Kannur l friday l december 12, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Aviation regulator asks IndiGo CEO to appear before it again Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to appear before it again on Friday amid ongoing flight disruptions 60 flights from Bengaluru cancelled Elbers was summoned by the DGCA on Thursday to submit a comprehensive report, including data and an update on the recent operational disruptions. Following the meeting, the regulator called him to another meeting on Friday. Meanwhile, disruptions continued, with the crisis-hit airline cancelling 60 flights from Bengaluru airport ■ 4-member L10,000 vouchers for affected travellers ■ DGCA officials began monitoring IndiGo’s operations, refunds, and other processes from the airline’s headquarters on Thursday IndiGo announced that it will offer travel vouchers worth D10,000 to each passenger whose flights were cancelled or significantly delayed between December 3 and 5. This will be in addition to the refunds Dgca team stationed at IndiGo’s Gurgaon headquarters CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI two-day trade talks conclude Govt, guv fail; now we will appoint VC, says SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump at a roundtable discussion with top business leaders at White House on Wednesday | AP/PTI $1 mn ‘Trump Gold Card’ rolled out ‘Warm’ Modi, Trump call amid trade deal push President Donald Trump on Wednesday launched the $1 mn ‘Trump Gold Card’, a visa programme offering pathway to US citizenship. He said if, say, IBM wants to hire an individual at the top of his or her class at Wharton but can’t guarantee the person stays in the country, the company can buy the Gold Card and “that J ayanth J aco b @ New Delhi employee can be there for a very long period of time.” | P9 Amid hopes for an early framework trade deal and intense discussions over US agriculture and dairy products seeking access to Indian markets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump on Thursday a call described as “warm , and engaging”. Modi said that two leaders reviewed progress in the bilateral relationship. “Had a very warm and engaging conversation with President Trump. We reIndia and the US on Thursday viewed the progress in our concluded two days of talks bilateral relations and with both sides exchanging discussed regional and views on trade-related issues. international developBoth sides agreed to continue ments. India and the the purposeful and positive US will continue to engagement. A delegation led work together for globy Deputy US Trade bal peace, stability and Representative Rick Switzer prosperity,” Modi posted was in Delhi for the talks | P10 on X after the discussion. People familiar with the call said the two leaders exchanged views on expanding cooperation across trade, critical technologies, energy defence and , security, and agreed to work The US should sign the free closely to address shared stratrade agreement (FTA) with tegic and economic challengIndia on the “dotted lines” if it es. They also reiterated satisis happy with what has been faction at the momentum in offered by India, Commerce the India–US Comprehensive and Industry Minister Piyush Global Strategic Partnership Goyal said on Thursday. He and underlined the need to welcomed the Trump sustain progress. administration’s views on The conversation comes as India’s offer, but refrained Washington signals cautious from giving a deadline for the optimism on market access signing of the FTA | P10 talks. US Trade Representative Purposeful and positive engagement Sign on the FTA dotted line: Goyal Had a very warm and engaging conversation with President Trump Jamieson Greer told a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee this week that New Delhi had offered the “best (trade) offer ever” in ongoing negotiations, even as he acknowledged resistance in India to opening its market to US row crops and meat products. “They have been very difficult nuts to crack… but they have been quite forward leaning,” Greer said, calling India a “viable alternative market” for American exporters. The new US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer’s visit to New Delhi is seen as critical, with both sides pushing to make crucial progress in trade talks amid American tariffs, including a 50% duty on certain Indian goods linked to purchases of Russian crude. Modi and Trump agreed to remain in touch, continuing a line of communication that has included calls on occasions ranging from Diwali greetings to discussions on the Gaza peace plan earlier this year. With the Kerala government and the governor failing to reach a consensus on finalising the names for the appointment of vice-chancellors at the two technical universities, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Justice (Retd) Sudhanshu Dhulia committee to recommend the names in order of preference for each of the universities. The Dhulia committee, which was appointed by the apex court to recommend a panel of names to be considered for the appointment of V-Cs at the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology, had earlier submitted the shortlisted names in alphabet- ‘Submit names in order of preference’ The SC Bench asked the Dhulia committee to submit the names in order of preference in a sealed cover by next Wednesday, and fixed the matter for further hearing on December 18. ic order. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Rajendra Arlekar failed to unanimously zero in on one name each for the two universities. The SC Bench, comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice K V Viswanathan, asked the Dhulia committee to submit the names in order of preference in a sealed cover by next Wednesday, and fixed the matter for further hearing on December 18. On Thursday Attor, ney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the governor, and senior counsel Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the state government, apprised the bench that despite their best efforts, the deadlock continues till date. The entire exercise has been very well undertaken by the Dhulia committee, the bench noted. It was expected that the chancellor and the CM would reach some consensus and finalise the names. However, nothing has been done so far except some exchange of letters between the two, it said. “We are of the view that in such situation, we should once again request the committee headed by Justice Dhulia to look into the letter of the chief minister and the reply of the chancellor and give us one Messi mania: Meet AND greet WITH STAR for `10 L Express News Service @ Hyderabad WANT to meet and greet one Lionel Messi? Well, there is a way. Pay up `10 lakh for a 15-minute meet and greet session with the football legend. Even if he may not be playing football or dribble past defenders during his trip to India, the name is enough to evoke an unimaginable romance. The craze to get a glimpse of the World Cup-winning captain has touched giddying heights during the GOAT tour. Take for instance the 38,000 capacity Uppal Stadium. It is sold out. The ticket price ranges from `2250 to `9000 (hospitality included). The session is set to be held at the Faluknama Palace before the bandwagon moves to the Stadium for an evening programme including a 20-minute match between Messi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy Mes. si’s journey will start in Kolkata on Friday and will have a stop-over in Hyderabad before flying to Mumbai and New Delhi on Dec 15. Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary for Special Projects and Investment Cell, and Special Chief Secretary, Tourism, Culture and Sports, Government of Telangana, outlined the programme in detail. On the meet-and-greet fee, Jayesh Ranjan framed it A10,00,000 A 15-minute meet & greet session with Messi can cost around L10 lakh as a personal decision. “If someone wants to meet Elon Musk for 15 minutes and is asked to pay `1 crore, and they see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they may be willing to spend that amount. This event is curated in the same way. But if someone simply wants to see Messi on the ground and watch him play, they can go to the stadium.” The football event at Uppal Stadium is scheduled from 7 pm on Saturday. “There is a 20-minute match between Messi and the Chief Minister. It is a friendly match. It is meant to allow both Messi and the Chief Minister to show their footballing abilities.” The Election Commission on Thursday revised the timeline for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in six states, including poll-bound Tamil Nadu, following requests from the chief electoral officers. However, poll-bound West Bengal was not granted any extension as the SIR exercise concluded on Thursday The West . Bengal government has been at the forefront of protests demanding a longer extension of SIR citing BLO distress and rushed timeline. The enumeration period for Tamil Nadu and Gujarat has been extended till December 14, and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 19, according to a statement by the EC. The enumeration period for these six states and UTs was to end on Thursday, and the draft electoral rolls were to be published on December 16. The schedule for poll-bound Kerala was revised earlier. The enumeration period for the state will end on December 18, and the draft electoral roll will be published on December 23. For Madhya Pradesh, Chhat- tisgarh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the deadline has been extended till December 18, and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 23. The exercise in Uttar Pradesh has been extended till December 26, and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 31. The enumeration period for Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and West Bengal end on Thursday The deci. sion came against the backdrop of suggestions that several electors had not been able to fill out or submit their forms. express read Actor assault case: Sentencing today Kochi: The prosecution is set to seek three life terms for accused numbers one to six, who were convicted in the 2017 actor abduction case, with the Ernakulam Principal and Sessions Judge scheduled to conduct the sentencing hearing and pronounce the quantum of punishment on Friday. On December 8, the trial court found the first six accused — Sunil aka Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh V P, Salim H aka Vadival Salim, and Pradeep — guilty. The court acquitted actor Dileep, stating prosecution failed to establish the conspiracy charge against him. P5 B’desh to go to polls on february 12 Bangladesh will hold national elections on February 12, it first tryst with democratic renewal since last year’s uprising that toppled PM Sheikh Hasina and forced her into exile 76.08% voter turnout in second phase of local body elections 70.91% recorded in first phase of polling 6 states get SIR extension, WB left out P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi composite report.We request the committee to give us the names in order of preference for each of the universities in sealed cover. We request the committee to undertake this exercise and forward its report by Wednesday, 17th December, 2025 so that we can take up the matter on Thursday, 18th December, 2025 as first item on top of the board,” the bench said. During the course of hearing on Thursday Gupta submitted , that the law minister and the higher education minister had met the chancellor on Wednesday He said the CM’s objection . was only with respect to one name, that of Ciza Thomas, and that the chancellor did not indicate any particular objection to the other names. The CM has no objection to any other name, other than this particular one, Gupta said. On Thursday, voting was held in 18,274 polling stations in Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts. Except a few incidents of skirmishes at polling stations, allegations of bogus voting and EVM malfunctioning, the second phase of elections passed off smoothly 78.30% Wayanad district witnessed the highest turnout, with both phases of polling taken together. Power nap A child sleeps peacefully as voters queue up at GITE Men & Model UP School, Kannur, to cast their vote on Thursday | E Gokul Counting of votes polled in both phases on December 13 I CC m e di a r ig h t s High valuation puts off broadcasters; real money gaming ban adds to woes S w aroop S w aminathan @ Chennai THE Inter national Cricket Council (ICC) and one of its broadcast partners, JioStar, continue to battle headwinds as the partners try to renegotiate the inflated $3bn deal for the right to show the sport’s biggest international events over a four-year cycle. The deal still has two years to run but JioStar, who were left with the rights following the merger with Star Sports last year, reportedly want out of the deal. The ICC, whose funding remains the lifeblood for over 97% of its members, sounded out other broadcast houses about the possibility of stepping in and picking up the remainder of the deal but they have shown no interest so far. “At those prices, it will make no business sense for the likes of Sony (Netflix and Amazon were among the others who were approached) to even show any interest,” one industry insider told this daily . Sony has always run a tight ship around sports properties. It’s kind of why they walked away after the initial Indian Premier League (IPL) years. To further illustrate that point, when the ICC decided to split the then existing arrangement of selling media rights in eight year cycles into two blocks of four, Sony only bid $1.6bn, almost 50% less than the winning bid. Jio had also shown interest but their bid was $900mn. This is why there was a feeling that Star had grossly overpaid as soon as they had won the right back in 2022. There were some discussions around recalibrating the deal a year or so ago but those discussions didn’t go anywhere. What has complicated the situation is the policy change on real money gaming (RMG). With a blanket ban on RMG, the broadcaster has not been able to get as much in terms of advertising revenue. With ed tech — another big area when it comes to live sport — also suffering in the current climate, there maybe a shortfall. As it stands, in- dustry insiders do not expect any of Sony Netflix (who have , just made a huge commitment to acquire Warner Bros.) and Amazon to pick the rights and definitely not at the eye-watering prices discussed above. One former ICC official who has an intimate working knowledge of these issues suggested to this daily that JioStar and ICC may need each other. Which is why the person fully expects JioStar to retain the ICC properties at least till the end of the deal in 2027.