visakhapatnam l thursday l april 24, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 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 coax pak, Indus treaty put on ice J aya n 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 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% 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 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 @ Vijayawada Former Intelligence Chief PSR Anjaneyulu has been remanded to judicial custody till May 7 by a Vijayawada court in connection with the case involving Mumbai-based actress Kadambari Jethwani. The senior police officer was arrested on Tuesday and produced before the Third Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate court following a medical examination at the Government Hospital in Vijayawada on Wednesday . According to the remand report, serious allegations have surfaced against Anjaneyulu, including abuse of power and fabricating evidence. The report claims that fake docu- 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 W a n i a n d M U K ESH RAN J AN @ 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-e-Toiba’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- 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 ments were created and used to frame the actress and a case was re gistered under his instructions. It is also alleged that he influenced other police officers Kranti Rana and Vishal Gunni to file case and directed lowerlevel officers to act on forged evidence. The remand report further states that Anjaneyulu is capable of tampering with evidence and influencing witnesses, posing a threat to further probe. The court took note of these findings while remanding him. Following the court order, Anjaneyulu was shifted to the district jail in Vijayawada. The arrest of such a high-ranking former officer has sent ripples through the police and administrative circles in the state. Pahalgam terror attack is direct assault on Indian state, the country is one in fighting, says Cong chief Kharge 2 @ Vijayawada Girls outshone boys again in the SSC Public Examinations 2025 with a pass percentage of 84.09% compared to 78.31% among boys, marking a 5.78% higher success rate for girl students. The overall pass percentage stood at 81.14%. HRD Minister Nara Lokesh announced the results on Wednesday via the social media platform ‘X’, congratulating students on their performance and encouraging those who did not pass to utilise the supplementary exams scheduled from May 19 to 28, 2025. Yalla Nehanjani of Bhashyam School, Kakinada scored a perfect 600 out of 600 marks while Yanda Anisha from Sri Chaitanya School in Yelamanchili, Anakapalli district, Prema Satya Likhita from Pithapuram, Kakinada District, K Harshit, Bommuru, East Godavari, A Likhitha, MVP Colony , Visakhapatnam who studied in Bhashyam Institutions all secured 599 marks. Government school student Pavani Chandrika from ZP HS, Oppicharla in Palnadu district, scored 598 marks. Of the total 6,14,459 students, who appeared for the SSC exams this year, 4,98,585 emerged Yalla Nehanjani | express successful. Parvathipuram Manyam district secured the top spot with an impressive 93.90% pass rate, while Alluri Sitharama Raju district recorded the lowest with 47.64%. No- 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 express read Kesi Reddy remanded to 15 days judicial custody The ACB Special Court in Vijayawada on Tuesday night remanded Raj Kesi Reddy, the main accused in the high-profile liquor scam, to 15 days of judicial custody. Kesi Reddy, alleged to be the mastermind behind the scam, was taken to the Vijayawada sub-jail following his remand. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which arrested Reddy, presented him before ACB Court Judge Bhaskar Rao | P3 Beijing says ‘door open’ after Trump’s U-turn Beijing: China said the door was “wide open” for trade talks with Washington, a day after US President Donald Trump signalled the possibility of a “substantial” lowering of tariffs on Beijing. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has imposed additional tariffs of 145 percent on many products from China. These include duties initially imposed over China’s alleged role in the fentanyl supply. SSC: Girls dominate boys, Manyam claims top position Express News Service 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 Pandita 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. India is united in fighting it, says Kharge PSR used fake docus in Jethwani case: Report Express News Service Diplomatic Staff reduced tably, 1,680 schools achieved a 100% pass rate, while 19 schools recorded zero pass percentage. Andhra Pradesh Residential Schools led institutional performance with a 95.02% pass rate followed by private unaided with 94.4%. The divisionwise distribution showed that 65.36% of students secured First Division, 10.69% Second Division, and 5.09% Third Division. A total of 6,19,286 students from 11,819 schools appeared under the regular stream. In the SSC 2025 results, the subject-wise pass percentages reflected strong performance P4 across most areas.  ‘perfect’ nehanjani Yalla Nehanjani, a student of Bhashyam School in Kakinada, scored a perfect 600 out of 600 marks to bag the top ranking in the SSC public exams on Wednesday. SAARC visa scheme off CM Naidu consoles the family members of Chandramouli who was killed in Pahalgam terrorist attack | express ‘unable to run’, retd vizagite falls to bullets U s h a P e r i / D Su r e n d r a K u m a r @ Visakhapatnam/Nellore Two residents of Andhra Pradesh were among the 26 civilians killed in the terrorist attack near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday The victims have been iden. tified as J S Chandramouli (68), a retired bank employee from Visakhapatnam, and S Madhusudan, a senior architect from Kavali in Nellore district. Chandramouli had travelled to Kashmir on April 18 with his wife, J Naga Mani, and two other family members. The group was staying in Srinagar and visiting tourist locations across the region. On April 22, they went to Pahalgam as part of their itinerary . According to Mouli’s brother-in-law, Kumar Raja, the group reached Pahalgam around 1:30 pm. “While the others managed to flee, Mouli, who had a heart problem, could not run fast. He was chased and shot dead by the attackers,” Kumar Raja said. He added that the family initially presumed him missing but later found his body at the site. Mouli is survived by his wife and two daughters, both of whom are settled in the United States. The family plans to shift the body to Kanaka Durga Hospital, near the Zilla Parishad office in Visakhapatnam. His daughters are expected to arrive by Thursday evening, and the funeral is likely P4 to be held on Friday  .