Here's a news digest covering recent events:

Jyoti Malhotra's Custody Extended

YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who is accused of spying for Pakistan, has been sent to 14-day judicial custody by a local court in Hisar, Haryana. This follows an extension of her police remand by four days, which ended on Sunday. She was initially taken into custody after being suspected of sharing sensitive information with Pakistani intelligence operatives.

According to Hisar police, forensic analysis of Malhotra's three mobile phones has revealed substantial digital data, totaling over 12TB. The analysis allegedly shows one-on-one chats with at least four individuals categorized as Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs), suspected money trails, and evidence of VIP treatment during her trip to Pakistan. Police are awaiting the forensic report of her laptop.

Malhotra is one of the twelve people arrested so far for allegedly spying for the neighboring country. She reportedly came into contact with a Pakistani officer, Ehsan-ur-Rahim (alias Danish), during a visit to the Pakistan High Commission while seeking a visa to visit Pakistan. Danish is the same official who was earlier declared persona non grata by India. She had been in touch with Pakistani intelligence operatives and visited Pakistan multiple times, and also China once.

COVID-19 India Update

India is currently experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases, with active cases climbing to 1,009. This is a significant increase from the 257 active cases reported a week prior. According to the Union Health Ministry, the recent increase accounts for 752 new confirmations.

Kerala leads the states with the highest number of active cases at 430, followed by Maharashtra with 209, Delhi with 104 and Karnataka with 47. Some states like Andaman and Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir currently have no active cases reported. The nationwide discharge tally is 4,45,11,545, with 5,33,673 fatalities recorded.

Two new COVID-19 variants, NB.1.8.1 and LF.7, have been detected in India and classified as 'variants under monitoring' by the World Health Organization. The NB.1.8.1 variant was first detected in Tamil Nadu, while LF.7 was first confirmed in Gujarat. The dominant strain remains JN.1, found in 53% of sequenced samples, followed by BA.2 at 26% and other Omicron sublineages at 20%.

Official sources indicate that most reported cases are mild and patients are under home care.