LIVE: India sees worst power cuts in 6 years; braces for more heatwaves

Live news updates: India is facing its worst electricity shortage in more than six years as the IMD has predicted that the ongoing heatwave sweeping through vast swathes of the country will intensify in the next five days.

In New Delhi, temperatures have soared past 40 degrees Celsius for several days and are forecast to linger around 44C until Sunday.

Ukraine on Wednesday said that Russia's offensive in the east picked up momentum, with several towns coming under intense attack as Moscow's forces attempt to surround Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak on Thursday said that no agreement has been reached on a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "The time of the meeting of the presidents of the two countries and the context of the meeting have not been determined yet," Podolyak, who is also a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the peace talks with Russia, said. 

After the Russian gas supplier Gazprom announced that it was fully stopping its gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria, due to the two EU member states' "failure to pay in rubles", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union (EU) is ready to face the suspension of Russian gas deliveries to its member states.

Meanwhile, Russia will hold an informal UN Security Council meeting on May 6 to present first-hand information about the situation on the ground in Ukraine, a Russian official said.