Three good news stories: rand up, Ndlovu Youth Choir in AGT finals, designer Thebe Magugu wins big
Image: Thulani Mbele/Sunday Times
Rand strengthens. Ndlovu Youth Choir makes it to America's Got Talent finals. Designer Thebe Magugu becomes Africa's first designer to win the LVMH prize.
Here are three good news stories to cheer SA:
Rand strengthens
The rand has strengthened to its best level in three weeks against a basket of major currencies and is 1% stronger against the dollar.
Business Day reported the local economy expanded 3.1% in the second quarter of 2019 from a revised contraction of 3.1% in the previous quarter, surpassing economists' expectations of an expansion of 2.5%, according to a Bloomberg consensus.
The mining sector led the second-quarter rebound after climbing 14.4% while manufacturing rose 2.1%.
The rand firmed 0.68% to R15.1478/$, 0.95% to R16.5694/€ and 0.95% to R18.2279/£.
Ndlovu Youth Choir
The Limpopo-based Ndlovu Youth Choir has made it through to the finals of America’s Got Talent, following their cover of Kygo and Whitney Houston's Higher Love.
The choir set the stage on fire with an energetic, joyful semifinals performance that had judges and audience members on their feet. The choir wanted this performance to remind the world of our common spirit of humanity.
On the choir's official Facebook page, the Ndlovu Youth Choir captioned a video of their performance, saying: “We pray that our performance was a reminder to the world that we are all connected by our spirit of humanity. Love is an unbreakable force which will always conquer hate.”
Thebe Magugu
Kimberley-born fashion designer made SA proud when he was announced as the first African to win the LVMH prize.
The 25-year-old is known for powerful and politicised women’s wear collections inspired by the social complexities of South Africa.
As the winner, Magugu will receive €300,000 (about R4.9m) and enjoy a one-year mentorship programme provided by a dedicated LVMH team.