News 17:00

BULLETIN 18 December 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Nkabinde inquiry revises its witness list
# The United Nations Development Programme launches the Sphazamisa App to modernise township spaza shops
# And soccer: The inaugural Women’s Club World Cup is postponed to 2028

# The Nkabinde Inquiry into the suspended South Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions, Andrew Chauke’s, fitness to hold office has submitted a revised formal list of potential witnesses. The revised schedule follows National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi’s excusal from cross-examination to seek legal advice without a formal application. This disrupted the original witness sequence. The inquiry will resume on 26 January 2026 as the panel assesses remaining evidence and time needed to conclude the hearings.

# The United Nations Development Programme in South Africa has launched the Sphazamisa App, a digital platform aimed at modernising township spaza shops and boosting entrepreneurship. The app offers retailers a digital identity, geo-location, and links to the City of Johannesburg’s business registry. UNDP’s Phumla Hlati told SABC News the features include stock management, e-payments, and food safety tracking, helping shops to become more resilient and bankable:

# National police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, says illegal mining in a residential area in Bapong near Brits in North West is putting lives and livelihoods at serious risk. This follows aerial footage showing zama zamas operating close to people’s homes, damaging the environment and threatening water sources. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told Newzroom Afrika that authorities are preparing to begin rescue operations for five suspected illegal miners believed to be trapped underground:

# A British man who fought for Ukraine against Russia has been sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security prison camp in Russia after being convicted of being a paid mercenary. Thirty-year-old Hayden Davies said in a video used as testimony he joined the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine as a foreign volunteer. He had been tried by a court in Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions which Moscow claimed as its own in 2022. Kyiv and the West rejected the move as an illegal land grab.

# Soccer: The inaugural Women’s Club World Cup will take place in January 2028. It was originally planned for next year, but world governing body Fifa says the new date will give shareholders more time to prepare, and players breathing space in an already packed schedule. It is reportedly set to disrupt many European leagues’ seasons. The tournament will involve four groups of four teams each, with the top-two from each group qualifying for the knockouts. The host country still have to be announced.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-78-cents and the euro at 19-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-48-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-664-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-315-dollars-69-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 59-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….