KOCHI l thursday l april 24, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION European Union hits Apple, meta with 700 million euros in fines In a decision likely to further strain its ties with the US, the EU has slapped steep penalties on the American firms for breaking its competition rules Penalty over App store monopoly, ads First action under digital markets act Apple must pay 500 million euros for preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store. As for Meta Platforms, it must pay a 200 million euro fine for forcing Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing personalised ads or paying to avoid them. Both companies indicated they would appeal | p10 ■ ■ The penalties were the first issued under the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, designed to give consumers and businesses more choice and prevent Big Tech “gatekeepers” from cornering digital markets “Both Apple and Meta have taken away free choice from their users,” Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive V-P said 60 days timeframe for Apple and Meta to comply with the decision 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 CCS also decides to shut Attari Check Post to press pak, Indus treaty put on ice J ayan t h J a c o b @ New Delhi In response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, including a Nepali national, India on Wednesday put Pakistan on notice, placing the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, expelling military attachés, slashing diplomatic staff and suspending the entry of its nationals, citing crossborder links to the assault. India also decided to shut down the Integrated Check Post at Attari with immediate effect, as part of the measures taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCS assessed the overall security situation and instructed “all forces to remain on high alert”. “It (CCS) resolved that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. “In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the ter rorist attack were brought out. It was noted that this attack came in the wake of the successful holding of elections in the Union Territory and its steady progress towards economic growth and development,” Misri said. The Defence, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi have been declared persona non grata and must leave India within a week. India will withdraw its own Defence, Navy, and Air Advisors from its High Commission in Islamabad. These positions in both missions are now annulled, and five support staff associated with the service advisors will also be withdrawn from each side. Diplomatic strength in both missions will be reduced from 55 to 30 by May 1. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with immediate effect “until Pakistan verifiably ends support for cross-border terrorism,” Misri said. The treaty signed in 1960, is , considered one of the most generous and enduring water-sharing pacts globally. Now, India has frozen it, halting all data exchange and suspending “its obligations” to share river waters. It has been decided the Integrated Check Post at Attari will be closed, with a May 1 deadline for return of those who crossed over with valid documents. Travel under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme is now barred for Pakistani nationals, with existing visas cancelled and current holders given 48 hours to exit. Taking a strong view of Pakistan’s role in the Pahalgam massacre, Misri said: “As with the recent extradition of Tahawwur Rana, India will be unrelenting in the pursuit of those who have committed acts of terror, or conspired to make p5, 7, 8 them possible.”  Pak’s Military diplomats expelled Navy Lt Vinay Narwal’s wife Himanshi breaks down while paying tribute to her husband killed in the attack | pTI Diplomatic Staff reduced Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday that decided on coercive action against Pakistan over the J&K massacre | PTI Sketches out, Khalid mastermind faces of terror F aya z Wan i an d M U K E SH R A N J A N @ Srinagar/New Delhi A day after 25 tourists and a local person were shot dead in Pahalgam, security agencies on Wednesday released sketches of the three terrorists involved in the attack. Intelligence agencies also identified Pakistan-based Lashkar-eTaiba’s top commander Saifullah Kasuri alias Khalid as the mastermind behind the carnage. One of the three assailants is suspected to be a local while the others are Pakistani nationals. “The team of three was led by one Pakistani terrorist Asif Fauji,” sources said. “We suspect the terrorists were provided support by some locals by way of logistics and reconnaissance,” a security official said. Security agencies reckon that the assailants may have used M4-carbine rifles. They possibly crossed into Pahalgam from Kishtwar, where three terrorists were recently killed in an encounter. The police have also questioned some locals. A massive manhunt for the attackers is on. “Security forces are using sniffer dogs besides aerial surveillance through drones and helicopters to locate the terrorists,” a security official said. Khalid, the mastermind, heads the LeT’s Peshawar unit. In the past, he had expressed frustration over Paki- India is united in fighting it, says Kharge Kashmir observes bandh against killings by terrorists for the first time in more than 35 years 1 Army personnel at the site of the attack Pahalgam attack is direct assault on Indian state, the country is one in fighting it, says Cong chief Kharge 2 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi Aravinda Menon, son of N Ramachandran, receives the mortal remains of his father at Kochi airport on Wednesday. Agriculture Minister P Prasad (left) and Aluva MLA Anwar Sadath (right) are seen. The body will be kept at Changampuzha Park from 7am to 9am on Friday for the public to pay homage. The cremation will be carried out at the crematorium near Edappally at noon | A Sanesh | P4 in the snow-clad mountains. “Arathy accompanied Ramachandran to trek the hills to visit Baisaran. Shiela stayed back as she had difficulty climbing. Arathy said the terrorists suddenly emerged from the pine forest and asked tourists for their identity. When Ramachandran revealed his name, they shot him point-blank. Arathy screamed and ran. The terrorists spared the driver as he was a Muslim,” said N C Induchoodan, retired deputy conservator of forest and Ramachandran’s cousin. “Uncle returned from Qatar two years ago and was enjoying the retired life with Arathy and the g r a n d ch i l d re n , ” s a i d a c t o r Shankar Induchoodan, son of In● More on P4 duchoodan.  Jayathilak to be Kerala’s 50th Chief Secy thapuram native Jayathilak is a multifaceted personality. Having passed out of ThiruThe government has appoint- vananthapuram Medical Coled Dr A Jayathilak as the 50th lege in 1990, he started his buChief Secretary of Kerala. reaucratic career as the The 1991 batch IAS officer, cur- Mananthavady sub-collector rently serving as Additional and went to hold different Chief Secretary (finance), will posts later. As the district colsucceed incumbent Chief Sec- l e c t o r o f K o l l a m a n d retary Sarada MuKozhikode, Jayathilak raleedharan who relaunched notable initires on April 30. tiatives such as a caManoj Joshi, the reer guidance prosenior most Kerala g ramme for school cadre IAS officer of students. The collecthe 1989 batch, was tor’s participation in among the probables programmes in differA Jayathilak for the state’s top buent schools was apprereaucratic post. Howciated by all. ever, Jayathilak was picked as Jayathilak, along with tourManoj continued on central ism secretary Amitabh Kant deputation. Another 1991 and director V Venu, is also batch officer, Raju Narayana credited with taking brand Swamy is yet to get the Chief , ‘Kerala Tourism’ to greater Secretary grade. heights. T he experience A doctor and former quiz helped him in securing a depc h a m p i o n , T h i r u v a n a n - utation to Chhattisgarh, then E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram 50% US tariffs on Chinese goods could come down to between 50% and 65%, a senior White House official told Wall Street Journal Vietnam began trade talks with the US to avert the 46% tariffs set to kick in when the 90-day pause ends Finance Secretary Ajay Seth said direct impact of US tariffs on India’s GDP growth would be around 0.2 to 0.5% 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express a new state, where he served as the maiden managing director of Chhattisgarh tourism board. In two years, Jayathilak was able to successfully brand and market Chhattisgarh internationally . As a student, Jayathilak won several quiz competitions in school and college. He consecutively bagged the first prize in the state-level wildlife quiz competitions organised for college students by the forests and wildlife department. Jayathilak’s elevation to the top post comes amid a power struggle in the bureaucratic circle following the allegations levelled by IAS officer N Prasanth. Set to retire in June 2026, Jayathilak will have a longer tenure than Sarada, who held the Chief Secretary office for seven months after taking over from her husband Dr V Venu in September 2024.  Exodus begins, 90% tour bookings for Kashmir cancelled, say Delhi travel agencies 3 Airlines operate addl flights to Srinagar with reasonable airfare for tourists wanting to return home early 4 Bharat will not bend to terror. The culprits of this dastardly terror attack will not be spared. Those behind the Pahalgam atrocity will face severe consequences —Amit Shah, Union home minister Tragic end to Ramachandran’s holiday trip with family N Ramachandran had a sweet vacation in mind when he took his wife, daughter and two grandchildren to Baisaran, the fabled valley known as Mini Switzerland, in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on Monday . However, the family’s excitement and happiness gave way to shock, horror and grief as terrorists mercilessly gunned down Ramachandran and 24 other tourists on Tuesday . A Gulf returnee, Ramachandran had set off for Kashmir with wife Shiela, daughter Arathy and grandchildren Kedar and Drupath on Monday The children were in . high spirits, hoping to experience Kashmir’s cool weather and take stan’s strategic shift in its Kashmir policy, particularly after India abrogated Article 370 that granted special powers to J&K. Khalid has always held the view that it was because of Pakistan’s decision to scale back LeT’s operations in Kashmir that violence escalated in Balochistan as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sources said. A section of the people claim that the TRF gunned down the tourists to retaliate against 85,000 domicile certificates issued to non-locals, though there is no conclusive evidence to establish it. Since its inception, the TRF has targeted non-Kashmiris and minorities. The murders of well-known chemist Makhan Lal and school principal Supinder Kaur in 2021, the 2023 Anantnag encounter, and the killing of civilians in Ganderbal in 2024, were all done by the TRF. Interview ON p4 Quiz champ, doctor A Jayathilak succeeds Sarada Muraleedharan who retires on April 30 As student, he won several quiz contests in school and college. He is also an MBBS graduate Set to retire on June 2026, Jayathilak’s appointment comes amid power struggle in the state’s bureaucratic circle SAARC visa scheme off J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah consoles the father of Syed Adil Shah who was killed in the terrorist attack | PTI Local lad fought assailants, laid down his life F aya z w an i @ Srinagar When terrorists opened fire at tourists at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam on Tuesday , local pony ride operator Syed Adil Shah’s first instinct was not to run for cover, but to save the lives of the tourists around him. The sole breadwinner of his family, Adil charged at the terrorists, trying to snatch the gun from one of them to stop the attack. This selfless act cost him his life. “He attempted to snatch the rifle of a militant to prevent him from firing and save the lives of the tourists. That is why he was then targeted,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Syed Adil Shah Abdullah told reporters. Adil’s body was returned to his family on Wednesday “We have to take . care of his family. The government stands with him and whatever it can do, it will do,” Abdullah said while attending his funeral. Adil left home on Tuesday morning for work, his father said. “Around 3 pm, we heard that tourists were attacked at Baisaran. We tried to call him, but his phone was switched off,” he said. The family lodged a complaint with the local police station. In the evening, they were informed that Adil was shot dead. “He was our sole breadwinner and we were dependent on him for our survival,” Adil’s father said demanding justice.