Latest news with #Westbury
News24
a day ago
- General
- News24
Westbury residents attack Anti-Gang Unit cops after arresting man on drug charge
National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola has condemned the attack on Anti-Gang Unit officers in Westbury. In a viral video, community members can be seen throwing rocks and bottles at the officers. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said no injuries or damage were reported. National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola has condemned the attack on members of the Anti-Gang Unit conducting routine operations in Westbury, Johannesburg, on Tuesday. Their operations included stop-and-search efforts in Steytler Street. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the officers came under attack when they arrested a man for possession of drugs. 'Members immediately placed the suspect under arrest, and that is when community members started mobilising themselves and throwing rocks and bottles at police officers,' she said. 'Members tactically withdrew from the operation, ensuring the safety of the very community that was attacking them.' Mathe added that no officers were injured and no vehicles were damaged and said the officers 'tactically withdrew' after discharging a warning shot. Masemola expressed disappointment in the conduct of Westbury residents, who have frequently raised concerns about crime in the area, including turf wars between drug dealers and traffickers. 'The community of Westbury have from time to time been complaining about the high levels of crime, including drug dealing, in the area,' Masemola said. The National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola has condemned the behaviour of community members in Westbury(JHB) who threw police with rocks& bottles for arresting a man found in possession of drugs. Police were conducting their stop&search operations when they were attacked — Athlenda Mathe (@AthlendaM) June 3, 2025 'We have deployed the Anti-Gang Unit to deal decisively with this type of crime, but it seems as though when police take charge and enforce the law, communities turn on them and attack them. We cannot allow such a situation.' Masemola added that the unit had been deployed to various gang hotspots, including Westbury, Eldorado Park, Moffatview, South Hills, Toekomsrus and Sophiatown. 'We need the community to appreciate, support and work with the police and not attack them,' he said. 'We cannot and will not tolerate this lawlessness. Our members will continue to discharge their duties without fear or favour.'
The Herald
a day ago
- General
- The Herald
Westbury residents attack police with stones, bottles
National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola condemned the attack on the officers, urging the community to instead 'appreciate, support and work with the police'. 'The community of Westbury have from time to time complained about the high levels of crime, including drug dealing, in the area. We have deployed the anti-gang unit to deal decisively with this type of crime, but it seems when police take charge and enforce the law, communities turn on them and attack them. 'We cannot and will not tolerate this lawlessness. Our members will continue to discharge their duties without fear or favour.' Public reactions to the residents' behaviour shown on video footage was largely negative. Here is a selection of comments made on social media: 'You're laughing now? Wait until you need to dial 10111.' 'The next thing they will be demanding a crime imbizo, demanding to see the minister of police. 'Instead of helping the police to fight crime. Then they cry 'we get no help from the police.' 'If they fought back, you will be the first to cry, police brutality.' 'Salute to the SAPS for not using force or else a lot of people would have been killed, including innocent ones. 'W hen they come back with more than two cars and shoot rubber bullets some will say they're in the wrong.' 'If the police fight back, they're wrong. If they run when being shot at, people say they're wrong. We live in a lawless country.' A few commentators suggested the residents' actions could be understood if seen in the context of built-up frustration, for example: 'How do you think a community must feel when they call the police to no avail, are always told there are no vehicles, no police visibility, a community with no hope as they are left on their own. This type of anger does not build overnight.' Accusations of police complicity in gangsterism and of taking bribes were made on comment threads. No proof was shared. TimesLIVE
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Minimum age for train drivers being lowered to 18 to address shortage
"If I could go back and talk to my 18 year old self, I'd force myself into the railway," said Ben Warner, a recently qualified train Warner, who works for Great Western Railway (GWR), is nearly 40 but from December could find himself surrounded by teenagers as the minimum age for train drivers has been lowered from 20 to 18, to help with driver base is Westbury, Wiltshire, and told the BBC: "Look out of the window - best office in the world."With the changes set to come into place later in the year, we take a look at what is involved with training and qualifying to become a train driver. Adam Walding is a driving standards manager with GWR - drivers in training get their final tests with explained training is usually about 10 months, including three to four months of theory - covering what everything in the cab is then another process for a few months of sitting with drivers, who will give you "direct instruction, as you progress, that instruction reduces"."You then have a five-day final driving test with somebody like myself." He said that to get into training at 18, people need to think about their transferable skills: "Start building your CV - what does a train driver do? What do I do?"My first job for example was working in a shop, I used some of the safety examples from that in my interview."Mr Walding said someone's age should not make a difference: "If someone has the right transferable skills, age shouldn't be a barrier."Meanwhile, Mr Warner said he enjoys his work, but admitted it is a "massive responsibility"."The training GWR put us through is so rigorous. My first day as a qualified driver, I felt ready to go, I felt in a really strong position to take the train where it needed to be." Mr Walding explained that young people who previously wanted to learn at 18 would have had to find another role but now the opportunity is there for them."The more colleagues we have available to us the less likelihood your train will be cancelled because of a lack of train crew," he this month, the government said 87% of cancellations made the night before a service runs were down to driver average train driver is aged 48, with 30% due to reach retirement age by 2029, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said lowering the minimum age was about "future-proofing" the railways, adding that it was "bold action to improve train services and unlock thousands of jobs".
BBC News
16-05-2025
- BBC News
Bath Spa Station passenger chased off train by knife-wielding man
Police are appealing for witnesses after a passenger was chased off a train by a knife-wielding man who threatened to stab incident happened on 2 May between Bristol Temple Meads and Westbury, between 11:10 - 11:30 the train arrived at Bath Spa, the man threatened to stab the other man and then rummaged through his bag before the victim fell and injured himself above his right eye and fled the train, police have said they would like to talk to the man in the CCTV images they have released, as they believe he may have information that could help their investigation. The British Transport Police has appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
ABC News
10-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Demand for weight-loss treatments opens new markets for Tasmania's poppy industry
A shortage of the weight-loss drug Ozempic to treat type 2 diabetes has opened up new markets for the Tasmanian alkaloid poppy sector. It's the shot in the arm northern Tasmanian pharmaceutical business Extractas Bioscience needed. For nearly a decade the poppy processor has struggled with a global oversupply of narcotic material for painkillers, because of a crackdown on opioid prescriptions and cuts to elective surgeries during the COVID pandemic. But in the past two years there's been a noticeable shift in sales. A worldwide shortage of diabetes medicine Ozempic — driven by an unexpected increase in demand for off-label prescribing for weight loss — is partly responsible. Extractas Bioscience produces many base pharmaceutical ingredients from its poppies, not just the materials that go into oxycodone painkillers. Some of those ingredients are highly sought after for medications that suppress appetite. "We're seeing an increase in thebaine and oripavine, that are used as the basis for these," chief executive Ross Murdoch said. "So we're actually finding that demand has increased enormously on the back of Ozempic, driving this anti-obesity type treatment. "We fit into both the treatment of the diabetes and the obesity associated with that, as well as getting the benefit of the expanding market." After flowering, the dry poppy capsules are harvested in late summer. The seed is separated from the poppy straw and loaded into extractors at the sprawling factory at Westbury. "We extract the drug out of that, we dry it and put it into containers," Mr Murdoch said. "We then ship it around the world to wholesalers and other companies that make it into the APIs [active pharmaceutical ingredients] and into the drugs." The raw ingredients extracted from the company's entire poppy production amounts to roughly 100 tonnes annually and goes into about four main products. Often, a range of pharmaceutical compounds can be extracted from the one poppy plant. The patented thebaine poppy variety is used to extract materials for medication that can reverse an opioid overdose or treat an opioid addiction, as well as form the base ingredient for weight-loss medicines. Alklaoids from the same poppy are used to make the oxycodone family of painkillers, commonly branded as Endone or OxyContin. The Tasmanian poppy industry experienced a big drop in demand for these after prescription policies changed in 2015, but Mr Murdoch said there had been a slight resurgence. "Most of the companies, if not all the companies, we sell to in the world have worked through their inventory level," he said. "So they are really demanding what they're going to manufacture without an ability to slow down their demand. "We don't have the inventory, so we also are needing to grow what they demand. This year the business is planning to contract nearly 9,000 hectares of poppies, triple the area from three years ago. The market turnaround comes as staff and growers from across the decades celebrate 50 years of the company's involvement in the poppy processing business. Today, Extractas Bioscience employs 140 people, and contracts around 150 farmers to grow poppies for the company across Tasmania. The business, which was previously known as Tasmanian Alkaloids, was initially set up as a joint venture between Abbott Laboratories and Ciech Polfa in 1975. In 1982, US company Johnson and Johnson took it over. It spent decades cultivating a more versatile, opiate-rich poppy that drug manufacturers wanted, particularly in the multi-billion dollar pain medication market in the US. Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff's father Rick was one of the first employees with Tasmanian Alkaloids, and spent more than 40 years with the company. "He continued growing poppies right up until the time he passed away so it means a lot," Mr Rockliff said of his father. "It was his passion and our passion as well as a family. In 2016, Johnson and Johnson sold Tasmanian Alkaloids to US private equity firm SK Capital. In 2020, it renamed the business Extractas Bioscience to reflect its expanding portfolio of plant extracts, which at the time, included medicinal cannabis. After such a prolonged downturn in the market, Poppy Growers Tasmania president Michael Nichols believes the industry is finally turning a corner. "They've got a very proud history, they might have changed names a few times, but that hasn't taken away the quality of the product produced by the farmers." Mr Murdoch credited the company's longevity to its staff and growers. "We've got people who've been here for 30, 40, years," he said. "Second generation people, including the farmers that we work with, who are second or third generation growers.
