MAHABALIPURAM, India (AFP) — Local Indian authorities banned public gatherings and closed shops as more than 1,000 rescue personnel mobilized against a powerful cyclone barrelling towards the southeastern coast, bringing heavy rains and strong winds. Cyclone Nivar is set to cross the coasts of Tamil Nadu state and the small territory of Puducherry as a “very severe cyclonic storm” late Wednesday, the Indian Meteorological Department said. Parts of Andhra Pradesh, a coastal state north of […]