Govt tightens notes exchange norms, lowers limit to Rs 2,000

Mangaluru, Feb 20: A wild tusker was spotted in Kukke Subrahmanya town here, in the early hours of Thursday.

Range Forest Officer (RFO), Kukke Subrahmanya Tyagaraj said that it was seen walking from Kashi Kattte in the town to Nuchila around 0530 hours without creating any havoc.

The same elephant was spotted some days ago at Harihara, a small village town near Kukke Subrahmanya.

It has been roaming around in the forests nearby for some time now. So far, it had not caused disturbance to people nor had it damaged any property, Mr. Tyagaraj said.

Kukke Subrahmanya is on the foot of the Western Ghats.

Bengaluru, Jan 21: Braving the biting cold, chief minister BS Yediyurappa took time out of his busy schedule to go around Davos on Monday.

Clad in a long coat over a suit, scarf and leather gloves, Yediyurappa, with secretary S Selvakumar in tow, took in the sights of well-laid bylanes, quaint houses and snow-covered pine trees. He also rode a cable car at Persenn.

A cook from Andhra Pradesh, who works at an Indian restaurant in Davos, served the CM shavige uppittu and khara pongal for breakfast. Yediyurappa had chapatis and rice for dinner.

Meanwhile, Karnataka is likely to have a ‘Centre for Internet of Ethical Things’, perhaps, the world’s first, which will seek to ensure ethical practices in trade and businesses, besides addressing issues like misuse of artificial intelligence, a concern that has been bothering business leaders across the globe.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Yediyurappa signed an informal agreement with Murat Sonmez, the forum’s managing director, on Monday. "Investors around the globe are worried about unethical practices in business and a centre is the need of the hour," Sonmez was quoted as saying in a press release. "If the Karnataka government is serious about securing investment, it should set up the centre immediately."

Yediyurappa immediately responded to the suggestion by prompting Sonmez to write down an informal agreement on a sheet of paper which both signed. "This centre will go a long way in Karnataka’s history of industrial development," Sonmez was quoted as saying in a release by the Karnataka delegation.

At the inauguration of Karnataka’s pavilion, Yediyurappa promised all support to investors. "We are happy to be here and look forward to engage you on various development agenda," he said adding that he was keen to partner on certain strategic research that can help Karnataka become a major player on the global stage. "With Karnataka emerging as a leading industrial state in India, we can make it a major player on the global stage," he said.

Industries minister Jagadish Shettar, chief secretary TM Vijaya Bhasker and industries secretary Ramana Reddy were also signatories to the informal agreement.

Kochi, Jan 21: Eight tourists from Kerala were found dead in a resort at Daman in Makwanpur district of Nepal, reports said. The dead include a couple and four minor children.

The deceased were identified as Praveen Kumar Nair (39), Saranya (34), Ranjith Kumar T.B (39), Indu Ranjith (34), Sreebhadra (9), Abhinav Soorya (9), Abhi Nair (7) and Vaishnav Ranjith (2).

The deceased are from Chengottukonam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kundamangalam in Kozhikode. Praveen, a travel enthusiast hailing from Chengottukonam, went on the Nepal trip with his wife, three children and friends from Kochi, last week.

 “They were using a gas heater in the room. Suffocation might have caused their death,” said superintendent of police Sushil Singh Rathore of the District Police Office in Makwanpur, news agencies reported.

According to newspaper reports here, the deaths occurred at a resort named Everest Panorama. They were airlifted to HAMS hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival, superintendent of police Sushil Singh Rathaur said.

They were part of a group of 15 people travelling from Kerala to Pokhara, a popular mountain tourist destination, The Himalayan Times reported.

They were on their way back home and stayed at Everest Panorama resort in Daman in Makawanpur district on Monday night.

The tourists are suspected to have died of asphyxiation after turning on the gas heater and shutting all the windows to keep warm.  Hotel staff opened the room using duplicate keys as there was no response from the rooms when the other members of the group went to check on them.

According to the manager of the resort, the guests stayed in a room and turned on a gas heater to keep themselves warm. Although they had booked a total of four suites, eight of them stayed in a room, the manager said, adding that all the windows and the door of the room were bolted from inside.

“All arrangements have been made to bring the bodies to Kerala at the earliest. The Union government is coordinating with the Indian Embassy in Nepal. A doctor from the Indian embassy will be present during the post mortem. Other members of the group are being brought to Kathmandu by road,” said Union minister V Muraleedharan.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that NORKA will coordinate with Nepal authorities to bring dead bodies.

 “Embassy officials are at the government hospital where a post mortem is being done. Formalities will be completed at the earliest and arrangements are in place to bring dead bodies by Wednesday evening. State government is in constant contact with Nepal authorities,” said Kadakampally Surendran, tourism minister.