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A Nigerian woman, identified as Faith Racheal, has been arrested by Indian authorities in Delhi for allegedly smuggling and supplying a substantial quantity of psychotropic substances.

The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, August 14, in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, TimesNow reports.

According to the police, Racheal was found in possession of 3.87 kilograms of mescaline, a powerful hallucinogenic dr¥g, with an estimated value of around Rs 15 crore in the international market.

Mescaline, a psychedelic substance with effects similar to LSD and Psilocybin (magic mushrooms), has been identified as a party drug, officials stated on Thursday, August 22, 2024. They revealed that the drug was smuggled inside packages of branded toffees and fish food.

Racheal had initially arrived in India in August 2022 on a medical visa but had overstayed her visa period.

During her extended stay, she allegedly became involved with a Nigerian national engaged in drug smuggling, ultimately joining a narcotics cartel.

The police revealed that Racheal played a key role in facilitating the delivery of narcotics between couriers, utilising her connections within the cartel.

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Mosquitoes are not just a buzzing summertime nuisance; they can carry serious diseases like West Nile virus, malaria, and Zika. In recent months, the US has seen an unusual spike in the mosquito-borne illness dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever.

What is dengue, and where is it occurring in the US? How does it spread? And what steps can you take to protect against this and other mosquito-borne illnesses?

What is dengue and what are its symptoms?

Dengue is a viral disease caused by any of four closely-related viruses: dengue virus 1, 2, 3, and 4. Not everyone infected with dengue will become sick: only about one in four will experience symptoms that range from minimal discomfort to serious problems. A blood test is used to confirm the diagnosis.

When symptoms do occur, they tend to feel like the flu. The onset of feeling unwell usually begins within two to three days of being bitten by an infected mosquito but can take up to six to nine days, says Dr. Edward Ryan, director of global infectious diseases at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Seek medical advice if you have recently traveled to an area with a risk of dengue and have a fever (101° F or higher) combined with any of these symptoms:

About one in 20 people who gets sick will develop severe dengue, which requires emergency care. Those at an increased risk for severe dengue include infants a year or younger, pregnant women, adults ages 65 years or older, and those with previous dengue infections.

Symptoms of severe dengue require immediate medical care. They include:

How is dengue treated?

Dengue is cause by a virus, and no specific medications are available to combat it. Milder dengue symptoms typically last two to seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The symptoms are managed supportively: plenty of fluids, over-the-counter pain medications, and rest.

Severe dengue usually requires treatment in a hospital with intravenous (IV) fluids. Patients are monitored until their fever breaks and symptoms begin to wane. This usually happens in about three to five days. Recovery at home can last many more days before a person's strength returns.

"While there are reports of people dying from severe dengue fever, deaths from dengue cases in the US are rare," says Dr. Ryan.

How does dengue spread?

The viruses that cause dengue do not directly spread from person to person. Aedes species mosquitoes can become infected with the dengue virus when they bite a person who has the virus. Infected mosquitoes then spread the virus to other people.

US visitors to high-risk countries may unknowingly bring the virus home with them, giving dengue infection a chance to spread further. For example, an infected person will have dengue virus circulating in their bloodstream for up to one week after being bitten. Let's say the person returns to the US sooner than seven days, where they get bitten by a mosquito. That mosquito in the US now carries the virus and could bite someone else, thereby spreading the infection.

Where is dengue occurring in the US?

Most dengue transmission in the United States happens in areas where this illness is already common, such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands.

At this writing, the CDC has reported nearly 3,000 dengue cases in the United States and US territories. States with the highest reported instances include Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and California. (Puerto Rico, which declared a public health emergency in March, had reported almost 1,500 cases by late June 2024.) While US cases are higher than in previous years, they are still low compared to the global incidence of dengue, which hit a record 9.7 million cases in North, Central, and South America during the first six months of 2024.

It's not clear what has caused the sudden rise in dengue cases. Dr. Ryan says it could be due to several factors, such as higher seasonal travel, more people living closer together in urban settings, and the fact that there are more mosquitoes are carrying dengue.

Is there a dengue vaccine?

Currently, there is no widely available dengue vaccine for US travelers. One FDA-approved vaccine, Dengvaxia, protects children ages 9 to 16 from all four types of dengue. It is used only for children who have had a previous infection and who live in areas where dengue is common. However, the vaccine will be discontinued in September 2025, with the final doses expiring in September 2026.

What steps can you take to prevent dengue?

The best way to prevent dengue when visiting high-risk areas and after returning home is to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Here are some tips from the CDC:

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

An Ikeja chief magistrate’s court on Thursday, August 22, discharged and acquitted six persons arrested during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.

The defendants are Daniel Joyinbo, 31, Adigun Sodiq, 28, Kehinde Shola, 32, Salaudeen Kamilu, 29, Sodiq Usseni, 33 and Azeez Isiaka, 34.

The defendants had in a plea bargain agreement, pleaded guilty to a count charge of breach of the public peace preferred against them by the Lagos State Government.

After listening to the plea bargain agreement, the magistrate, Bola Osunsanmi, found the defendants guilty and convicted them of the offence.

She, however, cautioned and freed them, adding that they had spent almost four years in custody.

📷: @thecableng

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Shares of Williams-Sonoma (WSM) tumbled in intraday trading Thursday as comparable sales fell more than expected across a number of the company's brands, leading the retailer to cut its full-year outlook.

The company behind retail brands including its namesake stores, Pottery Barn and West Elm, reported $225.7 million in net income for the second quarter, better than analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected. Total revenue of $1.79 billion fell 4% year-over-year and narrowly missed estimates.

Comparable sales fell more than analysts had expected, down 0.8% at its namesake brand, 7.1% at Pottery Barn, and 4.8% at West Elm.

The struggles of higher-end retailers like Williams-Sonoma has been well-documented as inflation has led many consumers to focus spending on essentials and delay home-improvement projects or other costly updates.

Target (TGT) executives said earlier this week that the retailer has become a destination for low-cost home updates, noting they saw growth in products like candles and throw pillows in the second quarter. TJX Companies (TJX), the parent of retailers including HomeGoods, also reported solid revenue growth this week as consumers hunt for value.

Williams-Sonoma updated its fiscal 2024 outlook Thursday, expecting full-year revenue to fall 4% to 1.5%, compared with previous projections of a 3% drop to a 3% increase. Comparable sales are expected to decline between 5.5% and 3%, compared with a prior range of a 4.5% decline to a 1.5% increase.

Williams-Sonoma shares fell 8.6% as of about 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday to $131.54. Still, they are up 30% year-to-date.

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Initial jobless claims increased last week but point to a lower unemployment rate in August. 

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending Aug. 17 came in at 232,000, according to data from the Labor Department. Claims rose by 4,000 from the prior week’s results, which were adjusted slightly higher. This week's numbers were slightly above projections from economists surveyed by the and

The modest change in jobless levels likely won't move the August unemployment rate much, showing the labor market is stabilizing, said Nancy Vanden Houten, senior economist at Oxford Economics. 

“Despite the rise in the latest week, claims appear to be leveling off on a trend basis,” Vanden Houten wrote. 

Market watchers are laser-focused on employment data since it could impact Federal Reserve officials, who are poised to act on interest rates.

A July jump in the unemployment rate to 4.3% raised concerns among some investors that the economy was weaker than previously thought, increasing the likelihood that the Fed would begin to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September.

Since then, weekly initial jobless claims have slowed, showing that the labor market is still resilient. Vanden Houten said stability in the job market could limit how aggressively the Fed may act in its next meeting. Some economists believe the central bank should make a more aggressive 50-basis-point cut instead of the quarter-point cut that most predict. 

“There is nothing in the claims data to change our view that, while the labor market is softening, it isn't weak enough to warrant anything more than a 25bps rate cut at the Fed's September meeting,” Vanden Houten wrote.

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More homes are up for sale, but not enough to drive prices down or break the slow housing market from the doldrums.The volume of sales for existing homes rose 1.3% in July from June but remained near the lowest ever, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Houses sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million, the slowest pace for any July since 2010. It was the first time in five months that sales had risen.Despite an uptick in inventory—up 0.8% from June and 19.8% over the last 12 months—high prices and lack of selection continue to stifle sales. There were 1.33 million homes on the market in July, far fewer than the 1.9 million for sale in July 2019 before the pandemic hit. The median existing-home sales price was $422,600, 4.2% higher than the previous July. 

The figures highlighted how daunting the housing market has become for first-time buyers since the pandemic hit—home prices are up 49% from July 2019, when the median home sold for $283,600.It's made for "quite a sizable gain over the past five years," Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said on a conference call with reporters. "Definitely very good news for homeowners getting all of those gains, but frustrating news for people who want to enter the homeownership market."

Mortgage rates have been falling in recent months, and economists say that could help break the high-price, low-sales dynamic that's defined the housing market for the past few years. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate offered for a 30-year mortgage was 6.46% this week, down from the recent peak of 7.79% last fall. Rates have fallen as financial markets anticipate the Federal Reserve will cut its influential fed funds rate next month as it winds down its battle against inflation.

For-sale inventory has been low because many homeowners have been reluctant to trade in home loans they secured when fixed rates were lower, but the recent drop in rates is eroding this "lock-in effect."However, Yun noted inventory is still low enough that buyers have to compete for the relatively few homes on the market, keeping upward pressure on prices. 

"Inventory is trying to increase back up to normal, but it's not back up to normal yet," he said.

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