KOCHI l Wednesday l January 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION At least 66 dead, 51 injured in fire at a ski resort in turkey hotel’s location hampering rescue efforts The fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, 300 kilometres east of Istanbul, occurred near the start of a two-week winter break for schools, when hotels in the region are packed. A part of the 161-room hotel is on the side of a cliff, hampering rescue efforts. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said all steps will be taken to nab those responsible for the blaze A fire raged through a 12-story hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday during a school holiday, killing 66 people and injuring 51 six-member panel to lead investigation ■ ■ The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the blaze, which is believed to have started in the hotel’s restaurant section, later spreading to other portions Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the hotel underwent inspections in 2021 and 2024 and was found up to the mark 238 registered guests were present in the hotel at the time of the blaze 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 Experts rule out significant Impact on India due to Trump’s trade policies Short-term pain, long-term gain... D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi HOURS after taking charge as US president, Donald Trump took a slew of major executive actions to effect significant policy shifts, many of them with global ramifications whose ripple effects would be felt across the world including India. The Indian equity markets felt the tremors on Tuesday with benchmark indices falling by 1.6%, while the rupee tanked 14 paise to close at 86.59 against dollar. However, most analysts and commentators expect limited economic impact on India as most decisions won’t impact it directly, though the uncertainties could shake a few indicators in the short term. Soon after assuming office, Trump announced his America First Trade Policy withdrawal , from global tax deals as well as pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord. He declared a national energy emergency reinstating , the country’s oil and gas industry at the centre stage. He also ended the federal mandate for electric vehicles, which has set a target of electrifying all new light-duty vehicles by 2027. While he did not sign any orders announcing import tariff hike, he proposed 25% duty on goods coming from Canada and Mexico. Ends remote work policies for federal workers Easing regulatory burdens DON’s 1 day st key executive orders Donald Trump signed on HIS INAUGURATION DAY Withdraws US from the Paris Agreement and WHO Pardons for Jan 6 US Capitol Attack Trump pardoned around 1,500 people convicted or charged in the Jan 6 attack End to Federal cases Trump ordered an end to federal cases against ‘political opponents’ of Biden administration, effectively helping his own supporters He also hinted he would target countries with trade surplus with the US. India figures in this list but Soumya Kanti Ghosh, SBI’s group chief economic adviser, says the impact will be limited as India has broadened its export market. Ajay Sahai, director-general and CEO, Federation of India Exports Organisation, believes India stands to gain. “These measures aim to protect US industries but they also Trump ordered easing of regulatory burdens on oil and natural gas production Ending Birthright Citizenship Denies citizenship to children born in the US whose parents lack legal immigration status even if they are not illegals create opportunities for Indian exporters to fill supply chain gaps in textiles, pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods,” he said. Trump’s US-centric energy policies also signal potential sanctions on Russia and Iran, which could disrupt energy imports for India. But on the positive side, there is a possibility of more US energy coming to India, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. P9 ...India sees window of opportunity J ayan t h J a c o b @ New Delhi External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be the first foreign minister to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a bilateral discussion, as India aims to strengthen its ties with the US following the inauguration of President Donald Trump as its 47th President. Rubio will be meeting Jaishankar soon after his meeting with foreign ministers of India, Japan and Ausralia under the Quad format in the same venue. Jaishankar, who represented India at the inauguration, was seated in the front row alongside Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. He also had brief interactions with members of Trump’s administration, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and FBI Director nominee Kash Patel. Trump is expected to visit India to attend the first Quad summit later this year. Sources said India-US ties will continue to grow under Trump despite negotiating some challenges. Top gun among 14 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh recovered. The casualty count is expected to rise as the search IN a big jolt to the outlawed operation has been intensiCPI (Maoist), its Central Com- fied. This is the first operation mittee member Jayram Pratap where senior leaders of the Reddy alias Chalapbanned outfit have athi and 13 senior cadbeen killed in Chhattisre were killed in an garh,” Nikhil Raexchange of fire with khecha, Gariaband SP security forces along told this paper. the Chhattisgarh-OdiThere were intellisha border, 160 km gence inputs specifying east of Raipur. the presence of the senWho is The gun battle late Chalapathi ior Maoist assembling on Sunday continued in the region. A joint Chalapathi, a intermittently for 48 operation launched by master military hours in the Kua special team faced strategist in his larighat forest of heavy gunfire from the 60s, had a I1 Mainpur region in Naxals, the officer said. crore bounty on Gariaband district, Union Home Minister his head. Born said a senior police ofAmit Shah said on X: in Chittoor, he ficer supervising the “Another mighty blow joined the operation. to Naxalism. With a reMaoist Chalapathi, who solve for a Naxal-free movement 27 hailed from Andhra India and joint efforts years ago, and Pradesh, was an acof security forces, Naxlent strategic tive member of the alism is breathing its guidance and Central Committee, last today .” intellectual which holds signifiTwo security personsupport cant authority in the nel, who were injured banned CPI (Maoist), in the gunfight, are out just below the Politburo. He of danger. The forces recovhad a bounty of `1 crore on his ered self-loading guns, INSAS head. “The encounter is still rifles and IEDs from the scene, on. So far, 14 bodies have been the SP said. E J A Z kai s e r @ Raipur safe Saif Actor Saif Ali Khan back home from hospital following multiple surgeries five days ago after he was stabbed by an intruder, in Mumbai on Tuesday | ANI 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express