Latest news with #Wenger
IOL News
2 days ago
- Health
- IOL News
WC the only province to raise objections to NHI Fund draft regulations
THE ANC in the province says the Western Cape Government's rejection of the draft National Health Insurance (NHI) regulations reflects a political choice to defend privilege rather than fix inequality. The province is the only in the country to have raised objections to the draft governance regulations relating to the implementation of the NHI Fund. Health MEC, Mireille Wenger said the Western Cape Cabinet had approved comments from the provincial department of Health and Wellness expressing 'strong objections to the draft governance regulations'. The NHI is a centralised, national insurance fund designed to provide universal health coverage. It aims to ensure all South Africans have access to quality and affordable healthcare services, regardless of their socio-economic status. The draft regulations seek to provide for the establishment of structures and processes for the governance of the fund. It represents the first formal step towards establishing the NHI Fund, to centralise all healthcare funding under the national government, said Wenger. 'While the Western Cape Government supports the constitutional imperative to realise the provision of universal healthcare, it remains concerned that the NHI model in its current form - will weaken existing healthcare systems and reduce the ability of provinces to deliver responsive and accountable services to residents. The draft governance regulations provide for detailed matters pertaining to, amongst other things, the appointment of a board and CEO for the NHI fund. 'In terms of Section 55(1) of the NHI Act, the National Minister may only make regulations after consulting both the National Health Council - which includes all nine provincial health departments and the national department - and the NHI Fund. Should the Minister make regulations without consulting the fund, the regulations will be invalid. Should the Minister wish to proceed to issue the draft regulations without consulting the fund, it will first be necessary to amend the Act to remove the requirement for consultation with the fund. 'The Act specifies the matters on which the Minister is empowered to make regulations, however these do not specifically include 'governance' and hence could be ultra vires to the Act and invalid,' she said. According to Wenger they were also concerned about the minister's powers to appoint and remove role players, 'without sufficient checks and balances to prevent maladministration'. ANC leader of the opposition in the provincial legislature, Khalid Sayed said they supported the NHI and its full implementation. "The ANC fully supports the implementation of the National Health Insurance as a bold step towards ensuring that no South African is denied access to quality healthcare due to their income or location. 'The Western Cape Government's rejection of the draft regulations reflects a political choice to defend privilege rather than fix inequality. Instead of fearmongering about governance, we should be working together to build a just and inclusive health system for all—rural or urban, rich or poor. The people of this province deserve better than two-tier healthcare. The ANC remains committed to making universal healthcare a reality," said Sayed. National health department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the Western Cape was the only provincial government that had raised objections. 'Only Western Cape has raised objections. How does the Minister consult a Fund that does not exist on regulations that will allow for processes to bring it into existence? The regulations do not mandate any power for the Minister that is not already provided for in the Act. What they do is to require absolute transparency in that process. We hope that the Western Cape government has actually commented on the contents of the draft regulations so that their comments can be accessible to the public,' Mohale said. Wenger said the Western Cape Government will submit its formal written comments on the draft regulations in due course.
Metro
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Thierry Henry celebrates with 'boss' Arsene Wenger after Champions League final
Thierry Henry celebrated with his former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after PSG thumped Inter Milan in the Champions League final. The two Frenchman were left absolutely delighted after PSG landed the trophy for the first time in their history with an incredible 5-0 victory. Henry couldn't wipe the smile off the face as he interviewed Wenger following a historic night for French football at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The duo both hold legendary status at Arsenal and Henry kept referring to Wenger as his 'boss' as a mark of respect for the 75-year-old icon. Speaking on CBS Sports, Wenger said: '[PSG's win] was absolutely fantastic. The difference between the teams was too big. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. 'On top of that, Inter, the way they played, they made it easier for [PSG].' Henry, with a huge grin, then asked his former manager: 'Boss, are you happy?' 'I am happy, of course, for French football!' Wenger replied. 'You know that!' 'It's just a question, boss!' Henry said. 'It's just a question, I am not upsetting you! Me too, I am happy, very happy.' 'Of course, Thierry,' Wenger added. 'You have done a lot for French football.' Arsenal's legendary former manager Wenger, in charge of the Gunners from 1996 to 2018, signed Henry from Juventus back in 1999. Henry went on to become one of the biggest legends in Arsenal history, winning two Premier League titles and three FA Cups under Wenger. The duo have always enjoyed a special relationship since their success together in north London. Henry played a total of 377 games for Arsenal, scoring an incredible tally of 228 goals and providing 101 assists. 'You too,' Henry replied as the interview ended, before fellow CBS pundit and Arsenal supporter Micah Richards asked to shake Wenger's hand. 'He's an Arsenal fan, that's why!' Henry quickly added before Wenger walked away. Meanwhile, the Eiffel Tower was lit up in red and blue colours following PSG's historic Champions League triumph. PSG's 19-year-old French star Desire Doue, who produced a masterclass of a performance against Inter, has promised that the team's celebrations are going to be 'crazy' as he heaped praise on his manager Luis Enrique. More Trending 'I have no words,' Doue said. 'That was just incredible for me, simply incredible. I have no words, sorry. '[Enrique has] been here for two years and he has made history for the club. 'Tactically and mentally, he is a really good coach, unbelievable, and as a human being too. 'It is a pleasure to work with him. I don't know how we'll celebrate but it's going to be crazy.' MORE: Kylian Mbappe sends message to Paris Saint-Germain after Champions League triumph MORE: Luis Enrique T-shirt in Champions League final pays tribute to daughter Xana MORE: Tottenham 'confident' of beating Arsenal and Chelsea to sign £54m winger
The Sun
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Watch Thierry Henry score stunning free-kick for Arsene Wenger aged 47 as Arsenal fans demand Arteta sign him up
THIERRY HENRY netted a stunning free-kick while playing under Arsene Wenger at the age of 47. Arsenal fans demanded Mikel Arteta 'sign him up' as Henry rolled back the years with a sumptuous piece of play at Djibril Cisse's testimonial. 2 Legends from across the game turned out for the epic battle on Tuesday, which saw an Auxerre Legends side faces a Cisse's All Stars XI in France. The likes of Didier Drogba, Robert Pires, Claude Makelele and William Gallas all took part in the game. While former Arsenal manager Wenger stepped back into the dugout as he took charge of the All Stars. It didn't go to plan though, with the Auxerre Legends triumphing 8-4 on the night. But the All Stars opened the scoring with the goal of the game as Henry powered in a magnificent free-kick. The Premier League legend stood over the ball alongside Pires and Drogba, with the Chelsea icon appearing most likely to take the shot. But before he could run up to the ball, Henry cheekily stepped forward to jink the free-kick over the Auxerre wall and into the back of the net. There were no hard feelings though as teammates celebrated with Henry. And Arsenal fans were quick to react online as they demanded Arteta re-sign him this summer. One said: 'I'm deadly serious when I say he could still do a job.' Mikel Arteta will be sacked by Christmas if Arsenal are not in top two, warns former Gunners star Another declared: 'Still got it.' One noted: 'King of Arsenal, no player today can take a free-kick with such ease.'
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
The downfall of an Arsenal wonderkid who was hailed as a 'massive talent' by Arsene Wenger aged 19 but is now facing jail for drug smuggling
Hailed by Arsenal's legendary manager Arsene Wenger as a 'massive talent', Jay Emmanuel-Thomas once seemed to have the world at his feet. So how did this football prodigy end up facing jail after being convicted of large-scale drug smuggling? And what possibly could have persuaded the Londoner, who was still playing professional football during the plot, to risk everything to pursue a life of crime? Wind back to 2010 and things were looking very different for Emmanuel-Thomas. Aged 19, he had just made his Premier League debut for Arsenal against Chelsea, hot on the heels of captaining its youth team to the FA Youth Cup. The technically gifted, agile striker was lauded by Wenger for his 'outstanding quality', with the Frenchman predicting he will 'not only be a good player but a great player'. 'It is down to how far he wants to go because he has big potential,' he added. Despite his promising start, Emmanuel-Thomas struggled to stay in the Arsenal first team. He went on loan to Ipswich Town and then Bristol City, where he scored 24 goals in 82 appearances, before a spell at QPR. But the move that would prove his downfall came in 2019, when he accepted a transfer to PTT Rayong, an obscure Thai team based just south of the capital, Bangkok. Thailand had become the first East Asian country to decriminalise cannabis just a year earlier, a decision that has led to a booming industry of commercial and cottage growers. The profits to be made smuggling Thai cannabis into the UK clearly attracted Emmanuel-Thomas, who is believed to have acquired contacts in the country's weed industry during his short spell at PTT Rayong, which folded the year he joined. And despite continuing his professional career with an Indian team and several Scottish clubs, including Aberdeen, the footballer pursued a drug smuggling business on the side. This was finally exposed in September 2024, when officers from the National Crime Agency arrested him at his home in Gourock, Renfrewshire. It followed the arrest of his girlfriend, Yasmin Piotrowska, 33, and her 28-year-old friend Rosie Rowland, 28, who he had promised £2,500 in cash to travel to Thailand for an all-expenses-paid trip. In return, they were asked to bring home two suitcases each, which the pair had been assured contained gold, Chelmsford Crown Court heard. But after flying business class from Bangkok to Stansted, via Dubai, they were stopped by Border Force officers - who opened the cases to find vacuum-packed cannabis with a street value of £600,000. After being arrested and charged with drug importation offences, detectives began investigating the source of the drugs. They soon identified Emmanuel-Thomas, who had paid the women for a similarly lavish trip in July. Following his arrest, he told NCA officers: 'I just feel sorry for the girls.' The footballer was sacked by Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton following the charges, which he initially denied. But he went on to plead guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court in Essex to cannabis importation between July 1, 2024 and September 2, 2024. It is believed Emmanuel-Thomas was the intermediary between suppliers in Thailand and drug pushers in the UK. Appearing in court, he expressed regret for tricking his girlfriend into the drugs plot, and charges against the 33-year-old and her friend were subsequently dropped. The footballer is far from the first Brit to fall foul of the law while attempting to profit from Thai-grown cannabis, with dozens off tourists caught trying to hide weed in their luggage. Growing concern about the issue has prompted the country's government to vow to tighten cannabis laws, which could include requiring users to present a prescription. More than 50 British nationals had been arrested in Thailand for attempting to smuggle cannabis since July, according to UK officials. Suspects recently identified by Thai police include Mark Siemaszkiewicz, 46, Richard McMahon, 46, Oluwatosin Peace Adefila, 27, and Bose Esther Fakuade, 26. The group were pulled aside at the airport on the island of Koh Samui and found with 144kg of cannabis in several 32-inch long cases, police say. A spokesman said they had planned to bring the cannabis into the UK as part of a 'debt-clearing arrangement'. David Philips, NCA senior investigating officer, said: 'Organised crime groups make significant profits by trafficking and selling perceived high-quality cannabis legally grown in the US, Canada and Thailand illegally in the UK. 'Organised criminals like Thomas can be very persuasive and offer payment to couriers. But the risk of getting caught is very high and it simply isn't worth it.' Emmanuel-Thomas, a father of two, is now behind bars at HMP Chelmsford and will return to Chelmsford Crown Court for sentencing at a date.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas: From Arsenal prodigy to drugs smuggler
As a footballer, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas seemed destined for greatness. But a drug-smuggling conviction has left his career and reputation in tatters. How did things unravel so dramatically for a player once tipped for the top?Hailed by legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as a footballer who could "play anywhere", Emmanuel-Thomas was marked out early on as having elite technically gifted and surprisingly agile, the striker appeared to have the world at his a career that promised so much at Arsenal faltered and saw him spend years flitting between the second and third tiers of English 2020 he moved to play in Scotland and was still plying his trade north of the border when, on 18 September, he was arrested at his home in Gourock, near days earlier, Border Force officers had stopped two women at London Stansted Airport and found drugs in their was not a minor haul; they were staring at cannabis with a street value of £600, did it get there? The evidence soon led detectives to Emmanuel-Thomas. Wind back a decade and a half, and things were very is 26 May 2009, and Arsenal's latest batch of academy talents can barely contain their young prospects, including Jack Wilshere and Francis Coquelin, have just won the FA Youth player in particular has stood out: their 16-year-old captain, Emmanuel-Thomas, who has scored in every round of the competition."These young men have a very bright future indeed," remarked one despite going on to make five first-team appearances, it was not quite to be for Emmanuel-Thomas. He was shipped out on several loans before leaving the north London club for Ipswich was a move that excited supporters in Suffolk, who were keen to see what the former Arsenal starlet could 71 games and eight goals later, Emmanuel-Thomas had not quite made the mark fans hoped for, and he moved to Bristol City in a player exchange deal. Here, he helped the Robins secure promotion to the Championship and became something of a cult hero, scoring 21 goals in his first season.A move to Queens Park Rangers followed, with subsequent loan spells at MK Dons and Gillingham. But in 2019, Emmanuel-Thomas accepted a transfer to a Thai-based team that would alter the course of his is believed he was tempted into the country's drugs underworld while playing for PTT Rayong, a club that folded in the same later moves to an Indian side and several Scottish outfits, including Aberdeen, Emmanuel-Thomas never shook off the criminal connections he the time he took a six-month contract at Greenock Morton, a 40-minute drive from Glasgow, the game was almost up. As he lined up for them against Queens Park on 14 September, he would have surely known the law was about to catch up with women arrested at Stansted were his 33-year-old girlfriend, Yasmin Piotrowska, and her friend Rosie Rowland, Thomas, by then 33, appeared in court charged with orchestrating the attempted importation of drugs, and was sacked by his discovered he had duped Ms Piotrowska, from north-west London, and Ms Rowland, from Chelmsford, into travelling to Thailand with the promise of £2,500 in cash and an all-expenses-paid job? To bring home two suitcases each, filled with what they were assured was gold, Chelmsford Crown Court heard. 'I feel sorry for the girls' They flew business class from Bangkok, landing in Essex via to them, they were smuggling in cannabis with a street value of £600,000, vacuum-packed inside the four pair were stopped and arrested by Border Force officers, before being charged with drug importation the pair in custody, and Emmanuel-Thomas later remanded, police probed how the drugs made it to the soon found the player was the intermediary between suppliers in Thailand and dealers in the UK, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).With the footballer's encouragement, the women had also made a near-identical trip in July, having been made similar promises of cash and a lavish his way to custody, Emmanuel-Thomas even told NCA officers: "I just feel sorry for the girls." His first court hearing in September was told he carried out "extensive research" into flights and directions, including which airports the women had been going Philips, a senior NCA investigator, said "organised criminals like Emmanuel-Thomas" used persuasion and payment to get people to do their dirty work."But the risk of getting caught is very high and it simply isn't worth it," he several court appearances, Emmanuel-Thomas, of Cardwell Road, Gourock, strenuously denied attempting to import he changed his plea to guilty at the start of May and restrictions on reporting this were lifted on against both Ms Piotrowska and Ms Rowland were dropped after the prosecution revealed they had been tricked by followed what David Josse KC described as a "very thorough investigation".Emmanuel-Thomas appeared via video link from HMP Chelmsford at his latest court he returns to court for sentencing, on a date still to be confirmed, it will not be his first time in the it will be for very different reasons to the day he lifted that trophy aloft in 2009. 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