News Breakfast @6

01. Baghjan Fire Doused 172 Days After Blowout

In a major relief, the flame atop the Baghjan Well No 5 in Assam's Tinsukia district was doused, 172 days after the well had one of the country's biggest disastrous blowout. The snubbing unit brought in by Oil India Limited (OIL) from Canada reached Baghjan on November 5 to tame the fire that has been raging since May 27 this year. The well caught fire on June 9. A five-member experts' team came from Canada's Calgary to carefully carry out the final well-killing operations.

02. Journalist Thrashed For Reporting On Gambling Activities

In yet another unprecedented incident, an Assamese PratidinTime journalist was tied to a light post and beaten up by miscreants for reporting on gambling activities in Mirza. As per sources, the journalist Milan Mahanta was shopping at a local market when a man named 'Sanjay Thakuria' confronted Mahanta with few other men and started abusing him for reporting on illegal gambling activities. He was subsequently dragged, tied to a light post and thrashed.

03. Legendary Actor Soumitra Chatterjee Passes Away

Legendary veteran Bengali actor and Padmabhushan recipient Soumitra Chatterjee passed away on Sunday in Kolkata at the age of 85. An official statement from the hospital read, "We declare with heavy heart that Shri Soumitra Chattopadhyay breathed his last at 12:15 pm at Belle Vue Clinic today. We pay our homage to his soul."

04. Air Pollution Soars In Guwahati Post Diwali

A day after Diwali celebrations, Guwahati residents woke up to deteriorating air quality in the city on Sunday morning with the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Railway Colony recorded at 173. The AQI for Prominent Pollutant is PM 2.5 which stood at 173 on Sunday at 9 AM, PM 2 at 106 on Saturday morning at 9 AM, and PM 10 at 147 by Saturday night at 10 PM, all in the 'moderate' category, according to the data published by the Central Pollution Control Board. AQI between 101 and 200 is considered moderate.

05. Manipur CM Tests COVID-19 +VE

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has tested positive for coronavirus infection on Sunday, the BJP leader confirmed on his social media handles. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister addressed the media on Saturday and said Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Manipur later this month to discuss the Naga political issue with all concerning stakeholders.

06. Assam Detects 93 New COVID Cases Out Of 8369 Tests

Assam registered 93 new cases of coronavirus out of 8369 tests conducted on Sunday, informed health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The active caseload has further reduced to 3666. Meanwhile, 389 patients discharged today taking the number of recoveries to 205636. The recovery rate has increased to 97.79%

07. Trump Refuses To Concede Defeat But Admits Biden Won

US President Donald Trump on Sunday seems to have publicly acknowledge for the first time that Democrat Joe Biden has won the US presidential election but also asserted that it was "rigged". He also reiterated his false claims of widespread voting fraud. Biden defeated Trump in a series of battleground states that the Republican incumbent had won in 2016. He won the national popular vote by more than 5.5 million votes.

08. Tarkishore Prasad To Replace Sushil Modi As Bihar Dy CM

Tarkishore Prasad, four-time MLA from Katihar, is set to become the new Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, NDTV reported. Sushil Kumar Modi, who was the Dy CM in Nitish Kumar's last cabinet, is expected to be moved to Delhi for a post in the union cabinet. Prasad was elected the BJP's leader in the assembly a day before Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as Chief Minister for the fourth time.

09. Delhi Air Quality Plunges To 'Severe' Category Post Diwali

The air quality in Delhi has deteriorated to "severe" category at several places on Sunday owing to the combination of stubble burning and firecrackers burst during the Diwali celebrations in violation of a ban on the same. According to Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM 2.5 pollutant stood at 481 in Anand Vihar, 444 in IGI airport, 457 in ITO, and 414 in Lodhi road area, all four in the 'severe' category. The 24-hour average AQI was 339 on Friday and 314 on Thursday.

10. Nitish Kumar To Return As Bihar CM For Fourth Term

The NDA in Bihar on Sunday unanimously elected Nitish Kumar as its leader and is all set to become as Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term, news agency PTI stated. According to the PTI report in the ruling coalition, an announcement to the effect was made at 1 pm by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

11. Sivasagar: 3 Held For Human Sacrifice Bid Of 5 Children

In a horrifying incident, three people including a woman were arrested for attempting human sacrifice of five children at Sunday midnight while observing Kali Puja in Sivasagar's Demowmukh. The five children including the accused's child were rescued by the residents of the neighbourhood.

12. Karimganj: Two Sisters Gang-Raped, One Held

In a shocking incident, on the eve of Diwali, two sisters were allegedly gang-raped in Karimganj's Neelam Bazaar. Both the victims had come from Tripura to visit their mother who was admitted to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. The heinous crime occurred when they were on their way back home.

13. Punjab: Two Advocates Burnt Alive As Car Catches Fire

In a tragic incident on Saturday night, a senior advocate and his assistant were burnt alive after their car caught fire near the Phagwara bypass chowk in Punjab's Hoshiarpur. The deceased were identified as Bhagwant Kishore Gupta (62), a resident of Model Town in Hoshiarpur, and his assistant Siya Khullar (37).

14. Senior BJP Leader Kailash Sarang Passes Away

Senior BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh Kailash Sarang breathed his last at a Mumbai based hospital on Sunday. He was 85. According to news agency PTI, Sarang was suffering from age-related ailments and was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai 12 days ago. He is survived by two sons and three daughters. His son Vishwas Sarang is a minister in the Madhya Pradesh government.

15. Elon Musk May Have COVID

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Saturday he "most likely" has a moderate case of COVID-19, as he continued to question the accuracy of the tests, news agency Reuters said. "Am getting wildly different results from different labs, but most likely I have a moderate case of covid. My symptoms are that of a minor cold, which is no surprise, since a coronavirus is a type of cold," Musk wrote in a tweet.