Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-04-11 i Mercury

Ellies, the JSE-listed electrical products retail company, said yesterday that its business rescue practitioners (BRPs) would apply to court to liquidate the company and to discontinue the business rescue proceedings. The BRPs had concluded there was no reasonable prospect of Ellies being rescued. The company imports, manufactures and sells electrical equipment and does solar installations. Ellies had announced on January 31, 2023, that it had entered into voluntary business rescue proceedings, and BRPs were appointed early in February. The company said in the same month that its headline loss for the six months to end-October 2023 would widen to 12.81c-13.73c a share, compared with a loss of 4.58c in the prior comparable period. Last year, Ellies failed in an attempt to diversify into the renewable energy market after its business…

The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, has set aside a Food Safety Agency (FSA) decision to seize meat analogue, or plant-based meat products, from retail outlets, a statement from the Consumer Goods Council (CGCSA) said yesterday. The CGCSA said it was forced to urgently seek an interdict to stop the FSA from seizing meat analogue products from retailers’ shelves. The court success follows hard on the heels of a judgment last August, when South Africa’s largest plant-based food producer, Fry’s, won an appeal against a government directive that had claimed six of its meat alternative products did not comply with processed meat regulations. CGCSA executive head: Legal Regulatory & Stakeholder Engagement Neo Momodu said they hoped that with this decision, the department would consider developing regulations applicable to meat analogue. “This…

While Gauteng cops were the best performing when it comes to the average response times from police to calls to 10111 call centres, the data has raised questions about how incidents are prioritised. DA MP Okkie Terblanche, who is a member of the portfolio committee on police, had asked Police Minister Bheki Cele for the average response time for SAPS first responders to calls emanating from 10111 calls and dispatch centres in each province. In reply, Cele said the average response times with police stations linked to 10111 command centres were broken down into three complaint categories: Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. Policing consultant with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), David Bruce, said Alpha complaints are deemed very urgent, Charlie complaints are the least urgent and Bravo complaints somewhere in…

When any physicist thinks of Germany, names like Einstein, Kepler, von Braun, Heisenberg, Gauss, Kirchoff, Fraunhofer and dozens of others jump out of textbooks, astronomy labs and even high school textbooks. Masterful music composers like Strauss, Beethoven, Wagner, the works … all from that same country. And BMW? Volkswagen? Mercedes-Benz? Hitler did not really have to go to such great lengths and declare war on everything that moved to remind the world that he truly believed that his country’s past achievements were proof that the German mind and body were genuinely superior. And in his frenzy to design the Holocaust, he stupidly, absent-mindedly forgot that the legendary Charlie Chaplin most probably had some Jewish blood, too, Einstein, too, and he himself – Hitler – too. Germany is now, again, under…

IF IT’S not goats, it’s monkeys. The animals are putting pressure on their human neighbours in two different parts of the world, according to Sky News. On the tiny Italian island of Alicudi, they’re giving away goats to take pressure off the humans. And when the number of goats is only about 600, it gives an idea of how small the island is. Mayor Riccardo Gullo says the goats are creating “tension” among the community as they wreak havoc on the environment, storm people’s homes and eat their crops. It started with a few goats escaping captivity, then reproducing themselves to a point where they couldn’t be managed. The human population is only 100. “Some goats are nice, some people are scared, while others fear they will enter their home,”…

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) is pulling out all the stops and will have an impressive line-up of artists this year. The festival takes place on May 3 and 4. Appearing on the bill for the 2024 CTIJF and joining the artists who have already been announced, are: The vocal tones of Tunde Baiyewu of Lighthouse Family (UK), alternative R&B group Moonchild (US), Grammy-winning bassist virtuoso and experimental musician, singer, and songwriter MonoNeon (US), who brings his unique existential jazz-funk to the party, while Francesca Biancoli’s (Italy/SA) contemporary melding of jazz and neo-soul will allow audiences to explore their authenticity. The award-winning drummer and composer Darshan Doshi will also be on hand to present his trio featuring saxophonist Mark Hartsuch and bassist Tony Grey (India/US). Bringing it…

NON-COMPLIANCE issues including poor maintenance of infrastructure, mechanical failure of fridges and poor health and unhygienic conditions are some of the reasons that more than half of the country’s pathology forensic units were not granted certificates of competency. This emerged in a response by Health Minister Joe Phaahla to parliamen- tary questions from DA MP Madeleine Hicklin. Hicklin wrote to Phaahla enquiring about the full details of the list inspection of each forensic pathology unit by health inspectors and whether all units have adequate personal protection equipment. The responses by Phaahla showed that out of 118 pathology forensic units, only 38 obtained competency certificates and 72 were found to be non-compliant. The response also showed that only 83 of the facilities have adequate personal protection units. The breakdown of non-compliant…

THE KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has been urged to prioritise the repairs to infrastructure and roads that were damaged in the floods two years ago. The National Treasury announced this week that it had released R372 million from the Municipal Disaster Response Grant to provinces. The national Department of Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) said the funds were to be used to repair roads and infrastructure that have been damaged by floods and heavy rains, especially since the 2022 floods. The KZN Cogta said it would prioritise the repair of infrastructure and roads in the province. Martin Meyer, DA KZN spokesperson on Cogta, said it was good news that the funds had been released; however, it was important that the municipalities used the funds for this purpose. “The…

FORGIVE deputy president Paul Mashatile for once again repeating the ANC lie that load shedding will be defeated before the end of the year. After all, South Africa is fast approaching an election on May 29 that may be disastrous for the ANC, and the absence of a good story to tell voters will lead to all sorts of empty promises in order to retain power. Delivering a keynote address at the University of Johannesburg this week, during a lecture on 30 years of South Africa’s democracy, Mashatile correctly listed the achievements of the past 30 years for which the ANC is not given enough credit, including its efforts to address socio-economic inequalities through social welfare programmes in housing, health care, education and social services. That is what South Africans…

Water levels on rivers in Russia and Kazakhstan continued to rise and flood whole villages and cities yesterday, with more than 100 000 people evacuated and the Kremlin warning a “very, very tense” situation was expected to worsen. Fast-melting snow and ice have caused rivers in Russia’s southern Urals, western Siberia as well as northern Kazakhstan to reach unprecedented heights, threatening major cities. Moscow and Astana have been battling the rising rivers for more than five days, with both declaring a state of emergency and saying the floods were the worst in decades. “The situation is very, very tense,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. “The water is continuing to rise. Large (amounts of) water are coming to new regions.” He said President Vladimir Putin thus far had no plans…

European MPs held a vote yesterday on a revamp of the bloc’s migration system that the pro-EU political centre casts as proof of its viability against the far right ahead of the bloc’s parliamentary elections in June. It promises to cut times for security and asylum procedures, and increase returns to reduce unwanted immigration from the Middle East and Africa, a high priority on the EU’s agenda. After eight years of feuds between the bloc’s 27 member states, the compromise proposals lay out a balance between the obligations of arrival countries such as Italy and help from rich destinations such as Germany. But it has been criticised by anti-immigration, eurosceptic and far-right parties for not going far enough to stop migration, while leftists have lambasted it as a blow to…

Athens: At least three girls were found dead yesterday off the rocky north-western coast of the Greek island of Chios after their migrant vessel capsized, coastguard officials said, with a search and rescue operation under way. Their mother had confirmed the disappearance of the girls, aged 5, 7 and 10, the Greek coastguard said. Three navy vessels have rescued 19 migrants, including eight minors and the mother of the girls who had drowned, on the boat that set off from Türkiye overnight. Reports said that 27 people, mainly Afghans, were on board. More than 11 300 arrivals have been recorded on Greek islands since the beginning of this year. | AFP…

WASHINGTON: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced its first drinking water standard to protect people against toxic “forever chemicals” found in many household and everyday items, and offered $1 billion (R18.7bn) to states for public water system testing, the agency’s first major move to curb the cancer-causing chemicals. The final rule will affect 6%-10% of the 66 000 public drinking water systems in the US and is projected to reduce exposure to the group of 15 000 chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for 100 million people. It would avoid tens of thousands of deaths linked to PFAS, the EPA said. | Reuters…

IN AN era marked by changing demographics and dynamic leisure preferences, the challenge of attracting and retaining new bowlers is no secret. As districts navigate this evolving landscape, effective marketing strategies become imperative to not only stay relevant but also thrive. One such innovative approach gaining traction is the monthly Newbie Trips Tournaments, spearheaded by Trevor Vee. This initiative has emerged as a compelling strategy to keep novice bowlers engaged and motivated, offering a promising glimpse into the future of the sport. Saturday, April 6 was an exhilarating triumph as fresh talent burst onto the scene, with Stewart Cockcroft leading the charge alongside Zazi Mkhundo and Mlondi Dlamini to claim top spot on the podium. Both Zazi and Mlondi are pupils at Northwood Boys’ High, a school renowned for its…

CORONATION Fund Managers has forecast that SA Inc will continue to struggle against constrained economic growth ahead of this year’s elections as the performance of locally focused South African stocks has been poor. South Africa is headed for a key election that could result in a shake-up of the governing ANC’s majority in Parliament, with many analysts and poll surveys predicting a coalition government post the elections. Coronation portfolio manager Charles de Kock yesterday emphasised that there would be no easy fixes for South Africa’s current infrastructure challenges. “While we don’t have the ability to forecast the outcome of the election more accurately than what the polls predict, our view is that the problems faced by the South African economy cannot be fixed quickly,” he said. “Even if the correct…

THE JUST OVER a month-old National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO) yesterday announced the appointment of its first Head Ombud, Reana Steyn. The NFO started operations on March 1 as an independent body that resolves complaints brought by consumers against South African financial institutions – for free. The one-stop, all-in-one dispute resolution service is made up of the four former services: Ombudsman for Banking Services; the Credit Ombud; the Ombudsman for Long-Term Insurance and the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance. NFO board chairperson Haroon Laher said Steyn’s extensive expertise and vast experience with the OBS, Credit Ombud and at one of the country’s leading insurers, her leadership positions, qualification as an attorney, coupled with her people management experience and training of staff of the previous schemes, provided her with a unique perspective…

BRINGING the flavours of South America to the shores of South Africa is something that the entrepreneur and owner of Orinoco Flavours of Latino America Mexican Kitchen is passionate about. Venezuelan chef Migdalia Bellorin began her journey in the food industry in Cape Town in 2007, later moving her restaurant, Orinoco Flavours, to Gauteng. Paying homage to her roots in South America, Bellorin told Business Report that she named her restaurant after the Orinoco river, which is one of the longest in South America. It flows through Venezuela and Colombia. Her eatery is located at the popular Prison Break Market in Johannesburg, but this versatile businessperson also appears at various pop-up events and festivals in the country. Bellorin said, “In addition to running the restaurant, I also host cooking classes…

AN ELDERLY Durban couple believe that the tariff increases being proposed by eThekwini Municipality are unaffordable and could push many residents further into debt. The couple said their meagre government pension can no longer cope with the municipal debt that they already owe and which continued to accumulate every month, adding that the proposed higher tariffs would make it impossible to survive. The Sanders couple, who live in Newlands West, were part of a large group of Durban residents that attended the public hearing on the draft budget for the 2024-2025 financial year. The municipality is holding public hearings to solicit views on the tariffs that are going to be introduced in July when the new financial year kicks in. Public hearings are a legally mandated process in order for…

April is when South Africans commemorate Freedom Day. This is to pay homage to the brave young men and women who lost their lives in the fight for democracy and to take a stand for human rights in South Africa. The battle against homophobia is a fight that we must all fight with the same vigour our forefathers used to dismantle the pillars of apartheid. Homophobia is an irrational and harmful attitude that needs to be condemned. Discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity is unjust. Fundamental human rights include dignity, respect and equality, regardless of a person’s sexual orientation.…

At last Jacob Zuma has won a court case. And it was a momentous decision. His appeal against the IEC for barring him from Parliament on the grounds of his criminal conviction for contempt of court was upheld by the Electoral Court. Now he can march into Parliament. And what a victorious comeback it would be. His victory is a major blow for the ANC. It must be wetting its pants. Zuma can now be a candidate for his uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) and the face of his party, boosting its chances in the May 29 elections. Political experts predict that unless something untoward happens to stop Zuma in his tracks, the MK Party is expected to do very well in the elections. Whether Zuma has been dogged by…

While the intent and spirit of the Small Enterprise Development Bill is to be commended, the ANC government has – at a national level – again made a mockery of proper public participation processes. Nationally, the select committee hurriedly adopted a public participation programme between October 26 and November 19 last year, which saw the committee travel through all nine provinces and attend 26 public meetings, of which seven were scheduled during weekends. Despite the DA’s objections to the programme being adopted, the ANC bulldozed it through. Similarly, the ANC believes it can push the draft legislations through the National Assembly this year – and through the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The DA largely supports the establishment of the Office of the Small Enterprise Ombud Service. However, like much…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has informed Parliament of the deployment of nearly 3 000 SANDF members to fulfil the country’s international obligations in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In his letter to National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chairperson Amos Masondo, Ramaphosa said the deployment of the SANDF was for service in fulfilment of an international obligation of South Africa towards the SADC Mission to support and assist DRC from December 2023 to the end of this year. “This serves to inform the NCOP I have employed 2 900 SADF members for service of an international obligation of the Republic of South Africa towards the SADC under Operation Thiba to support and assist the DRC in her fight against illegal armed groups and negative forces in the eastern DRC, and…

PATIENTS at RK Khan Hospital in Chatsworth are being harassed by monkeys that snatch their food and make their stay a nightmare. This is according to two unions, patients and visitors who spoke to The Mercury this week. Ayanda Zulu, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary of the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), said the monkeys on the premises had been a challenge for years. “We even had a march in the last quarter of 2023 about the issue of monkeys because it is not acceptable for monkeys to be inside wards where there are people who are seriously sick. “I am sure the SPCA can come up with mechanisms to keep the monkeys out of the hospital,” he said. A source who did not want to be named…

The Gauteng police have confirmed the arrest of six suspects linked to the hijacking and murder of Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Luke Fleurs. Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said the arrests came after a team of senior detectives was appointed by Gauteng police provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni to trace and arrest the suspects who killed Fleurs. Fleurs, 24, was gunned down in Honeydew, north-west of Johannesburg, on April 3. According to a police report, the six suspects were traced and arrested in Soweto. “The six suspects were traced and arrested in Slovoville in the early hours of Wednesday, 10 April, while the vehicle, already stripped, was recovered on Monday, 8 April,” the police said. Police said it was believed that the suspects were part of a syndicate that is…

On June 3, 2019, the Full Bench of the South Gauteng High Court handed down judgment in the matter of Roderigues vs the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and eight others. At paragraph 65 it held that “it is also for these reasons that conduct of the relevant officials and others outside of the NPA at the time must be brought to the attention of the National Director of Public Prosecutions for her consideration and in particular to consider whether any action in terms of Section 41(1) of the NPA Act is warranted”. The court referred to the conduct of former NDPP Advocate Vusi Pikoli, supported by Advocates Ackerman, Pretorius, Macadam and others who in their filed affidavits inferred that political interference prevented them from pursuing TRC matters. After…

Israeli strikes hit Gaza yesterday as Muslims marked the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadaan and after US President Joe Biden labelled Israel’s approach to the war a “mistake”. Palestinians gathered for morning prayers on the first day of the Eid ul-Fitr holiday amid the ruins of Gaza, devastated by more than six months of war since Hamas’s October 7 attacks. Tens of thousands also flocked to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound where one worshipper, nurse Rawan Abd, said: “It’s the saddest Eid ever … you could see the sadness on people’s faces. “Usually we come to Al-Aqsa to celebrate, this year we came to support each other,” the 32-year-old said at Islam’s third holiest site, which is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount. Israeli…

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House yesterday to showcase a strong and growing partnership focused on joint defence co-operation to deter China. The summit kicked off with an arrival ceremony, followed by a closed-door meeting, a joint news conference in the Rose Garden, a state dinner and a performance by musician Paul Simon. Biden lauded the Japanese leader’s opposition to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and for improving relations with South Korea. Kishida said the cherry trees near the White House were a symbol of the friendship between Japan and the US. | Reuters…

VATICAN CITY: A representative of Brazil’s Yanomami people said he met Pope Francis yesterday to ask him to support Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s efforts to save his indigenous people. The Yanomami, estimated to number around 28 000, live in Brazil’s largest indigenous reservation, in the northern states of Roraima and Amazonas. Invasion of their lands by illegal miners has caused malnutrition and deaths. “Lula … won’t be able to do it alone. There are a lot of people around him, politicians who don’t want him to solve it,” Davi Kopenawa said. He met Francis at the Vatican. Lula has led a push to evict illegal miners from Yanomami territory. | Reuters…

IT REMAINS a concern that the Proteas Women have completely lost form in T20 cricket since becoming the first senior SA team to reach a World Cup final when they qualified for the 2023 T20 title decider. One of the main struggles has been the team’s inability to consistently score at healthy T20 rates. Too many times the South African batting unit has relied heavily on a handful of players such as captain Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk and Tazmin Brits. Outside of this group, there hasn’t been enough consistency with the bat in the team. On Tuesday, during the rain-affected first ODI against Sri Lanka at Buffalo Park in East London, South Africa posted a score of 270-6 in their allotted 50 overs. A closer look at…

Funders in the ‘old’ African Bank, which was placed under curatorship in 2014, now known as Residual Debt Service (RDS), are set to receive an extra-ordinary payment of R600 million on April 24. This will bring the total paid out to holders of the subordinate stub instrument RDS to R8.45 billion. African Bank Group CEO Kennedy Bungane said: “We are delighted that we have been able to reach this point where the indemnity has expired, allowing a further payment to be made to subordinate stub holders of RDS.” African Bank was placed under curatorship in August 2014. Two years later, a new entity was created. As part of the successful restructuring and resolution, the majority of the debt was transferred to the new African Bank, leaving behind material liabilities in…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma would be allowed to keep his presidential benefits should he decide to return to Parliament after next month’s elections. This is due to a precedent set by former president Kgalema Motlanthe and former deputy president Baleka Mbete, who both renounced lesser salaries to keep their presidential benefits. The Electoral Court’s decision this week which paved the way for Zuma to run for office in the May 29 general election has raised questions about what happens to his presidential pension should he return to the National Assembly. According to the Presidential Handbook, when the term of a president comes to an end through a resignation or completion of the electoral term, the president is entitled to a pension benefit as determined by the National Assembly in terms…

The case of former Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula demonstrates, in the clearest and most spectacular way, how the transformation project was bound to fail. All the policies enshrined in our Constitution, which were designed to enable transformation to correct the injustices of the past, were instead used as a vehicle to sabotage transformative processes by the elite members of the ANC. The main objective of everyone who had access to power was to become instant millionaires, and in the process, make sure that their friends and families were not left behind. The millions meant to achieve service delivery in most of the tenders put out, saw a large chunk of the money first going into the pockets of those who had won the contracts and a small portion of the funds…

I have the writer’s permission – for which I am most grateful – to print this short excerpt from a much longer letter, one which touched me deeply for the deep losses the woman faced. I am grateful the “adoption process” has undergone many necessary modifications making this scenario extreme and unique. Thank you, dear writer, your letter may assist others to also speak up. “I have just read your article about birth mothers. What about me? I was adopted. I am also so sad that I never was given the opportunity to meet my mother. I was given away as a two-week-old baby to an old couple. I am in my 70s now and have never forgotten the hardships I endured, day after day. “Never was I…

While April 10 should be a happy day in my life, seeing as it is my birthday, it will always be tinged by the memory of hearing about the killing of Chris Hani. We had been at Kruger National Park and on the way back we stopped in Johannesburg to visit my parents. My mother said my brother had phoned to wish me and I should phone back. When I spoke to him, he congratulated me and then told me the dreadful news. South Africa was on the brink of a civil war. If it had not been for the likes of Madiba, Tokyo Sexwale and Cyril Ramaphosa, the country would have gone up in flames. Why? Because Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Walus decided to kill a decent man. To…

AS THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and tertiary institutions pointed fingers at each other over delayed April disbursements, student leaders have given them until tomorrow to ensure all students receive allowances. Students from some TVET colleges and universities have held demonstrations since last week over the allowances as the delays resulted in some facing eviction threats. South African Union of Students (Saus) president Yandisa Ndzoyiya said many students have been affected. “Thousands of students from various institutions have not received their allowances, ranging from living allowances to accommodation allowances. “We have also, along with all students across the country, rejected the distribution of allowances by these service providers who not only had been found to have been illegally appointed but further catapulted the sector into chaos last year…

THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health said yesterday that 120 doctors’ posts have been advertised and the recruitment processes are expected to be finalised by the end of the month. This comes after a meeting held by Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane and head of department Dr Sandile Tshabalala with the unemployed doctors yesterday, which concluded with the agreement to advertise posts. “MEC Simelane listened to the doctors’ concerns and explained the department’s financial constraints to them. She told them that after consultation with the National Department of Health, the department would now be able to advertise 120 posts and the National Department has agreed to avail resources to enable the filling of the posts,” a statement said yesterday. The KZN ad-hoc committee for unemployed doctors said they had staged an eight-day…

Political chaos caused by poor leadership has elevated him in the eyes of supporters THERE were no huge surprises about the Electoral Court’s decision this week to overturn the Electoral Commission’s decision to bar uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leader and former president of the country Jacob Zuma from standing for elections. Many at Luthuli House and other political party headquarters will mourn the result because they fear that if elected, Zuma might emerge with a significant influence on the way the anticipated coalition governments govern us at a national level and in some provinces. Yet it will be celebrated by people in the streets and intellectuals in academic institutions, as another landmark in protecting fundamental rights, including placing voters as ultimate arbiters of the integrity quality that individuals occupying public…

A new Scottish law that criminalises the “stirring up” of hatred against some groups has triggered a debate far beyond its borders, pitting human rights activists who say it’s needed amid a rising tide of harassment and violence against conservative celebrities and politicians who say the law threatens free speech. Scotland’s law, enacted last week, makes it an imprisonable offense to incite hatred on the basis of race, religion, transgender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability. “If … it’s intended to stir up hatred because of their membership of that group, then that is a criminal offense,” Nick McKerrell, a senior law lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, said this week. In Scotland, prosecutors recorded 1 884 hate crime charges relating to sexual identity in 2022-23 – representing an eighth consecutive…

Donald Trump’s former finance chief Allen Weisselberg was jailed for five months yesterday for perjury after he admitted lying to prosecutors as they investigated the former president for fraudulently inflating his wealth. Weisselberg, 76, was the chief financial officer of Trump’s real estate and entertainment group from 2005 to 2021. The jailing of Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury related to his 2020 questioning during the fraud probe, comes less than a week before Trump is due to go on trial for covering up hush money payments to hide a sex scandal. In return for admitting that he lied when discussing Trump’s valuation of the mogul’s New York penthouse apartment, Weisselberg agreed with prosecutors to be sentenced to a lesser term of five months imprisonment. The offences…

LAGOS: Nigeria’s health regulator is recalling a batch of Johnson & Johnson children’s cough syrup after finding an unacceptably high level of a potentially fatal toxic substance, it said yesterday. Laboratory tests on Benylin Paediatric showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022 in one of the world’s worst waves of poisoning from oral medication. The syrup is used to treat coughs and congestion in children, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said. Consumption could cause abdominal pain, vomiting, headaches and acute kidney injury. | Reuters…

NEW DELHI: India’s top court admonished the head of a state drugs regulator for failing to take action against a popular yoga guru’s firm which claimed its traditional ayurvedic medicines can cure chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma. The Supreme Court said yesterday that the state drugs department had “tried to pass the buck” despite being informed in 2018 of advertisements issued by Divya Pharmacy, a unit of yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s hugely popular firm Patanjali Ayurved. Ramdev is one of India’s top yoga gurus and offers ayurvedic cures for many illnesses through his TV shows. | Reuters…