R214 000 heroin found in storage

Heroin capsules have been found at a storage facility linked to slain Durban drug kingpin Yaganathan Pillay, known as “Teddy Mafia”.

A 41-year-old man was arrested during the operation on Tuesday, Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said.

“Police seized 10 700 capsules of heroin with an estimated street value of more than R214 000.”

Last month, police seized about R130 000 worth of drugs from three houses allegedly belonging to Pillay.

Professor Jeffrey Mphahlele from the SA Medical Research Council says vaccines remain the cornerstone for controlling infectious diseases.

Mphahlele was speaking during a virtual seminar on Wednesday to dispel myths about vaccines and Covid-19 variants.

The seminar was hosted by Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande, who was joined by health professionals and scientists.

“Without a vaccine, we will not be able control this pandemic,” Mphahlele said. “In terms of our scientific progress, a lot has been done and I must say that significant progress has already been made in developing vaccines against Covid-19.

“Unfortunately, the virus has proven to be a moving target. We are still learning a lot about the genetic evolution of the virus, immunity to the virus and [lots of] other critical information about the virus.”

Nzimande said fake news and misinformation were at the heart of the urgent need for the seminar to dispel the prevailing myths about vaccines.

The minister said the current environment was “fraught with all manner of conspiracy theories that often result in poor decision-making at both individual and group level”.

He added: “Among these are the 5G myths that have led to cellphone towers being destroyed in some parts of our country.”

Last month, three cellphone network towers were apparently burnt and destroyed in KwaZulu-Natal, following conspiracy theories which link the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic to 5G technology.

The towers belonged to Vodacom and MTN, according to a statement by the department of communication.

At the time, the minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, condemned the incident and urged the police to arrest those responsible.

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Whatever he has done in his often controversial life, Tiger Woods brought an almost supernatural beauty and talent to the game of golf. It is too early to tell whether his serious injuries, sustained when his SUV rolled down a hill in California this week, will end his professional playing career. So far, he has undergone surgery to repair “significant orthopaedic injuries” to his lower right leg and ankle, according to the hospital where he is being treated.

This included the insertion of a rod into his shin bone and the use of “a combination of screws and pins” to stabilise the foot and ankle.

The similarities between Woods and Ben Hogan, the US pro golfer who was severely injured in a head-on crash between his car and a bus in 1949, have been noted by many commentators around the world.

Hogan’s doctors doubted he would walk again, never mind play golf – but he proved them wrong and went on to play some of the best golf of his life in the years which followed the crash.

Maybe history will repeat itself and Woods will once again be king of the golf world. But even if it doesn’t, his legendary status is assured.