#5Things: 700 child beggars in Durban, Taylor Swift's new album, R327-million Covax programme
Allow Darren, Keri, and Sky to keep you on the loop this FriYAY.
1. Trump has five scheduled executions before leaving office
President Donald Trump has scheduled five executions to take place before Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20. It breaks a 130-year precedent in which executions are paused during a presidential transition. If all five executions go ahead, Trump will be the US’s most prolific execution president in more than 100 years, because he would have overseen the execution of 13 death row inmates since July.
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2. Police probe into child-begging syndicate in Durban
Approximately 700 children in the eThekwini metropolitan area are said to be part of extensive child-begging networks that operate within the city, raking in at least R2-million each month. Police urge anyone with information to come forward, in the hope that they could identify the masterminds behind the child trafficking scam.
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3. Hundreds of cars pay for each other's meals at a drive-thru
At a drive-thru in Minnesota, America, one man paid for his meal and for the car behind him as an act of kindness. The manager said that this happens once in a while but at most, it lasts for 15 or 20 cars. This time, the chain continued for two and a half days with more than 900 cars participating.
Read the full story here.
4. Taylor Swift surprises fans with new album announcement
Calling all Swifties! Taylor Swift dropped a new surprise album at midnight. In a Twitter post announcing the drop, she said the new album will be called 'Evermore', and is the sister album of 'Folklore'. It will mark the singer’s 9th studio album, and will be her third release with Republic Records.
All the details can be found here.
5. Solidarity Fund commits R327m deposit for Covax programme
The Solidarity Fund has announced that it will soon pay R327-million to the Covax programme, a figure that represents 15% of the total cost of securing access to the vaccine for at least 10% of South Africa’s population. The World Health Organization describes the Covax programme as the global initiative aimed at working with vaccine manufacturers to provide countries worldwide with equitable access to safe and effective vaccines.
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IMAGE CREDIT: Twitter/DabaSafiyya