Cyclone Laila is set to hit the Andhra Pradesh coast between Kakinada and Nellore early on Thursday morning. Fearing the possibility of massive destruction, the entire state machinery is on alert to face the cyclone, aptly named Laila, the Arabic feminine for night.

Migration was here to stay and there was a need to find ways to deal with it, while engaging those left behind in a productive manner. This was the underlying theme that came up for discussion at a function organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) here on Friday to mark the International Day of Family.

In the wake of the continuing tension in Manipur following the standoff between the state government and NSCN(I-M) general secretary T. Muivah who is insisting on visiting his ancestral village in the state, Manipur governor Gurbachan Jag met home minister P. Chidambaram on Friday.

The southwest monsoon will hit the Kerala coast on May 30, two days before its normal onset, heralding its arrival in India this year. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a normal monsoon in 2010, after a year of severe drought.

The rise in gold prices is not expected to dampen the spirits of gold buyers this Akshaya Tritiya, which falls on May 16. The yellow metal, which has been on the rise over the last few months owing to weak dollar and the euro crisis, peaked at a record high of Rs 1,670 per gram (22 carats) on Wednesday,

May 11: External affairs minister S.M. Krishna will visit Islamabad on July 15 for talks with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi. In Islamabad, Mr Qureshi was careful to avoid any suggestion of a resumption of the stalled composite dialogue, which, New Delhi has studiously maintained, would have to wait till after Islamabad has brought the 26/11 terrorists to justice.

May 11: Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday that had the Congress accepted Trina-mul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s terms for seat adjustments in the May 30 Kolkata civic election, the party’s existence would have been in jeopardy. Mr

May 11: Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who visited Amethi on Tuesday with AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday.

May 11: External affairs minister S.M. Krishna will visit Islamabad on July 15 for talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to discuss confidence- and trust-building measures.