Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

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A view of Dubare Elephant Camp on the banks of the river Cauvery in Kodagu district. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

In a move to ensure visitor and staff safety, elephant welfare, accident prevention, and quick emergency response at all elephant camps in the State, the Karnataka Forest Department has released the Karnataka Elephant Camp Safety Protocol. The protocol prohibits all kinds of physical contact between tourists and elephants.

The move follows the recent death of a tourist and an elephant in a fight between two elephants at the Dubare camp. Ten non-negotiable safety rules include no touching, direct feeding, bathing, taking selfies near elephants, or standing close to them. It also specifies a zoning system, under which visitors must remain in the green zone behind barricades.

Bengaluru-Karnataka has ranked 15 among the top 40 global startup ecosystems as per the latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2026 launched at VivaTech, Paris on June 17. The city, which has been ranked as the top 6 startup ecosystem in Asia, has also emerged the second-best AI-native cluster in the continent after Beijing.

Silicon Valley, New York City, and London retained the top three positions with no change in rankings from last year. Bengaluru, which emerged in the 14th position in 2025, slipped to the 15th place, although no country has been ranked the 14th position this year in the report. Instead, Toronto-Waterloo and Paris tied for the 13th position.

A 20-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her live-in partner following a quarrel at their rented house in Malleshwaram. The deceased Anusha N.D. (20) and accused Sharath (25), who works as a water tanker driver, were both natives of Sakleshpur. They had reportedly been living together for the past six months after becoming acquainted through social media.

According to the police, the incident occurred on June 13, 2026, when an argument broke out between the couple and escalated. During the altercation, Sharath alleged