KOZHIKODE l wednesday l fEBRUARY 11, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION In less than 24 hours after Pakistan government cleared its team to play India on February 15, the excitement is visible everywhere. But nothing surpasses the aviation sector. The carriers have hiked ticket rates between most Indian cities to Sri Lanka’s capital and some tickets are being sold over `1 lakh return. The cheapest non-stop direct return flight from Delhi to the Sri Lankan capital for the game is `1,18,961 (as on Tuesday evening). Normally it’s below `30,000 if you , were to book tickets in this sector. Indigo, an LCC, usually charges in the region of `16,000 for a direct return flight from Chennai. It’s at `54,475 for the coming weekend (leaving on February 14 and returning on the Monday post g ame). Because Chennai is just an price surge Direct flights Game rates Normal rates 80-minute flight away from Colombo, it would make sense for people to book return domestic flights to Chennai and fly to Colombo from Chennai. Fans departing from Mumbai L15,000L46,629 L18,000 DEL to CMB flying to colombo? pay ` 1.18L from del e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @Chennai MAA to CMB indiavspakistan India team during a practice session in New Delhi on Tuesday | Sayantan Ghosh L1,18,961 will have to cough up approximately `82,000. Even hotel prices are surging. Some star hotels are charging six to 10 times more. One famous star landmark is priced at `1.50 lakh a night (normal days it’s `10k). The match could also see ICC chair, Jay Shah, and Pakistan L27,000- Cricket Board chief, Mohsin P13 L32,000 Naqvi, share the stage.  Today’s Matches 11am: South Africa vs Afghanistan (Ahmedabad), 3pm: Australia vs Ireland (Colombo), 7pm: England vs West Indies (Mumbai) 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 Factsheet shows free access to US pulses in the Indian market White House’s new document reveals farm products not mentioned in joint statement P USH P ITA D E y @ New Delhi EVEN as questions linger over the fine print of the India-US trade arrangement, fresh details are emerging from official releases put out by both sides. On Tuesday, the White House issued a factsheet which had some elements not explicitly mentioned in the joint statement released last weekend. The US document says India will allow duty-free import of certain pulses. The joint statement had no mention of this. According to the Trump administration, India will eliminate or cut tariffs on specific pulses and a range of industrial goods, alongside a broad basket of US farm and food products. These include dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits, among others. Currently, India imports pulses worth $5.5 billion. Out of this, import from the US accounts for just $90 million. Earlier, India’s commerce ministry had indicated a more calibrated approach. Lentils were placed under ‘highly sensitive’ agricultural items, with liberalisation to be done through tariff rate quotas, allowing limited quantities at lower duties. Even this partial opening has drawn criticism from farm groups who fear such gradual market access could affect Indian farmers over time. The US factsheet also lists agricultural products among the categories that would contribute to the proposed $500 billion worth of exports to India over five years. No-trust in, Speaker steps away from House work P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Pushing the political confrontation between the government and the Opposition to a bitter new high, the Congress-led Opposition on Tuesday submitted a notice for moving a resolution to remove Om Birla from the office of Lok Sabha Speaker, alleging he had acted in a blatantly partisan manner and ‘abused’ the constitutional office he occupies. Sources said a discussion on the motion could take place on March 9, the first day of the second part of the Budget Session. While Birla directed Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Ku- Gen in step with the publisher Army ex-Chief Gen Naravane on Tuesday shared Penguin’s statement on his book, Four Stars of Destiny, which emphasises that no copy “in print or digital form have been published,” saying: “This is the status” mar Singh to examine the notice, sources said that he will not preside over the House till the matter is settled. Article 96 of the Constitution bars a speaker or deputy speaker from presiding over the House sitting while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration. Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed submitted the notice signed by around 120 MPs, under Article 94(c) to the Lok Sabha Secretary The notice was . signed by several Opposition parties, including the SP, Left, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP-SP and the DMK. It holds Birla responsible for disallowing Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders from speaking in the House on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, as well as for suspending eight MPs. However, TMC refrained from signing the notice. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee said his party has “no problem” in signing the notice, but stressed that the Opposition should first approach the Speaker with their grievances, such as the suspension of eight MPs. 3-Hr deadline for a.i. abuse Takedown R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi THE Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Tuesday notified a new framework under which any synthetically generated information (SGI) or AI-generated content that includes sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate images, obscene or sexually explicit content, or fake documents or electronic records will be treated as illegal. Under the framework, AIgenerated content used for fraud, harassment, child abuse, misinformation, or any other criminal activity will be dealt with under the same laws as other illegal online content. Failure to comply may invite criminal action under various Indian laws, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The framework has been notified as amendments to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The new rules mandate that AI-generated content must be clearly and prominently labelled as “synthetically generated”. The label should be easy to notice and must include permanent metadata or technical markers. One of the most significant changes is the sharp reduction in response timelines. Earlier, social media platforms had up to 36 hours to respond to government or police orders. This has now been reduced to three hours. Grievances must be addressed within seven days instead of 15, urgent cases within 36 hours instead of 72. express read V-C dissolves students union; clashes rock KU T’Puram: Kerala University V-C Mohanan Kunnummal dissolved the SFI-controlled varsity union, even as protests by the student outfit over the denial of nod for the university youth festival turned violent in the capital on Tuesday. The V-C’s move paves the way for fresh union elections | P6 ED likely to question actor Jayaram Kochi: The ED is likely to question actor Jayaram next week as part of its probe into the Sabarimala gold scam. It recently issued summons to the actor. This comes days after the agency questioned former Sabarimala administrative officer Murari Babu and former official S Sreekumar | P7 SC agrees to hear plea against Assam CM New Delhi: The SC on Tuesday agreed to consider listing a plea of Left leaders seeking action against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma over a video allegedly showing him taking aim and firing with a rifle at Muslim community members.