President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law. This bill directs the transformation of South Africa’s health care system. The vision is to achieve universal coverage for health services. All South African citizens will be covered by NHI, as well as permanent residents, refugees, inmates, and specific categories of foreign nationals.
The fund also covers asylum seekers and illegal foreigners. Register for free with the NHI Fund at a clinic, GP, or hospital that has a contract with the NHI. NHI is a health financing or funding system. It is designed to pool funds together so that health services are available to all South Africans.
Shannon Manuel was arrested in January. He was charged with possession of child pornography, distribution and grooming of a minor. On Monday he was seen in Mitchell’s Plain Magistrates Court and was denied bail. Siya Monakali of IIitha Labantu condemns anyone who engages in acts of child porn. Monakali says that they appeal to the justice system to impose harsh sentences on these perpetrators.
He says that we must play our part to ensure that children are aware of the dangers that lurk online, where perpetrators often pretend to be children to gain access to them. The case was postponed to July 27.
Reach for a Dream made Almon Jack Thomas, aka AJ, from Blue Downs dreams come true. The three-year-old has Wilms tumor (kidney cancer), which he was diagnosed with at two months old. AJ is a locomotive fanatic and got to ride a steam train from Plumstead to Simon’s Town. He has undergone two major operations and is currently receiving chemotherapy.
Mom Deidre Thomas says that it has been difficult; AJ is their only child and being a new mom and being hit with this critical health issue was difficult. She says that with the first surgery, they had to remove one kidney but it spread to the other one so he had to undergo another operation on 1 April this year but they were not sure if he would make it. Reach for a Dream volunteer Eleanor Pretorius says that every child who is sick needs something to cling to and they’ve got their dream. Their dreams give them hope to fight and every dream is special.
Frankie, a sassy and vibrant Elsies River, is a jewelry maker. Her jewelry is mostly made out of zips, a very unusual material. This Elsies River mom also says her artistic roots comes from her being an KhoiSan Native and her parents and their forefathers. This past Saturday, she spoke to Inspire Elsies Radio's Noel Ruiters, who interviewed Frankie on The Saturday Matinee.
The International Criminal Court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, has applied for arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders over the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Khan says in a statement that he was seeking warrants against the Israeli leaders for crimes including "willful killing", "extermination and/or murder", and "starvation". He says that Israel had committed "crimes against humanity" during the war, started by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack, as part "of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population".
Khan says that international law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all; no foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader — no one — can act with impunity. Khan also says the leaders of Hamas "bear criminal responsibility" for actions committed during the October 7 attack. According to Khan, these included "taking hostages", "rape and other acts of sexual violence", and "torture".
