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The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use. The government says the jab, which has been given the green light by independent health regulator MHRA, will be rolled out across the UK from early next week. Studies have shown the jab is 95% effective and works in all age groups.
Five people including a nine-month-old baby were killed and up to 15 injured on Tuesday when a speeding car plowed into a pedestrian area in the western German city of Trier in what authorities said appeared to be a deliberate act. Trier Mayor Wolfram Leibe said: “It looks as if we are talking about a suspect with mental issues, but we should not pass premature judgment.”
The US justice department is looking into claims that lobbyists have tried to use bribes to secure a presidential pardon, unsealed court papers show. They say that in August investigators began investigating a “secret lobbying scheme” possibly involving attempts to contact White House officials. The redacted filings do not give any names, but the justice department says no government official is being probed.
A member of Hungary’s anti-gay government regime has resigned after being caught at an orgy in the basement of a Belgian gay bar, held in violation of coronavirus precautions. József Szájer on Sunday resigned his post as a Member of the European Parliament representing Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban’s Fidesz party. The Hungarian government for which Szájer worked has recently restricted the rights of the country’s LGBT community.
Elliot Page, who rose to fame as the lead in teen pregnancy comedy Juno as Ellen Page, has announced he is transgender. “Hi friends,” he wrote on a variety of social media platforms, “I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot.” Page, now 33, had his breakthrough in 2005 thriller Hard Candy before finding international acclaim in Juno.