News 17:00

BULLETIN 15 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa urges cooperation and solidarity for the NHI’s success 
# Meta develops a tailored approach to safeguard the integrity of the South African elections 
# And Olympics: Team SA confirms the first batch for the Paris Games and medalists rewards 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for cooperation and solidarity in implementing the National Health Insurance to ensure its success. He emphasised the importance of working together to overcome differences and build a better healthcare system for all South Africans. Ramaphosa publicly signed the NHI Bill into law in Pretoria. He says the scheme aims to provide equal access to healthcare, irrespective of economic status, addressing healthcare inequalities:

# Tech giant Meta is deploying a tailored approach to safeguard the integrity of South Africa’s elections, creating an Election Resource Centre on its website. The initiative includes fact-checking partnerships with Africa Check and AFP, training for government communicators, and collaboration with the Electoral Commission. Meta’s efforts are aimed to combatting misinformation, promote safety, and empower voters with authoritative information ahead of the highly anticipated elections on 29 May.

# President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed Israel would set its sights on Turkey if it succeeded in defeating Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Erdogan had been a vocal critic of Israel’s war in the Palestinian territory following Hamas’s attack on 7 October. He has often expressed support for the Palestinian group as defenders of their homeland. The Turkish leader said earlier more than a thousand members of Hamas were being treated in Turkish hospitals amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

# Olympics: The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee has unveiled the first batch of 39 athletes set to compete at the Paris Games. They include Tatjana Smith, Chad le Clos, and Wayde van Niekerk. South Africa aims to participate in 17 of the 32 Olympic sports. Sascoc president Barry Hendricks has also announced financial rewards for medalists, with gold winners receiving 400-thousand-rand and their coaches 100-thousand-rand, silver medalists 200-thousand-rand, and their coaches 50-thousand. Bronze medal winners will receive 75-thousand-rand and their coaches 25-thousand-rand.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-33-cents and the euro at 19-rand-91-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-704-dollars-59-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-370-dollars-69-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

# And finally: American music legend Stevie Wonder has been granted Ghanaian citizenship during a visit to Accra with his family. Wonder said it is a dream come true to become a citizen of the West African country. Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, praised Wonder’s talent and African ties, saying the citizenship honours his remarkable achievements and deep connection to the continent:

Stay tuned for more news………….