News Wrap: Lok Sabha Polls begin, IMD heatwave warnings, Israel-Iran tensions, Elon Musk's visit to India and more

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News Wrap this Week: As we wrap up this week, a look at the top news headlines from from April 15 to April 21. India saw its first phase of voting for the mammoth Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on Friday, April 19. While a few areas in West Bengal and Manipur saw violence and exchange of gunfire, the first phase of polling was "largely peaceful across 21 States/UTs", the Elections Commission of India (ECI) said.

The voting concluded by 6 pm in 102 Lok Sabha constituencies. In Phase 1 of the Lok Sabha elections, polling has been completed for 10 states/UTs, along with voting for state assemblies in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. These 10 states/UTs are Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

See more details here The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts an increase in heatwave days across the country, with April expecting four to eight days against the normal one to three, PTI reported. The entire April-June period may witness 10-20 heatwave days, with certain regions facing over 20 days of scorching conditions. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada, Odisha and Vidharba are predicted to record more heatwave days, some even more than 20 days of the month.

See full here Tesla CEO Elon Musk's highly anticipated visit to India has been temporarily put on hold. “Unfortunately, very heavy Tesla obligations require that the visit to India be delayed, but I do very much look forward to visiting later this year," Musk said in a post on social media platform X, on April 20. Earlier this month Elon Musk on the X platform wrote, “Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister