting in the final round of polling on Saturday. — Reuters
Humanity in 'race against time' on AI: UN
GENEVA, May 31: Humanity is in a race against time to harness the colossal emerging power of artificial intelligence for the good of all, while averting dire risks, a top UN official said Thursday. "We've let the genie out of the bottle," said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union (ITU). "We are in a race against time," she told the opening of a two-day AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva. — AFP
Ukraine and Russia announce
major prisoner swap
KYIV, May 31: Ukraine and Russia announced their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly four months on Friday, with 150 people freed after negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 75 Ukrainian prisoners had been returned from Russia. They included four civilians while the rest were members of the military. Russia's Defence Ministry said Ukraine handed over 75 people in a deal brokered by the UAE, RIA news agency reported. "After a long pause, another prisoner swap took place: 75 defenders and civilians were released from the enemy's captivity," Ukraine's Coordinating Committee on Dealing with Prisoners of War said. — Reuters
Pak PM to visit China next week
BEIJING, May 31: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China and meet President Xi Jinping next week, Beijing's foreign ministry said on Friday. Beijing is Islamabad's closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbour. China has inked more than two trillion dollars in contracts around the world under its Belt and Road investment scheme, with billions pouring into infrastructure projects in Pakistan. — AFP
Modi holds two-day meditation as
election nears end
NEW DELHI, May 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meditating on a rocky outcrop off India's coast on Friday in a final appeal to his Hindu voter base as marathon national elections drew to a close. Modi remains roundly popular and is widely expected to win a third term when the poll concludes, in large part due to his cultivated image as an aggressive champion of the country's majority faith. — AFP