News 16:00

BULLETIN 6 January 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC warns US actions in Venezuela risk global instability and a humanitarian crisis
# Cricket: The defending SA20 champion hopes to turn its fortunes around
# And the world leader in artificial intelligence designs a system to help cars think like humans

# The ANC says recent actions by the US against Venezuela risk causing global instability and a serious humanitarian crisis. The party argues unilateral intervention undermines international law, state sovereignty and multilateral institutions such as the United Nations. In a media briefing, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has called for dialogue and respect for international legal frameworks, warning that Venezuela and other developing countries often suffer the most when global tensions escalate:

# FNB and the Bureau for Economic Research’s civil confidence index gained nine index points in the fourth quarter of 2025 to reach a level of 52 following a two-index-point rise in the third quarter. This marks the joint best level in 11 years. The current reading means that more than 50-percent of respondents were satisfied with prevailing business conditions. FNB’s senior economist, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, says in addition to more work, overall profitability was also higher. He adds this undoubtedly contributed to the better business mood.

# City Power in Johannesburg has caught six contractors while vandalising underground electricity infrastructure during an intelligence-driven operation in the Fordsburg area. The suspects were intercepted along Central and Main Reef roads while cutting underground copper cables without a valid work order. Nine cable sections, totalling over 24-metres, had already been damaged. City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena says the suspects operated under a legitimate contractor, breaching public trust:

# Cricket: Defending SA20 champion MI Cape Town hopes to get back to winning ways in today’s home match against Joburg Super Kings. MI Cape Town is currently in sixth and last position on the log after losing four of its first five matches, while the other was rained out. JSK is in second place behind Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Proteas allrounder Corbin Bosch still believes his team can turn its fortunes around when the players find their best form with the bat and the ball.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-18-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-848-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-462-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The world leader in artificial intelligence systems design, Nvidia, has unveiled a new AI platform that could significantly advance the way self-driving cars make decisions. CEO Jensen Huang introduced Alpamayo at a technology conference in San Francisco in the US, giving autonomous vehicles something closer to humanlike reasoning. He says it allows them to think through scenarios, drive safely in complex environments, and explain driving decisions. A demonstration video depicts a car navigating the streets while a passenger sits behind the wheel with his hands in his lap.

Stay tuned for more news………….