flying to colombo? pay `1.18L from del e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @Chennai 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 India 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 MAA to CMB indiavspakistan Pakistan players celebrate after beating USA in T20 World Cup on Tuesday | AP 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 `15,000`46,629 `18,000 DEL to CMB bengaluru l wednesday l february 11, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION `1,18,961 `27,000`32,000 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 Cricket Board chief, Mohsin Naqvi, share the stage.  P19 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 No-trust notice in, Speaker access to US pulses in steps away from House work the Indian market P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi White House’s new document reveals farm products not mentioned in joint statement PUSHPITA 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. The joint statement had used softer language, saying India ‘intends’ to purchase $500 billion worth of US energy products, aircraft and parts, precious metals, technology goods, and coking coal. Indian officials have clarified that a significant portion of these imports would be linked to requirements for data centres, global capability centres, aircraft, engines and parts. The US factsheet states both countries will “significantly increase bilateral trade in technology products and expand joint technology cooperation”. express read MUDA 50:50 scam: Lokayukta issues fresh notices Mysuru: The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) 50:50 site allotment scam is once again in the spotlight with the Lokayukta issuing notices to over 40 individuals who had obtained sites. The scam pertains to allegations of illegal allotment of 1,055 residential sites | P4 SC agrees to consider plea against Himanta S u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to list and hear a plea filed by CPI and CPI(M) leaders against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over a viral video showing him taking aim and firing a gun at members of a particular community . Lawyer Nizam Pasha, for CPI and CPI(M), submitted that the court should hear the matter urgently as disturbing speeches were made by Sarma against a community Chief Justice . of India Surya Kant, while hearing the plea, said, “The problem is, as soon as elections come, part of the election is fought in the Supreme Court. That is the problem. We will find out and will give a date.” The petition objected to a public speech of Sarma on January 27 as well as a video shared on BJP Assam unit’s X handle. The video of Sarma was taken down following an outrage. Separate pleas have been filed seeking FIRs against the chief minister for hate speech and communal polarisation. 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 Kumar 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 Mo- hamed 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 re- 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” | P11 Priyank’s follower dances with pistol E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kalaburagi A video showing a follower of district in-charge minister Priyank Kharge and Afzalpur MLA MY Patil dancing while holding a pistol went viral on Tuesday The aide, Matin Patel, is seen dancing . with some others on a stage with the firearm in his hand. The Chowk police have filed a case. Police Commissioner Dr Sharanappa SD told TNIE that a notice has been served to Matin Patel, who has replied that it was a toy gun made of plastic. He has also stated that he was dancing at a wedding ceremony of his relatives and his followers had videographed it. The police are verifying his reply the commissioner said. , Reacting strongly to the incident, the state BJP said law and order has died in Kalaburagi. “It is Republic of Kalaburagi,” the party taunted. “Matin Patel who is identified in the closer group of Afzalpur MLA M. Y. Patil and minister @ Priyank Kharge has shown his egotism by exhibiting Pistol in public. This is the A video grab of Matin Patel, real picture of follower of minister Priyank Kharge, Kalaburagi which dancing with a pistol in Kalaburagi is in the tight grip of @ Kharge,” the party posted on its official X account. “Kalaburagi has become a den of gun and drug mafia. Rowdies are wandering without fear. Incapable Priyank Khargeji, is it your model of ruling. When you are in the hangout of power, who will take action on your followers,” the party questioned. Ryot cuts branches of sandalwood tree at Vidhana Soudha Group D staffer steals gold from bag of man visiting min at Soudha E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru In an unusual protest against the government and its officials, a farmer from Chikkamagaluru chopped two branches of a sandalwood tree inside the Vidhana Soudha premises on Tuesday The police arrest. ed Vishu Kumar, and registered a case against him. Kumar’s action came a day after officials allegedly cut down 30 sandalwood trees belonging to him at Tarikere taluk in Chikkamagaluru district. P7 A Group ‘D’ employee of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), due for retirement in three months, was arrested for stealing around 300 gm of gold ornaments from a bag belonging to a person visiting the office of Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh. The accused, Anthony Das, was arrested on February 5, while the incident occurred on the previous day around 10 pm. The bag was kept on the bay window outside the minister’s office (Room Number 316A) at Vidhana Soudha. The visitor, Naveen, had come with a bag and kept it on the window before en- @ Bengaluru tering the minister’s room. While going back, he forgot to take the bag. When he came the next day to collect the bag, the cash and gold ornaments inside it were missing. He filed a complaint with the jurisdictional Vidhana Soudha police. “Das was seen checking the bag, taking only the gold ornaments and leaving the bag. Based on the footage, he was secured inside Vidhana Soudha. When the visitor entered Vidhana Soudha, policemen at the gates did not find any gold or cash in the bag except for some medical records. It is not clear if he had collected the valuables from somebody else inside Vidhana Soudha. The case is still under investigation,” said an officer. sponsible 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. The decision to submit the notice was taken at a meeting of floor leaders in the office of Mallikarjun Kharge. It was also decided that the Opposition will attend the discussion on the Union Budget. Rahul is scheduled to speak on Thursday during the discussion. Referring to Birla’s remarks that he had “concrete information” that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat and carry out “some unexpected act”, the notice said it was derogatory in nature. takedown time by Social media cut to 3 hrs on a.i. abuse 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, AI-generated 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 Information Technology (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 for viewers to notice and must include permanent metadata or technical markers. One of the most significant changes in the 2026 amendment 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, and certain takedown actions must be completed within two hours. In addition, platforms must inform users that misuse of AI tools can lead to punishment.