News Breakfast @6

01. Mumbai Indians Beats Royal Challengers Bangalore

Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 5 wickets in an Indian Premier League match on Wednesday in Dubai.

02. ED Arrests Suspended IAS Officer Sivasankar In Gold Smuggling Case

Suspended IAS officer M Sivasankar was on Wednesday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case, official sources said. The former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was arrested after around six hours of interrogation by the ED, probing the money trail in the case.

03. India Strongly Deplores Personal Attacks On French President

India on Wednesday strongly deplored the personal attacks against French President Emmanuel Macron following his tough stance on radical Islam, calling it a violation of the most basic standards of international discourse.

04.  Bengali Actress Aparajita Adhya Tests Positive For COVID-19

Bengali film and television actress Aparajita Adhya has tested positive for COVID-19, a health department official said on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI. Some of the actress' family members have also contracted the virus, the official added.

05. CJI To Inaugurate Case E-Filing Facility

Chief Justice of IndiaS A Bobde on Saturday will inaugurate "Nyay Kaushal", an e-resource centre at the Judicial Officers Training Institute here. It would be the first e-resource centre in India providing facility of e-filing of cases in the courts across the country, said a release by the registrar of the Bombay High Court"s Nagpur bench.

06. Pune Varsity Apologizes Over Question About Jihadi Terrorism

Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) here has issued an apology over a question about "Jihadi terrorism" in its final year B.Com examination. The multiple-choice question was asked in the online paper on Defence Budgeting, one of the optional courses offered by the varsity.

07. JEE Exam Scam: Four More Arrested

In a major development, besides the arrest of the prime accused Neel Nakhashtra Das of the JEE examination scam by Azara police on Wednesday, four other accused have been apprehended as well. The four accused are Dr. Jyotirmoy Das, Hamendra Nath Sarma, Pranjal Kalita, and Hirukamal Pathak.

08.  Bihar Polls: 51.91% Turnout In First Phase

Over 51 percent voter turnout has been recorded till 5 PM in the first phase of Bihar assembly polls on Wednesday, the Election Commission said in its provisional data as reported in a PTI report. Voting ended at 6 PM. A total of 71 assembly segments in 16 districts of the state's 243 constituencies voted in the first phase in which nearly 2.15 crore voters were to decide the electoral fate of over 1,000 candidates.

09. NIA Raids Greater Kashmir Office, 9 Other Places

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out multiple raids in Kashmir on Wednesday, including the main office of the daily Greater Kashmir. Raids were conducted at a total of 10 locations, including nine in Srinagar and one in Bandipora.

10. Majuli: Ro-Pax Vessels to be Flagged Off on Laxmi Puja

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will flag off the Ro-Pax vessels on Laxmi Puja, October 31 which will operate from Majuli to Nimati Ghat in Jorhat. The Ro-Pax vessels have been introduced to improve the connectivity through waterways. The service will minimize the travel distance between Majuli and Nimati Ghat.

11. Suspension of International Flights Extended Till Nov 30

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till November 30 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a circular issued by the Indian Aviation Regulator, it said, "However, the international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis."

12. SC Dismisses Plea Against Bail Granted to Devangana Kalita

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the Delhi government's appeal against the bail granted to Pinjra Tod activist Devangana Kalita in a case related to the Delhi riots that took place in February this year. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan dismissed the plea filed by the Delhi government saying that being an influential person cannot be a ground for denying bail and added that there were only police witnesses in the case.

13. UP To Install Vehicle Tracking, Panic Button For Women Passengers

Uttar Pradesh is set to install Vehicle Location Tracking System (VLTS) devices and emergency panic buttons in all public passenger vehicles in order to improve safety of women in the state.

14. GU To Conduct BBA Exams in Offline Mode from Nov 6

Gauhati University has announced the dates of the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) examination to be held from November 6 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The examination will be conducted in offline mode which has been opposed by the students.

15. Mizoram Reports First COVID-19 Death

The state of Mizoram has recorded its first COVID-19 related death on Wednesday, over eight months since the pandemic gripped the nation.