1. Yati Narsinghanand, one of the religious leaders who organised an event in Haridwar last month that called for the genocide of Muslims, arrested, becoming the second person to be taken into custody following an intervention by the Supreme Court. Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi, who was Waseem Rizvi before he converted, was the first accused to be arrested in the hate speech case involving the Haridwar 'Dharma Sansad' or religious assembly. 2. Delhi reports 20,718 new Covid cases, 15.5 per cent lower than the day prior. The positivity rate in the national capital, however, remains at 30.64 per cent for the second straight day. The active Covid caseload stands at 93,407. 3. Registering yet another spike in numbers, Karnataka logs 32,793 new cases of COVID-19, and seven fatalities, taking the tally to 31,86,040 and the death count to 38,418. Of the new cases, 22,284 are from Bengaluru Urban. 4. The ban on rallies and roadshows ahead of elections in five states, imposed last week as Covid cases spike alarmingly, extended till January 22. Indoor political meetings allowed subject to a cap of 300 people, 50 per cent of the hall's capacity, or the limit set by the state's disaster management authority. Political parties must bear responsibility for the enforcement of rules, which include social distancing and use of face masks. 5. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi urges the Election Commission of India to postpone the February 14 assembly polls by six days in view of Guru Ravidas Jayanti. 6. All hostages freed unharmed after a long standoff at a Texas synagogue, where a man apparently demanding the release of a convicted terrorist had taken several captives.