Guwahati, Jan 8: The Assam government announced a half-day holiday in Kamrup Metropolitan district on Tuesday in view of the India-Sri Lanka ODI match in Guwahati.

All state government offices and educational institutions in the district will be closed at 1 pm, according to a notification issued on Sunday.

"The governor of Assam is pleased to declare half day local holiday on 10th January, 2023 within the Kamrup (Metro) district on the occasion of ODI match between India and Sri Lanka to be held on 10/01/2023 at Barsapara ACA Cricket Stadium, Guwahati," it said.

Guwahati, which forms the Kamrup Metropolitan district, will host the first game of the three-match ODI series between the two countries.

India captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have already reached the city for the match. Other members of the Indian team and the Sri Lankan team are scheduled to arrive late on Sunday.

The two teams will practice at the stadium on Monday.

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Caracas (Venezuela) (AP): The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela is scheduled to land on Thursday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seven years after the US Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.

The resumption of a commercial flight between the two countries comes in the wake of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, in early January.

It also comes a month after the US formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country.

Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was scheduled to depart from Miami at 10:16 a.m. local time and arrive three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.

Earlier, the airline said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.

In late January, US President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to visit.

“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.

The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighbouring Latin American countries.

In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.

American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.