Kyrgyzstan pushes poisonous root as virus cure

Kyrgyz Health Minister Alimkadyr Beishenaliyev recommends the use of a solution that contains the indigenous Aconitum soongaricum root for the treatment of COVID-19, Bishkek, April 16, 2021. (AFP)
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Updated 16 April 2021
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Kyrgyzstan pushes poisonous root as virus cure

  • Health Minister Alimkadyr Beishenaliyev took sips of the solution that contains extracts of aconite root in front of journalists as he talked up its healing properties
  • Alimkadyr Beishenaliyev: ‘You need to drink it hot, and in two or three days the positive PCR test result disappears and the person immediately becomes better’

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan is promoting a poisonous root as a safe treatment against the coronavirus as the country battles a new wave of infections despite health warnings.
The health ministry unveiled the remedy at a news conference on Friday, claiming the impoverished country’s leader has used the herb to cure “thousands” of sick inmates when he served jail time last year.
Health Minister Alimkadyr Beishenaliyev took sips of the solution that contains extracts of aconite root in front of journalists as he talked up its healing properties.
“There is no harm to health,” Beishenaliyev said after gulping the potion.
“You need to drink it hot, and in two or three days the positive PCR test result disappears and the person immediately becomes better.”
Aconite root is used in traditional medicine even though it is considered highly toxic.
The authorities have said that a third wave of Covid-19 cases is beginning in the Central Asian country of 6.5 million people, which suffered a difficult summer as the virus overwhelmed hospitals last year.
Ahead of the presentation, President Sadyr Japarov took to Facebook late Thursday, releasing a video that appeared to show the remedy being bottled by a team of men who were not wearing protective equipment.
The label on the bottles called the drink effective “against coronavirus and cancer of the stomach” but warned that drinking the solution without heating it up might result in death.
The World Health Organization on Thursday criticized the decision to promote the remedy.
“A drug that has not undergone clinical trials cannot be registered and recommended for widespread use by the population,” the WHO said.
Beishenaliyev claimed Japarov had successfully treated “thousands of prisoners” using the solution prior to being released from jail by protesters and catapulted to power during a political crisis last year.
Japarov is not the first leader to claim a herbal cure for the coronavirus.
In Turkmenistan, another Central Asian country, leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hailed licorice root as a cure for the coronavirus, a disease he insists has yet to touch his isolated country of six million people.
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has promoted a locally-brewed infusion, based on the anti-malarial plant artemisia, to fight the virus.


Harry Styles announces first album in 4 years, ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’

Updated 16 January 2026
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Harry Styles announces first album in 4 years, ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’

  • It follows the critically acclaimed synth pop “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards
  • “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” will contain 12 tracks and is executive produced by Kid Harpoon

NEW YORK: In this world, it’s just him: Harry Styles has announced that his long-awaited, fourth studio album will arrive this spring.
Titled “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” and out March 6, the album is Styles’ first full-length project in four years. It follows the 2022, critically acclaimed synth pop record “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star the top prize of album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
In a review, The Associated Press celebrated “Harry’s House” for showcasing “a breadth of style that matches the album’s emotional range.”
On Instagram, Styles’ shared the cover artwork for “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” which features the 31-year-old artist in a T-shirt and jeans at night, standing underneath a shimmering disco ball hung outside.
According to a press release, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” will contain 12 tracks and is executive produced by Kid Harpoon. The British songwriter and producer has been a close collaborator of Styles’ since the beginning of his solo career, working on all of his albums since the singer’s 2017 self-titled debut.
“Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” is now available for preorder.
It is also Styles’ first project since his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne died in 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.