News Bulletin of 22 December 2025, 5pm

SA vs Angola in AFCON Opener
South Africa and Angola are going head to head in a Southern Africa derby as they open Group B of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco this afternoon. It is their fifth AFCON meeting in the group stages. Bafana Bafana have two wins and two draws, but Angola are unbeaten in the last six encounters. Bafana Bafana captain Rowen Williams remains confident in the team.
South Africa
UP Student Tops Global Excel Contest
University of Pretoria master’s student Pieter Pienaar has become the first South African to win the individual division of the 2025 Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge in Las Vegas.
The 23-year-old MCom Accounting Sciences student competed against participants from over 1,100 universities worldwide. Pienaar, who also founded the UP Excel Club to support fellow students, has steadily improved his performance in the challenge since 2022, moving from 12th place to first on his 4th attempt. He credited his success to careful problem-solving, mentorship, and his focus during competition.
Sandton and Gauteng
SA’s toughest words to spell
A study by WordUnscrambler.pro has revealed the words South Africans searched for most in 2025 when unsure of spelling. The research analysed Google search data from January 1 to December 17. Top searches included “neighbour” in Mpumalanga, “business” in Limpopo, “honour” in the Northern Cape, “awkward” in the Eastern Cape, “favourite” in the Free State, “colour” in North West, “jewellery” in the Western Cape, “because” in Gauteng and “reindeer” in KwaZulu-Natal. Researchers say the confusion often comes from differences between British and American English, rather than poor spelling. Irregular word patterns also make some words harder to spell correctly.

Sandton and Gauteng
Financial Indicators
Your financial indicators for this hour:

The Rand is trading at 16.76 to the US Dollar, 0.00 to the British Pound, and 0.00 to the Euro.

Gold is trading at 4,397.45 dollars a fine ounce, Brent Crude Oil is at Error per barrel, and a Bitcoin will set you back 89,891.00.
Giant Lanterns Light Up Philippines

Thousands of spectators gathered in San Fernando in the Philippines as towering hand-crafted lanterns lit up the night sky during the annual Giant Lantern Festival. Held each December, the festival features six-metre-high lanterns glowing with religious and festive imagery, set to Filipino rap and Christmas carols. The event celebrates the region’s lantern-making tradition, which dates back more than a century. Local designer Karl Quiwa said it takes a team of 20 people about three months to complete a single display. Each massive structure can weigh up to a tonne and cost as much as one million pesos.

Local: 182 words (73%), National: 66 words (27%), International: 0 words (0%)