flying to colombo? pay `1.18-L from del e x p r e s s n e 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 80- 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 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 BHUBANESWAR l wednesday l february 11, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 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 P13 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 No-trust notice in, Speaker access to US pulses in steps away from House work the Indian market Pr e e 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”. 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” | P9 OHRC halts Satkosia village relocation for ‘procedural lapses’ In a major setback to the state government’s ongoing village relocation in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has ordered suspension of the programme on grounds of procedural lapses and rights violation | P5 AI abuse: Social media takedown time cut to 3 hrs 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, nonconsensual 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 ac- Tusker tramples 3 women to death in Dhenkanal Express News Service @ Dhenkanal A lone tusker went berserk and trampled three women to death and left another three injured in Patpuri reserve forest under Dhenkanal Sadar range on Tuesday afternoon. According to forest officials, a group of women had gone to the reserve forest, located about half a kilometre from their village Lochapalli, to collect firewood. While they were gathering wood, the tusker reportedly emerged from the dense forest and attacked them, leaving them critically injured. The tusker is suspected to have strayed from the adjoining Athagarh forest division. The deceased were identified as Indumati Pradhan (60), Tuni Behera (50) and Kuntala Pradhan (40), all from Lochapalli village under Sadar police limits. After learning about the incident, villagers and forest officials rushed the injured to Dhenkanal district headquarters hospital, where three women succumbed. The other three, after treatment, were later discharged.  Continued on P7 tivity 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. 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. caste prejudice Dalit cook row shuts anganwadi centre for 3 mths in K’para village A s h i s S e n a pat i @ Kendrapara Exposing the deep-rooted caste prejudice still prevailing in the society, residents of a village in Kendrapara district’s Rajnagar block have allegedly stopped sending their children to the local anganwadi centre after the appointment of a dalit woman as a helpercum-cook nearly three months ago. The centre at Nuagaon village under Ghadiamala gram panchayat has reportedly not been functioning since 23-yearold Sarmista Sethi was appointed as an anganwadi helper-cum-cook on November 24 last year. Soon after her appointment, the village committee allegedly decided to boycott the centre in protest and stopped sending their kids to the centre. Even pregnant and lactating women have refused to visit the centre since then. Sethi alleged that she faced resistance from the villagers who said their children would not eat the food prepared by her. The village committee head also reportedly instructed families, including seven dalit households of Nuagaon, not to send their wards to the centre. Around 45 families, including the seven dalit households, reside in the village. “ After my appointment, some upper-caste villagers warned me not to cook for the children. When I refused, they stopped sending their kids. Even women stopped coming to the centre,” she alleged. Kendrapara collector Raghuram R Iyer said he has directed the district social welfare officer to submit a detailed report on the Continued on P7 matter.