News Bulletin of 17 December 2025, 12pm

Headline 1
Fourways Mall launched The Jingle Bell Academy
Story 1
Fourways Mall has launched The Jingle Bell Academy at its Santa Land attraction this festive season, offering structured holiday activities for children.
The mall runs face painting, cookie decorating, letters to Santa, digital games, physical activities, and a reading area as part of the experience.
To manage crowds, the mall uses a ticketing and queuing system that schedules children into time slots and controls visitor flow.
The centre also supports large family numbers through wide walkways, visible staff, accessible parking, and added entertainment and dining options across the mall.
Story 1 category
Headline 2
Joburg annual Festival of Lights
Story 2
Johannesburg residents can enjoy the city's annual Festival of Lights every Thursday to Sunday from 7pm to 10 pm at the Joburg Zoo.
The annual showcase features thousands of dazzling lights, life-size illuminated animal displays and exciting entertainment, offering families a magical night-time experience and a standout holiday attraction.
The spokesperson for Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, Jenny Moodley says the Festival will continue until the 4th of January 2026:
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Story 2 category
Headline 3
OpenAI has partners with Walt Disney
Story 3
OpenAI has partnered with Walt Disney in a landmark deal, bringing beloved Disney characters to life through its Sora video generation tool.
The 3-year licensing agreement allows Sora users to create and share short videos featuring over 200 iconic characters from Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars.
These include Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Luke Skywalker.
Disney will also invest $1 billion in OpenAI, becoming a major customer and using its APIs to enhance Disney+ and other products.
Story 3 category
Financial Indicators headline
Financial Indicators
Financial indicators
Your financial indicators for this hour:

The Rand is trading at 16.74 to the US Dollar, 22.47 to the British Pound, and 19.66 to the Euro.

Gold is trading at 4,289.21 dollars a fine ounce, Brent Crude Oil is at Error per barrel, and a Bitcoin will set you back 86,411.00.
Teaser / Tailpiece headline
FIFA announces a new cut-price ticket category
Teaser / Tailpiece story
FIFA has announced a new cut-price ticket category for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The news comes after FIFA faced criticism from fan groups, who expressed their disappointment and frustration over the ticket prices, saying that they were unaffordable.
The world governing body changed its ticket prices, which were almost 500% higher than the 2022 Qatar tournament.
FIFA has now made available a number of supporter entry tier fixed tickets at around 1-thousand-rand for all 104 matches, including the final.
Split analysis
Local: 158 words (68%), National: 0 words (0%), International: 74 words (32%)