Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest over heatwave

Today's news: 29 Maoist rebels killed in an operation in India; Quantity of a year and a half of rain falls on Dubai in a few hours: airport paralysed;  In China there is alarm over water consumption by data centres and artificial intelligence; South Korea doubles rice sent to food emergency countries.

MYANMAR

Former Myanmar leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest. A spokesperson for the military government announced it, explaining that it is a measure linked to the extremely hot climate of these days, and it was for all elderly prisoners. Suu Kyi, 78, has been detained by Myanmar's military since she overthrew her government in a coup in 2021.

INDIA

At least 29 Maoist guerrillas were killed yesterday in India in a firefight with security forces in a forest in Kanker district, Chhattisgarh. Three officers were also injured but their lives are not in danger. Extolling the operation in the midst of the election campaign, Home Minister Amit Shah declared that "under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are determined to free the country from the scourge of Naxalism".

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Strong storms have hit the United Arab Emirates (UAE), dumping the equivalent of more than a year and a half of rain on the desert city-state of Dubai in just a few hours and flooding major highways and the international airport. By late Tuesday, more than 142 mm (5.59 inches) had soaked Dubai. In an average year, 94.7 mm (3.73 inches) of rain is recorded at Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel. Emirates said it would suspend check-in for passengers from Dubai International from 8am to midnight today due to operational difficulties caused by the incessant rain.

CHINA

China's water-hungry data centers and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) could dramatically increase the country's demand for water resources, according to a new report from China Water Risk - a Hong Kong-based NGO. The organization estimated that the annual water consumption of data centers in China is around 1.3 billion cubic meters, enough for the residential use of 26 million people. By 2030, the figure could exceed 3 billion cubic meters, equivalent to the demand of a population larger than that of South Korea.

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea shipped the first batch of rice this year to countries suffering from food shortages, aiming to supply 11 nations with 100,000 tons of rice, doubling a commitment made since 2018. The shipping ceremony took place took place in Gunsan, with 15,000 tons of rice destined for Bangladesh for Rohingya refugees. Seoul expects to complete shipping of the remaining volumes by the end of June; the rice will reach eight African countries, as well as Afghanistan and Yemen.

KAZAKHSTAN

According to official statistics, in the first two months of 2024 Kazakhstan broke all records in the production of computers and notebooks, with growth of almost 5%. However, there is no computer manufacturing company in the country, but the various parts imported from abroad are made up to be sold domestically and in Russia.

ORTHODOX

The former protodeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church Andrej Kuraev, a well-known theologian and publicist, reduced to lay status by Patriarch Kirill already in 2020 for his critical positions towards him, was reinstated in the ministry by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who judged " unfounded from the canonical point of view" the punishments decided by Moscow.

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